Whether World War II made or merely marked the transition of the United States from a major world power to a superpower, the fact remains that America's role in the world around it had undergone a dramatic change. Other nations had long recognized the potential of the United States. They had seen its power exercised regularly in economics, if only sporadically in politics. But World War Il, and the landscape it left behind, prompted American leaders and the Congress to conclude that they had to use the nation's strength to protect and advance its interests. The end of the Cold War will not end the debate over the structural reasons for that transformation of American attitudes and actions. The essays in this book reflect a variety of views on the question of causation. The distinguished group of contributors provide many and varied insights into this crucial change and make America Unbound an important contribution to the history of the period.