The Role of the United States
This graph shows the statistics of immigration to the United States.
Throughout the 1800’s millions of European immigrants set sail to come to the United States. This resulted in the United States having a plethora of different cultures such as French, German, British, and several other countries that eventually were involved in World War 1. Therefore, when the Great War came about in 1914 there was a great deal of indecision about whose side to take. In the end the opinion of the American born citizens won over because they wanted to stay out of war, which was a successful effort for the first three years. This was the common viewpoint up until a German submarine sunk a British ship carrying 128 U.S. citizens as passengers. All who were on board were killed, and this outraged Americans. Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States at the time, was now urged to declare war on Germany and keep world peace.
America joined the war in 1917. Originally they had just provided a great deal of weapons, materials, etc. for the Allies (the British and French), but as Germany’s threatening army progressed the U.S. sent soldiers for reinforcements. It did not take long for the war to end after the Americans joined, fighting ceased in 1918.
The Great War caused quite a rollercoaster ride for the economy of the United States. Since so many countries were dependent on the materials provided by the U.S., an increase in the economy began. More factories were producing more weapons, which needed more employees so a great deal of new jobs were created from the war. Since there were thousands of men being sent off to war, many women started participating in the industry and getting jobs in factories. New technologies were developed to keep up with the war and needs of other countries. Everything was going pretty well until the war ended. The factories did not need to produce nearly as much as they were for the war, so much less jobs were needed. Thousands of men, who had been fighting in Europe, came back unemployed. Even the women were upset because they still did not have the same rights as men, even though they had been doing their jobs while they were at war. They demanded more rights, especially the ability to vote. This “booming” economy took only a few years to turn to ruins.
The results of World War 1 definitely contributed to the cause of The Great Depression in the United States in 1929. Europe was extremely chaotic, new governments had been established, half of the nation had been ruined by war and needed rebuilding, and economies destroyed. America was the only stable world power at the time, so they were very willing to give loans to the European countries that needed some fixing up. Unfortunately, the weakened European economy could not give anything back to the U.S. Also, as mentioned earlier unemployment was very high after the war, which contributed to the Great Depression. The United States had a major role in World War 1, and the outcome could have been drastically different without it.
America joined the war in 1917. Originally they had just provided a great deal of weapons, materials, etc. for the Allies (the British and French), but as Germany’s threatening army progressed the U.S. sent soldiers for reinforcements. It did not take long for the war to end after the Americans joined, fighting ceased in 1918.
The Great War caused quite a rollercoaster ride for the economy of the United States. Since so many countries were dependent on the materials provided by the U.S., an increase in the economy began. More factories were producing more weapons, which needed more employees so a great deal of new jobs were created from the war. Since there were thousands of men being sent off to war, many women started participating in the industry and getting jobs in factories. New technologies were developed to keep up with the war and needs of other countries. Everything was going pretty well until the war ended. The factories did not need to produce nearly as much as they were for the war, so much less jobs were needed. Thousands of men, who had been fighting in Europe, came back unemployed. Even the women were upset because they still did not have the same rights as men, even though they had been doing their jobs while they were at war. They demanded more rights, especially the ability to vote. This “booming” economy took only a few years to turn to ruins.
The results of World War 1 definitely contributed to the cause of The Great Depression in the United States in 1929. Europe was extremely chaotic, new governments had been established, half of the nation had been ruined by war and needed rebuilding, and economies destroyed. America was the only stable world power at the time, so they were very willing to give loans to the European countries that needed some fixing up. Unfortunately, the weakened European economy could not give anything back to the U.S. Also, as mentioned earlier unemployment was very high after the war, which contributed to the Great Depression. The United States had a major role in World War 1, and the outcome could have been drastically different without it.