The primary goal of U.S. isolationists after World War II was to avoid becoming entangled in future international conflicts and alliances. Isolationists believed that the United States should focus on its own internal affairs and economic development rather than intervening in the affairs of other countries. They argued that America had already sacrificed enough lives and resources in World War II and that further involvement in foreign conflicts would only weaken the country. This isolationist sentiment was particularly strong in the years immediately following the war, but it gradually diminished as the Cold War emerged and the United States took on a more active role in world affairs.