The main socio-economic consequences of the Great War for people in the United States are significant human and material losses, inflation, the crisis in agriculture, and the arrival of neo-mercantilism. The United States has experienced a real shock, moral and spiritual devastation. On the contrary, when the country lost faith in technological progress and human well-being, changes appeared in all spheres of state life at the turn of the century (Ives, 2017).
These included a decline of the church and family’s authority, the rapid growth of cities, the national market and consumer goods, and the flourishing of industry (Shi, 2021). America has turned from a debtor of European countries into a creditor. The nation, by and large, ‘lived one day’ – mastered technical innovations, selflessly made, and spent money without losing sight of anything.
City life was in full swing; extraordinary progress was visible in everything in the era of the 20s. Every day, about 300,000 people passed through the city, and many of them moved from small villages for a new life; the citizens walked, drank, and had fun. The US Congress introduced the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting producing, selling, and transporting alcoholic beverages. People were looking for reasons to evade the law in every possible way (Burns & Novick, 2011). They wanted to enjoy life with all their might after the difficulties they had experienced.
The contradictory and unpredictable 20s are a moment of economic and social upheavals in the country. The demand for minerals and logging has decreased, and the production of construction materials and appliances began to weaken due to the lack of high demand for housing construction. There was a correlation in citizens’ income, and not everyone could earn a good living (The New York Network, 2010). Prices rose, but wages remained the same level; people were unbalanced in distributing income and forced to take out loans. Americans began to gamble on the stock market, and farmers could not sell enough food.
The annual income of farmers has significantly decreased without international demand for the crop. Soon, they got bogged down in debts and loans, and some of them were even forced to sell their lands. In 1929, people started buying shares in the hope of getting rich quickly. Such ‘purchases’ led to unforeseen consequences – poverty, misery, and new debts. Thus, confusion dominated the public mindset of post-war America and contrasted sharply with the country’s material prosperity.
References
Burns, K. & Novick, L. (2011). Prohibition [Film]. Florentine Films, WETA, Prohibition Film Project, National Endowment for the Humanities.
Ives, S. (2017). The Great War: American experience [Film]. Insignia Films.
The New York Network. (2010). Regents review 2.0: The Great Depression [Video]. The New York Network.
Shi, D. E. (2021). America: A narrative history (11th ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.