Presidents and World War I

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World War I, although tragic, was instrumental in America's position as a world power. Though America's emergence as a power began in the Spanish-American War, it achieved the position of world power through World War I and solidified it through World War II. Additionally, World War I has influenced the United States today in a tremendous way. World War I (1914-1919), then known as the Great War, changed America in many ways. One way the Great War changed America is in its foreign policy. Before the war, America remained an isolationist nation. This means that Americans excluded themselves from world affairs and kept their focus on their own country. On some rare occasions, however, the United States lent nations in the Western Hemisphere a helping hand, but when it came to nations in the Eastern Hemisphere, the US was only interested in trading contracts. This attitude remained much the same even throughout the beginning of World War I. However, this changed when, on May 7, 1915, the British Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat. One hundred twenty-four Americans died in the tragedy. When confronted by President Woodrow Wilson, the Germans promised that similar incidents would not occur in the future, yet many more sinkings occurred. Fed up with German lies, the United States joined the Allied Powers on April 6, 1917 upon declaring war on Germany. This action changed their foreign policy of isolationism. World War I also changed America's economy and industries. When America joined the war, supplies like guns, ammunition, food, and uniforms were needed, so businesses stepped up to fill this demand. In addition, with most of the men at war, regular daily life halted and the rest of the people found jobs to help get su... ... middle of paper ... ...lit into two nations, Turkey and Bulgaria demanded peace, and Germany knew it could not stand the war alone. Therefore, when President Woodrow Wilson sent his "Fourteen Points" as an olive branch to Germany, the Central Powers accepted it and agreed to pursue a peace treaty. As a result of this agreement, World War I ended. Through World War I, the United States of America gained the admiration of the Eastern World. America's help in winning the war had established America as a great military power. America's boosted economy established its nation as an economic power. Finally, America's involvement in a foreign war gained worldwide respect and established the US as a national power. In conclusion, America, through the things it gained from the Great War, asended to the status of world power and is arguably the greatest world power that the world has ever seen.

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