The Age of World War: World History 1914 - 1945 Main Menu World Around 1914: Gandhi The World in the Era of Nationalism and Imperialism (1848-1914) The First World War The Long Russian Revolution (1917 – 1929) The Decline of the West? Europe from 1919 – 1929 A New Middle East: The Rise of the Middle East State System China Between Qing Collapse and WWII Latin America Between Boom and Bust (1911-1929) Africa Under Colonial Rule: Politics and Race from 1914‐1939 The United States from The First World War to the Great Depression Three Varieties of Radicalism in the 1930s: Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and Imperial Japan Three Responses to Modernity: Ho Chi Minh, Ibn Saud and Getulio Vargas The Second World War

Introduction

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World War I represented a turning point in the history of the United States. For sure, the United States had been growing in influence throughout the latter part of the 19th century and in the first decade and a half of the 20th, but it was only at the end of the war that the United States could claim the status of first among the great powers. In some sense, this great power status should not come as a surprise. The United States had been gaining ground on the European powers since independence in 1776 and especially since the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865. The next phase of American history witnessed the following important trends:

1) Nationalism: An increased sense of American nationalism based on the construction of a common American cultural identity. This was largely a product of the dramatically expanded state educational sphere and the assertion of American power abroad.

2) Economic growth: A rapid expansion of the American economy, industrially, financially and agriculturally occurred in the United States from the Civil War to WWI. This expansion moved the United States from one of the world’s largest economies to far and away largest and most productive national economy in the world, far outpacing both Great Britain and Germany, its closest rivals. 

3) Imperialism: The era around the turn of the century witnessed the assertion of American power abroad. This was the era of Teddy Roosevelt – the era of American imperialist expansion in Latin American and Asia. This “imperialism” did not always take a direct military form. More often than not it was economic imperialism, as in the Caribbean, Central and South America. 

4) Immigration: a massive wave of immigration hit the United States in the decades after the Civil War, bringing millions of new (working age) people into the country. This immigration was a critical piece of the American puzzle. Without it, economic expansion to the degree that the United States experienced would have been impossible. Wages would have risen quickly, putting a check on industrial production. The great infrastructural projects – like the building of the world’s largest railway system – would not have been possible had not the U.S. labor force been given such a powerful re-enforcement. 

5) Progressivism: the birth of U.S. progressive movement was in many ways a direct result of the huge social changes brought about by the triple forces of industrialization, immigration and urbanization. People, especially the growing middle class, realized that without changes to the social fabric, large-scale social problems would threaten the entire country. As a result, organizations (mostly non-governmental) were created to advocate for certain causes – prohibition, workers’ rights, women’s rights, food safety, urban renewal, poverty relief, education reform, and minority rights. Progressive reformers were motivated by many different sets of ideals, whether they be religious, communist, anarchist, or scientific.

Map of United States After Civil War 

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  1. The United States from The First World War to the Great Depression Seth Rogoff

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