The Great Depression also allowed authoritarian rulers to come to power, which moved the world closer to war. One major effect of World War II was the use of nuclear weapons in war, which would later lead to the Cold War. Many Americans feared that the end of World War II and the subsequent drop in military spending might bring back the hard times of the Great Depression. But instead, pent-up consumer demand fueled exceptionally strong economic growth in the post-war period. ... More and more Americans joined the middle class.
