WWI & WWII: Shaping 20th Century US Govt & People - Essay Sample

Introduction

The First World War (WWI) was begun in 1914 and was fought up to 1918 while the Second World War (WWII) was started in 1039 and came to an end in 1945, the two types of war included military alliances amongst different groups of countries. The relationship between the federal government and the people of America changed much in the period between WW1 and WW2 through the Great Depression and New Deal. These events constituted very useful economic events of the 20th century. The effects of the war reached far and were varied. The war authoritatively brought to an end the depression.

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The federal government emerged from the war as a potent economic actor able to regulate economic activity and partially control the economy through expenditure and consumption. The America industry was revitalized by the war, and other more sectors were either sharply oriented to defense production, for instance, electronics and aerospace or dependent on it completely like the case of atomic energy by the year 1945.

The organized labor movement was given strength by the war beyond the depression era and became the main counterbalance to both the government and the private industries. The scientific and technological changes that were rapid during the war continued to intensify trends started during the Great Depression and resulted in innovation by many scientists, engineers, citizens, and officials of the government. The wars global scale severely damaged every major economy in the world except that of the United States which relished extraordinary monetary and party-political supremacy after 1945.

The involvement of America in World War II has an essential impact on the workforce and economy of the United States. During this period, America was recovering from the consequences it had received from the Great Depression. Factories in America were retooled to yield goods to offer support to war, and the rate of unemployment dropped from 25% to 10 %.

More women were employed to take the posts of the men in the assembly lines because the men were being sent to go and fight. Before World War II, women had received discouragement from taking work outside their homes. After the war, they were being encouraged to perform the job that was considered to be those termed as men's (Mead, 2013). The companies that were in existence changed their line of goods from consumer good to war materials, new firms were established for the production of products for the war.In Ankeny, the Des Moines ordinance plant was already underneath assembly when the declaration of war was made. By 1942 30 and 50 caliber machine gun ammunition began to roll off the line.

Japan was defeated in World War II, the United States of America led the allies in the occupation and rehabilitation of the Japanese state. Between 1945 and 1952 through General Douglas A. MacArthur U.S occupying forces endorsed prevalent soldierly, party-political, monetary and societal improvements. The new deal referred to a series of programs and projects established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, which the main aim was the restoration of Americans prosperity. These programs included those of CCC, the WPA, the TVA, and the SEC among others, which the main goal was the restoration of fortune and self-worth to Americans.

References

Mead, W. R., (2013). Special Providence: American foreign policy and how it changed the world. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136758676