World War 1
Through WWI, new inventions and innovations within the realm of war came to use during WWI. Tanks, artillery, aircrafts, and mostly trenches defined the first Great War. Along the boarder between France and Germany, thousands of miles of trenches were lined up one after another, stretching from the northern part of France, all the way to the southern part near Italy and Spain.
Political
1.)World War I was considered an "unlimited" war, because of the numerous amounts of people dedicated to the war, the money spent on weapons and more, an how much time was put into it. Woodrow Wilson was in office during this time. The United States entered the war in 1917 and this was the first time women could be involved, by being nurses and helping take care of the injured and wounded soldiers.
2.)In 1870, as a part of the plan to unify Germany, the Prussians attacked and defeated France, and then forced France to give up all the territory they owned along the German border. Germany and France became enemies and to protect itself, Germany signed alliances with Italy and Austria-Hungary. These alliances led to more tension within the world, eventually leading up to WWI.
Economic
1.)So much money was spent on weapons and other expenses for this war. $44 million was spent a day on weapons, other war necessities and expenses, and $32 billion was spent all together on the war in total. Also, income taxes were raised, so more money could come in and go toward expenses for the war.
2.) During World War I, a lot of new technology was invented. From big machines like tanks, to smaller hand-held grenades, everything and anything that made it possible to win the war was used. Also, War Bonds started going around to everyday Americans that were not in the war. War Bonds were used to help send food and supplies to soldiers in the war, to overall pay for the costly war.
Social
1.)The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty that ended World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination. In ten years, ten million people died, and 17 million lives were taken by the flu epidemic. Trench warfare was the new type of army strategy introduced at this time and played the decisive factor during the war.
2.) After World War I ended, there was a severe damage to U.S. weapons and supplies. The triple entente did not want to pay for the damages that they did not cause, so they forced Germany to pay off all reparations, compensating all countries that had significant damage within it, especially France who was conquered by Germany. This put Germany in debt, because they did not have the money to pay for all the damage. This made Germany very angry because the whole war was blamed on them even though they responded with reason after Franz was assassinated, this can even be tied to rise of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Progress?
Like any other war, WWI was not progress, on foreign terms at least, but there were some signs of progress within the terms of America itself. The Great War destroyed the country of France and most parts of Germany. To end the war, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, this treaty put full blame on Germany for the war, embarrassing a once proud country, the treaty also forced them to pay over $60 billion for war reparations. This huge sum of money that Germany was expected to pay sent it into great depression, Hitler will eventually get them out of it with some thanks to the too kind United States. After the war, President Wilson proposed a 14 point plan to deal with the war. Most of those points called for the cease of imperialism and the beginning of a new era without imperialism. The 14th point by Wilson wished for a League of Nations that would further abolish anymore world wars, this does not work (spoiler alert, sorry). Winning the war boasted American morale, along with the sense that buying war bonds and helping with victory gardens, gardens where the crops were sent to the war front, helped win the war gave most Americans a good feeling, one of belonging within their imperial power of the United States.
How WWI leads to the 20's
Boasting the moral gave nearly every American a good feeling, one of belonging. People came out of WWI with the feeling that they could triumph and conquer the world. Americans were in need of a long and prosperous peacetime, especially after a World War, a prolonged conquest of smaller countries, and a time of grueling change. New styles began to develop thanks to the new, younger generation, one that had come out triumphant after WWI. One style was the flapper, something you'll learn about in the next section.