ABSTRACT
The United States (US) became increasingly involved in the conflict and defence expenditures once again rose considerably for the fabrication of a large amount of weapons. A long-term analysis of the historical evidence gives strong reasons for believing that if the American governments of the twentieth century had maintained the same level of support for the sector as in the 1850 to 1999 period, economic growth would have been much faster. By some estimates the US dropped more bombs over Vietnam than over Germany during World War II. The US adopted the gold standard in 1871, but during the preceding three decades it attained rates of growth that were faster than those attained in the 1970s. Several times during the twentieth century, the majority of American policy makers were convinced that an increased state participation in the economy had positive effects.
