Well more broadly the US had to adapt far reaching initiatives that were close to National Socialism to win the war. You had governments controlling everything through rationing, cracking down on war desent, domestic spying yada yada.
And following the war the importation of German scientists and specialists continuing working under those same initiatives bleed into and influenced those programs, that they became the same things the US fought against. The American space race was a continuination of the German rocket program, for example.
I'm wondering what some of the smart people on this forum feel about this theory
Wait until you find out how the US handled the Civil War! This idea that war dissent was a modern thing is hilarious boomer conjecture because they believe Vietnam was somehow unique. The difference is they weren’t beaten, jailed or flat out disappeared for dissent. Espionage act was 1917 and sedition act in 1918.
Fabian socialism was already heavily involved in US politics by the turn of the 20th century. The suffrage movements were pushed heavily by them, the Wilson cabinet was heavily socialist.
While I'm not a historian, just a regular guy who enjoys history, I'm aware of some Unconstitutional acts during the Civil War. Lincoln suspendeding habeas corpus, the jailing of copper heads, the expansion of war powers, the illegal creation of the state of West Virginia.
You don't have to like Lincoln, but a cursory comparison to basically every other civil war everywhere else shows that these 'illegal acts' are peanuts compared to mass killings, torture, etc.
I mean, just look at the Irish Civil War.
I wouldn't call controlling the press through jailing, violence and intimidation peanuts. Nor do I think preventing elected members of a state from voting, to get a desired outcome is peanuts.
Compared to lining up thousands of people and shooting them extrajudicially? It's peanuts.
Wartime censorship is the norm throughout the world. Not saying it's a good thing. If people knew the truth, they wouldn't be supporting wars.
Did you somehow miss the destruction of Southern cities and infrastructure (after the war was already over) and starvation of its people?
I actually did. I'm not aware of any destruction of cities and infrastructure after the war.