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Economic and social impacts of WW1
The effects of World War 1 on Britain
Economic impact of world war 1
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Total war involved the “governments, economies and populations of participating nations”, and occurred during World War One. This war was the first to experience the concept. “Total war” was a term created by German general Paul von Ludendorff in the 1930s. Rather than just the military, many in the nation were called to help (Llewellyn et al.). Total war impacted the economy and industries such as agriculture and weaponry.
In Britain, total war primarily showed its effects a week after war was declared. The British parliament at Westminster passed the Defence of the Realm Act. This act allowed the government to “use censorship, the authority to imprison without trial and the power to court martial and execute civilians” (Llewellyn et al.). Through this act, several liberties were limited in the interest of preventing further damages from the war. These include censorship of the press, a situation in which most of the time, only government employed journalists were allowed to report. In addition, what was allowed to be printed in the newspaper, and what was sent through mail, telegraph, and telephone were censored. Leisure activities such as lighting bonfires and flying kites, and consuming alcohol were interdicted. After 1915, in which, at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, “the British Expeditionary Force struggled to accumulate enough shells for
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Companies who made weapons were privately owned, but worked together to achieve a common goal set by the government. France produced the most weapons of the allies: “By 1918 French producers were making 1,000 artillery guns, 261,000 shells and six million bullets per month. At the outbreak of war there were 162 aircraft in France; by 1918 there were more than 11,800”. Though prospering in weapon production, France’s success took a toll on the citizens. The people of France experienced low wages, high taxes, and rising prices (Llewellyn et
World War I had placed great strains on the economies of the most European nations that were involved in the conflict. With trade agreements with countries like Britain, France and United Kingdom America’s economy flourished, as they forced these countries to accept goods in exchange for debt. The economy of America soared to new heights. America’s abundant natural resources and technological advances were used to become leaders in manufactured exports. (Encl) Usually the general public would opposed big business owners to partner with government, but as the lifestyles of many Americans elevated these relationships were accepted. By the end of the decade, 1910 to 1919, annual incomes rose from $580 to $1300 setting the stage for the “crazy years” known as the “Roaring Twenties”.
Factories in Europe mass produced the materials that were needed for war; they produced guns, tanks ,airplanes ,automobiles ,ammunition and replacement parts needed for the war effort. Industrialisation helped the war effort tremendously, by producing the goods that were needed for the war. Without Industrialization, the weapons for the war wouldn’t be easily accessible. The soldiers were getting many supplies that they needed from factories.
Yancey, C. Arthur, and 2001. "World War One - The War To End All Wars." Tripod. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
government enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 which led to the suppression of anti-war documents and sentiments, as well as the prosecution of over two-thousand individuals.#
Roger Chickering, a prominent Historian at Georgetown University in the United States of America, argues that total war is “distinguished by its unprecedented intensity and extent. Theatres of operations span the globe; the scale of battle is practically limitless… Total war requires the mobilization not only of armed forces but also of whole populations. The most crucial determinant of total war is the widespread, indiscriminate, and deliberate inclusion of civilians as legitimate military targets " , moreover Chickering reasons that total war “directs attention to techniques of modern warfare at every level of combat” and that “The wholesale involvement of civilians in war, as active participants and as victims, is one of the most significant hallmarks of total war” . Chickering’s comprehensive definition lays a foundation to show how the French did indeed fight a total war during 1914-1918. The French military effort throughout the First World War is an illustration of total war: the development in military hardware, for example the development of air power from reconnaissance aircraft to bombers; the mass mobilization and the mass produced warfare that created a vast amount of casualties suffered in battles such as Verdun, all demonstrate one hallmark of total war in the French Republic. Additionally, the French home front, which facilitated the war economy, further validates the argument that the French did fight a total war between 1914-1918. For example, the Dalbiez law of June 1915 exemplifies that the French did not solely fight the war on the battlefield, like previous wars, such as the Franco-Prussian war, showing its extensity, concentrating on both industrial mobilization and the military. Moreover, Government polic...
As the American economy was gradually recovering thanks to the New Deal, Roosevelt decided to increase interaction with neighboring countries. When the Second World War began, Roosevelt saw it as an opportunity to increase production and boost America’s economy. During the 1930 to 1940s, the production of munitions greatly increased. The Second World War significantly increased American economic interaction with South America, Great Britain, and Canada. This lead to greater relations between Latin America and a faster victory as U.S. citizens began to see a shift in economic, political, and social ideals.
They are many ways to approach a conflict in order to find a resolution. For minimal actions people are often willing to talk about it, but for major actions the solutions to those problems are usually acted out by violence thus, the creation of war. For many centuries countries have been going to war over disagreements. However, it is not any type of disagreements; it is usually about the political beliefs of certain countries. In fact, World War 1 was caused by the disagreements of the European countries in power which were Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Some of the countries had a difference of opinion concerning political values on ruling the country. Some were in favour of nationalism, imperialism, or militarism which caused physical conflict and created war. (Duffy) Many soldiers had to go fight to represent their country and make them proud. Many novels have been written to explain to the people how the war had a psychological impact on the soldiers who participated in The Great War, but in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque he explains the true depth of war by implicating his knowledge of his days as a German soldier fighting on the western front. Remarque’s awful war experience influenced him to write his novel to show the realistic brutality of war by graphic violence, the emotional impacts on the privates as well as the impact of nationalism by the Germans.
Before in the introduction, the essay introduced limited war and total war, and there is a difference between the two wars. Limited war is war with restriction such as weapon usage (not using nuclear weapons) and territories involved. A limited war follows the ‘Just War Theory’, while total war is solely meant on pure obliteration of opposing side.
Historians generally refer to WWI as the first 'total war'. It was the first conflict in which modern industrialized societies mobilized their complete economic, technological and psychological resources in order to wage war. Unlike earlier wars, which involved relatively small numbers of soldiers on the battlefield, it affected many aspects of the lives of civilian populations and demanded enormous sacrifices and support from them. Mobilization of the home front was crucial to achieving military victory. Some of the main aspects of Total War include conscription of men into the armed services, increased government control of the economy and daily lives of citizens and subsequent loss of personal liberty. Control of the labor force, physical safety and security of civilian populations threatene...
Social, Political and Economic Effects of WWI. Everywhere in the world heard the sound of things breaking." Advanced European societies could not support long wars or so many thought prior to World War I. They were right in the way.
The war far surpassed the initial time frame set by the population, and soon the glory of war wore out, leading to people tiring of the war. In fact, many people believed that they had a worse time at home than the soldiers, as seen in “All Quiet on the Western Front”, where a civilian states, “Naturally, it’s worse here [than at the front]” (Remarque, 166). This belief was caused due to the governments waging a total war, meaning that “countries devoted all their resources to the war effort” (Beck, 419). As a result, the government controlled the economy, rationed out supplies, and made sure most factories were converted into munition factories. When soldiers returned to the home front on leave, they often downplayed the war in order to avoid talking about the tragedies they faced on the
The federal government issued thousands of contracts to make war goods. The largest beneficiaries of the government's largesse were the existing large corporations. "The big got bigger," Norton tells us, and the government "guaranteed profits in the form of cost-plus-fixed fee contracts, generous tax write-offs, and exemption from antitrust prosecution." Large universities received research contracts. Farming came to be dominated by "large-scale mechanized companies and farm co-ops" rather than family farms. The war "accelerated" this trend because "wealthy institutions were better able… to pay for expensive new machinery" (Norton 524 and 525).
World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It had many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail.
Many countries in the western world experienced the industrial revolution. This revolution brought many jobs, opportunities, as well as technology to feed a world war. Technology evened both sides of the war. With the upbringing of heavy artillery such as machine guns, poison gas, land mines, planes able to drop precise bombs, and submarines able to attack from under the water, lessened the hand-to-hand combat time. The war was said to be the Great War, the "war to end all wars.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.