WWI Analysis Examining the Significance and Impact of WWI on U.S. History

World War Analysis

WWI analysis examining the significance and impact of WWI on U.S. history

In the early 20th Century, a general fear existed that a huge war would break out due to the circumstances existing at that time and therefore every small incident was considered deadly. However the triggering factor was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand in June 1914 resulting in World War I (WWI) or the Great War. WWI took place from 1914 to 1918 and major countries took part in it; war resulting in drastic consequences such as collapse of economies and death of millions of people. The two main groups fighting against each other were Triple Alliance and Triple Entente (also known as the Western Powers). The U.S. did not participate in the war in the beginning and tried its best to remain neutral. However, it was forced to join the Triple Entente when German submarines sank ships in the Atlantic which had American citizens on it. There was needless killing and slaughtering and nearly 12 million died in Europe as a result of this war. Europe sustained a massive detriment due to the war and it broke into numerous new territories. Even though the number of casualties and deaths was extremely high, this War did have certain benefits to it and is particularly important in shaping U.S. history.

United States was not drastically affected by the war as compared to Europe and therefore its industry continued to flourish and prosper. While Europe was deeply involved in gathering its crushed economy, U.S. actively started supplying goods and meeting the demands of those countries that required help due to effects of the War. It's industry rose significantly and the rights of women were also positively affected. This War has a significant effect on the U.S. history as its economy was completely altered. Due to the high demands of the effected countries and territories, production had to be increased. To cope with the increasing demands, new technologies were formed in order to produce more in a less amount of time. This also lead to evolvement of working opportunities and women and minorities were employed to keep up with the rising demands. During the pre-War era, woman did not have the right to even vote. Nevertheless a dramatic change came after the war ended. During the conflict, the men had to go abroad to fight and therefore women were employed to work in factories thereon proving that they were strong and independent and consequently demanded that their rights be provided to them. It was argued that they were equal to men as they could work and take care of their homes at the same time and thus deserved equal treatment. Thereafter, this War had a huge impact on history as the movement for women's rights commenced after the ending of the War.

World War 1 also has a huge impact on the mental perspective and thinking of the American citizens and on the policies that were consequently formulated by the State. Before the War, the country was in a state of recession and it was in fact the huge amount of purchases required for the War such as ammunition and food that completely changed its circumstances. Furthermore, U.S. directly became involved in the world affairs rather than taking a back seat. Along with benefiting the women, this War also had a significant impact on minorities like African citizens. Most of them were employed in factories to keep up with the work load and demands. The next ten years after the War were the cause of great prosperity for U.S. Huge developments in radios and household items were made and new creations like cars and aeroplanes were formed. The standard of living was also significantly improved. During the mid-1920s U.S. was producing products that were distributed worldwide including the Ford line. Innovative ideas were introduced for example the proposal by Frederick W. Taylor on scientific management (Armstrong 2012-2013, 217) This ensured quicker production of products across the country leading to lowered production cost and consequently a reduced cost to the buyer. All these changes and improvements would probably not have occurred if U.S. had not participated in the World War 1. A significant impact was made to its industry and overall economy. The trend of products being issued on credit also commenced during the post-war period. Although warnings were made by economists with regards to the extensive number of products issued on credit; this was ignored by the American citizens. Focus was made on advertising and this altered the mind-set of the citizen as the same adverts were run regardless of discrimination in the regions. This resulted in diminishing of the distinction of classes and therefore a 'universal national culture' was created. (Armstrong 2012-2013, 217). Along with this focus was also made on portraying ideas through novels and therefore many famous novels were published during the 1920s. In these novels the writers aimed at delivering the message that Americans have become too involved with the idea of 'making money' and as a result deviated from their own culture. It was particularly criticized that that their values were lost in the post-War era. This stance that U.S. had taken regarding neutrality was now completely obsolete and therefore an end of the period of separateness from international affairs. The entire participation in the War became covered with the greed to make money. Their work did pay off eventually resulting in making it stable country with a booming economy. Nevertheless it can be observed that since participation in the War, the mind-set of the society has been completely altered. The basic purpose of every citizen is a stabilized income and savings for their retirement. This started as a result of the World War one. It is clearly seen that this War did not only have an economical effect but social and political as well. During the nineteenth century period huge chunks of money was received from other countries however during the World War One period this halted as all the finance was utilized for the War. The foreign investments came down to $3.3 billion from $7.2 billion (Rockoff, 2004, 20).