The Mistake America Did During World War I - History Essay Example

The American society and her leadership widely participated in the World War I. However, a number of scholars and experts have argued that President Woodrow Wilson made some mistakes by participating in the inevitable war. For instance, according to Haythornthwaite, President Woodrow did not anticipate the real consequences of the war and instead thought that entry World War I would end the occurrence of any war in future. On the contrary, the war was costly, volatile and led to destruction of property. Moreover, economists and war experts blamed Wilson for the rise of totalitarian regimes and the Second World War.

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Before the beginning of the World War I, America had emerged the worlds best economy. To elaborate, it had advanced in production and manufacturing industries. Moreover, the country had great trade links with some countries from different allies. The U.S had emerged the worlds industrial leader in the period of Roaring Twenties which was characterized by the massive rise in consumerism for wealth. Initially, America had planned to participate as a mediator during the war and maintain relationships with her trading partners.

However, The Great Britain and France were not interested in Americas mediation role but rather its full support and involvement in the War. As a result, the country joined the war which led to loss of lives and destruction of property. To be specific, more than 6 million people perished during the war and US spent over $32 billion which was about 52% of the gross national products. Furthermore, World War I resulted to great debts from the international capital markets.

According to Haythornthwaite, if the US had stayed out of the war, other allies would have engaged in an intensive form of negotiation. For instance, the countries consisting of France, Britain, Russia, Italy and Japan would engage in negotiation with central powers which had Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Although the negotiation could have not resulted to a win-win situation for all the allies, it would have reduced the level of catastrophes. Therefore, President Wilson was responsible for the consequences of the war in America and in other countries.

Lastly, Wilsons policies about the Bolshevik coup led to emergence of the Soviet Communism which tortured and killed almost 62 million people. The World War I as well resulted to instability in the American society. For instance, the US was not able to control its allies such as the losers and the winners of the war. Moreover, Wilson administration could not control Congress. As a result, the Congress refused to support the League of Nation that President Wilson administration facilitated its formation to promote peace among different countries.

In summary, the end of World War I led to emergence of strong union in America. The rate of inflation increased and different sectors laid lay off workers to reduce the operating cost. The stiff competition in the labor field led to increase in racial unrest and workers protest, thus, breeding suspicion and hatred among Americans. The introduction of Prohibition by Wilson administration led to increase in cases of organized crimes, rise in violence, and massive political corruption. Therefore, the repercussions for the Word War I to Americans was adverse because it led to destruction of the properties, death of persons and deterioration of the economy.

Bibliography

Haythornthwaite, P. J. (1996). The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armor.