What Was The Positive And Negative Effects Of The United States Involvement In The World War?

Wars emerge when a dispute between two or more countries becomes too intense, and World War I is a more serious form of this conflict. Like in any war, it is not only the army or government that is affected, but also the people are harmed. Some will benefit from it while others get the exact opposite effect, and the important part is whether the sacrifice was worth it or not. Even though the United States tried to stay neutral during World War I, their involvement in this conflict had positive and negative impacts in economic and political developments, but the out doing of the benefits demonstrates that the US involvement in the war was in fact a positive event.
Before 1917, the United States was a neutral country that wanted to stay isolated,
One of the most noticeable was inflation. During World War I, the army needed more resources, like food, more than the people. In response, when there was any good available for the people, the price for them was very high making the dollar value drop (Harries 435). This meant that the people not only had their money value drop, but were also unable to buy the goods they could have bought if there was no war which changed people’s lives drastically. Another harmful effect on the nation’s economy by World War I was the increase of taxation. The cost for World War I was colossal and the United States could not rely solely on loans to be able to support itself, so they started taxing progressively. It started by taxing 1% for income over $3,000 and 2% for over $1,000, and it ended by taxing 1% for incomes over $5,000 and 50% for over $2 million (Cashman 507). These heavy taxations shows how the United States were so in need of money that they had to start taxing extra to make up partial cost of the war. If all those extra taxes could have gone to public services instead of war funds, the United States might been able to advance diversely. Generally speaking, even if there were some benefits from the war, the fact that it also had negative impacts cannot be
One big change in their political structure was women working on full time jobs. Since most men were deported to war, women started to take up men’s position not only in factories, but also as messengers, telephone operators, statistician, and even translators (Harries 436-37). The event that made this opportunity possible was the war which drafted millions of men from their jobs to the army (“World War I”). This was a big change because before the war even happened, it was rare to see women with full time jobs with men’s income. Women were supposed to be in the house taking care of the children, cleaning the house, and cooking food. Now, the big benefit for women was that they can hold full time jobs with wages equal to men’s. Another benefit in the United States’ politics was that women gained the right to vote. In 1919, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment which allowed women suffrage (Harries 437). This was a strong change in women’s political power. Before, they could not even have a full time job, but now, they were even allowed to vote. Not only that, but it also helped them live more comfortably in society. The same as the positive economic impact on the United States, World War I also had a positive effect in American