America today is one of the most powerful figures in the world, but most people do not know how or when it rose to power. It occurred in the 1990s when America became the richest nation in the world. World War 1 showed the world what America was capable of, as well as causing many other powerful figures in Europe to fall. The 1910s were also a time of great innovation, as many things, including Oreos and Campbell soup were made, as well as an increase of people who used cars and electricity, not to mention the rising popularity of the movie industry. However, people struggled both outside of America with the war and strong feelings against “certain countries”, as well as internally with racism, women’s suffrage, prohibition, political trouble, and the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. All of these problems, and more, makes “The Decade of Struggle” an appropriate title for the 1910s due to the struggles that it endured both externally and internally.
World War 1, also called “The Great War” prior to World War 2, was fought from 1914 to 1918 and was the first total war, or the first war that distinguished soldiers and civilians (UXL 1; “Origins” 1; Gale 1). Although there were believed to be many reasons for starting the war, the one that is mostly agreed on by historians is the assassination of the archduke Ferdinand and his wife (UXL 1; “Origins” 2; Gale 1). The United States of America didn’t join until 1917 (UXL 3; Gale 2). However, it was a major turning point when they did (UXL 3). There were 2 main causes of the United States entering the war. The first was because they deciphered a message send from Germany that was meant to be delivered to Mexico, stating that if Mexico joined the war, it would obtain the territories that it lost to America (UXL 3; Gale 1). The second was because a German submarine sank a British ship with 128 Americans on it (Gale 1). Despite then-President Woodrow Wilson’s protest against Germany’s submarine program, Germany announced that all ships headed to Britain would be sunk, as well as beginning to sink American ships (Gale 1). This lead to anti-German sentiment in America (UXL 3). Most US citizens were supporting involvement in the war, with a large number volunteering to be soldiers (Gale 2). These volunteers, along with a draft calling for men between the ages of 18 and 25, lead to the American army growing from about 250,000 soldiers to over 4 million.
World War 1 was the first war that used trenches in combat (UXL 1). Trench life for the soldiers was both dangerous and boring, as the trenches made for a slow-moving war, as well as extremely unsanitary (UXL 2). In April 1918, American soldiers engaged in significant fighting, the end of the war seeming far off (Gale 3). In August, the First U.S. Army was given its own mission, which was to push back the German advance in northeastern France to prevent them from seizing important railroad facilities (Gale 3). This campaign ended up a success (Gale 3). The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, launched in late September, was much bloodier than the battle in France (Gale 3). This operation showed the Germans that their chance to win the war before the U.S. fully entered the battle was lost, causing them to surrender on November 11, 1918 (Gale 3; UXL 3-4). An armistice (temporary peace agreement) was declared (Gale 3). These battles were important because it showed the world what America was capable of. The American soldiers also struggled, however, supporting the title chosen for the decade. Millions of Americans, both civilians and soldiers, would die, be wounded, and/or obtain psychological trauma.
After the war, the terms of peace treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles, were “hammered out” (Gale 3). The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war with Germany and was signed June 28, 1919 (Gale 3). Included among its 440 articles were demands that Germany accept full responsibility for causing the war, paying $5 billion (eventually $28 billion was also added), reparations to other countries, loss of territory, and inability to manufacture weapons or form a military (Gale 3; UXL 4). Germany initially refused, but were in no condition to (UXL 4). Many historians believed that Germany’s punishment was excessive, and instead of fostering peace, lead to bitterness and resentment that resulted in World War 2 (Gale 3). During the course of the war, about 2 million U.S. soldiers fought in France (Gale 3). 53,000 died in battle, while 200,000 were wounded and 60,000 died from diseases (Gale 3). Many survivors developed severe psychological trauma from the war, which came to be known as “shell shock” (Gale 3). In total, 9,000,000 people died over the course of the war, with 1,000,000 of them being civilians (UXL 4). Millions more developed permanent, crippling injuring; so many soldiers returned home with facial disfigurements that plastic surgery started being performed (UXL 4). The war not only affected Americans, but many other groups as well. This further supports the argument of this decade being “The Decade of Struggle”, and many Americans were wounded or killed during the course of the war.
Although World War 1 strained everyone involved and a few not involved, America still had plenty of conflict to take care of inside of it. Women suffragettes were still protesting after a century, and prohibition, while believed to be a good idea at first, caused people’s desire for alcohol to grow even stronger. After the American Revolution, alcohol consumption rates raised dramatically (“Prohibition” 1)
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