[xkaydet65]

Historians don't come better than John Gaddis. He is not afraid to permit new realities to shape his vision, unlike those such as Williams. whose reality was colored by his vision.

[shrinkermd]

I don't know if Professor Gaddis has written about immediate aftermath of WW II. Since I am old and decrepit, I can remember how the Marshall Plan was pilloried. At its inception 70-80% were against any kind of "foreign aid."

Also, I wish I had a reference for it, but in 1937 or 38 there was a move afoot to block FDR's incipient rearming and other war efforts. A poll was taken to support a plebiscite where the government would need a majority of citizens before war could be declared. I remember my father telling me the constitutional amendment lost by only one or two votes. If this is a correct memory, can you imagine what would have happened. At least in the Midwest until 7 December 1941 there was a strong aversion to war such that it is problematical we would have even immediately joined the war against Germany--Hitler solved this by declaring war on us.