Early America Essays Example

The World War 1, which lasted a period of 4 years from July 1914 to November 1918, had a deep impact on the United States as a whole. The United States involvement on the war was vast, and it was the US that eventually ended the war. The World War 1 affected the US on many fronts. However, the greatest impact of the war was on civil liberties and democracy on the whole.
The United States involvement in the war meant that Woodrow Wilson's administration took some dramatic steps to ensure that support for the war was to its maximum. As such, the government began a propaganda campaign that was totally against the democratic principles laid by the governments before. The US Congress passed laws that ensured that views against the war were silenced. As a result, newspapers were censored from printing anti state views, anti war politicians were jailed, and mobs attacked people who were believed to be against the war involvement. These people were believed to be acting against the state, and strict measures were taken to ensure that voices against the war involvement were silenced. The steps taken by the government led to a loss of faith by the public in the system. However, while the very core of democracy was shaken during the war, the public's concern over what had happened led to the start of a twentieth century movement that aimed to safeguard the rights of the public. The movement granted the public the freedom to voice their opinion, something that they could not do during the World War 1.
After the war ended, the United States economy benefited from a period of huge growth. The economic boom led to many innovations in the 1920's, and these innovations greatly affected social lives of ordinary folk. People who could not find jobs previously benefited from a large number of jobs that the new industries had created. There was a trickle-down effect that allowed the poor to enjoy a higher standard of living, and improve their social standing as well. A whole new class was created, and this was called the middle class. Americans had more entertainment and recreation to enjoy that they had ever before. The creation of roads and the automobile meant that people could now travel across states and meet their loved ones.