"The high-water mark of the American Empire was...." Pretend you're a historian and fill in the

[denverbill]

37. I think we peaked during WWII.

Although the moon landing was a highlight as well, the Korean and especially Vietnam wars had already begun to drag us down.

WWII showed Americas astounding productive capacity. We went from virtually no military and a decimated Pacific Fleet in early 1942 to one of, if not the, most powerful military in the world 2 years later, launching invasions of North Africa, Italy, northern and southern France, and dozens of Pacific islands. We built several atomic bombs, for better or worse, still quite and achievement in 3 years. It's still remarkable to me, considering we've been in Afghanistan for 10 years and have no end in sight for that 'war'.