Dawn Jefferson

Mr. Kern
US Government
14 March 2011

‘The impact of the First World War on The United States was more positive than negative.' How

far do you agree with this judgment?

As with any war the United States has been involved with, the impacts have redefined the

nation in some manner. The impacts have been both beneficial and harmful. This was especially

true of the impacts of the First World War. The First World War impacted society, the economy,

and politics. Depending on how one views these impacts, determines if the impacts were more

positive than negative. For this reason, when taking an overall view, there were more negative

impacts of this war than there were positive.

When viewing the impacts that the war had on society, both negative and positive effects

can be found. For instance, one very beneficial impact of the war was that women were

incorporated into the work force to replace men. This redefined the role of women in society and

gave them more opportunities. Women also gained suffrage as a result of the war. This was one

of the most beneficial ways that the war impacted society. However, race riots occurred as well

in societies. These riots did not benefit anyone and only caused problems there were not resolved

by the police force or National Guard. Labor strikes were also prevalent. The three greatest

strikes occurred in Seattle, Boston, and Gary, Indiana. Strikes are usually a result of civil

discontent and as these cause major problems in society. There were very few benefits of the war

seen in society and overall the impacts were disadvantageous.

The economy like society had impacts that were positive and negative, but mostly

negative. The greatest positive impact of World War I on the economy was that the United States

became a creditor nation after the war. This led to much prosper in 1920. However, financing the
war was detrimental. Income tax was created to finance the war, which no one wanted. Also, the

federal debt increased significant from being 1 billion in 1914 to 20 billion in 1919. Also, the

Food and Fuel Act, with Hoover at the head, caused people to pay higher prices for gain and

food. Industries such as the steel industry and Ford Motor Company were forced by the military

to aid war efforts and the War Industries Board led by Baruch. This took away their freedom that

they once had. The war created more debt, deprived industries of freedom, and caused people to

spend more of their money, none which was beneficial.