Discuss The Effects Of The First World War On North America

The First World War, a conflict that impacted civilization and the way humans see it, initiated the 20th century. Furthermore, it changed the course of history, influencing all countries around the world in various ways. After World War I, political policies and economic systems started changing drastically worldwide. Countries in North America and East Asia both experienced similar transformations in their political position in the globe, but separated paths when the effects of the war forced them to choose an economic route and changed their futures forever.

North America and East Asia had one similar outcome from World War I: political isolationism. The “Great War” was a shock to the world; never had a war killed so many for such a
Global economic instability was a direct effect of World War I, due to the fact that Germany had to pay for the majority of the reparations of the war and, thus, Europe completely depended on the United States, the only country undamaged from the war. When the United States produced more goods than people could buy, economy collapsed worldwide. However, different regions responded very differently to this recession. In North America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the “New Deal”, a series of reforms that would impact the economic policies of the United States for all time. These reforms would secure the United States’ path to capitalism, as more people benefited from the New Deal and did not require a change of economic system. This was different in East Asia, specifically in China, where the economic decline, triggered by World War I, greatly affected the people and forced them to look for different solutions. China was suffering from a weak economy while simultaneously trying to defeat Japan, whose imperialism surged as a result of the First World War. When the CCP was able to overcome imperialism and the economic collapse, China turned to communism. Thus, World War I was both guilty of encouraging capitalism in North America and communism in East Asia. The unreasonable sanctions of the Treaty of
World War I created the perfect path for the United States to become the next global power. The war led to the collapse of the European civilization as European powers suffered from political and economical chaos. Hence, the United States was the only nation to benefit from World War I, as its culture and economy thrived with electricity, movies, radio, and phones being developed. On the other hand, in East Asia, World War I caused the Chinese civilization to weaken even further. Politically, China faced against civil war and imperialistic invasions; economically, it was behind in industrialization and did not thrive as the Western World had done a century ago. This is because World War I drove Japan to colonize Chinese territory, turned China into an isolated, broken civilization, and, eventually, gave rise to communism in the country and a long lasting political and economic havoc. It is astonishing how a single war could so drastically and distinctly change the fate of two different civilizations. China stifled with economic and political disorder for the next century, with a halt in cultural and social progress, while the United States was culturally enlightened and socially developed. If the war’s outcomes and treaties had been different then neither the United States would’ve had the chance to