The Role of Economics and Technology in WWI

This history essay examines the profound influence of World War I on the United States. It explores how wartime mobilization shaped the economy, highlighting both periods of prosperity and the subsequent Great Depression. The essay also delves into the impact of technology, particularly radio, on American society during and after the war.

Running head: HISTORY ESSAY
HISTORY ESSAY
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Role of Economics in History
Even though the United States of America had been involved diligently in the First World
War for a period merely of 19 months, extending from 1917 April to 1918 November, the
economy’s mobilization was commendable. The First World War started in Europe in the year
1914. England, Russia and France, in one side were in opposition to against Austria-Hungary
and Germany. Numerous American ships were sunk in the ocean by Germany. Underwater boats
and submarines were used by Germany for sinking the ships in America. The United States
started to fight in the year 1917, for the First World War. Germany had become a weak and poor
nation, by the end of the First World War. It was assumed by the people that Germany could not
be a powerful nation again. However, the United States had become a huge world power after
the First World War. After the First World War, United States had witnessed around 10 years of
good economic condition. The nation was at harmony and peace, with good economic condition.
In the year 1929, the economic condition has witnessed a transformation (Saez, 2013). The
economical condition of the United States of America had fallen steeply. From the year 1929 to
1939 United States had experienced a period of huge depression. The businesses and banks in the
United States were being closed. People in the U.S. faced unemployment at a massive rate. There
was a lack of food and money in general. This period had been referred to as the Great
Depression. There were many causes or reasons of depression. A reason for the causation of the
great depression was that the farms and factories were producing too many things or goods.
Secondly, several European countries were unable to purchase the goods of America for not
having money. As a result, the goods that were produced by the factories in America, basically
had no market. Another reason for the causation of the Great depression was that a large amount

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of money had been borrowed by the individuals. The United States experienced a tough time
during the period of the great depression. Until the year 1940, the economical condition of the
United States did not improve (Eucken, 2012).
WAR – “What was it good for?”
The then President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson were seeking to maintain the
neutrality of United States, but did not succeed in keeping the United States out of the First
World War, mainly due to the increasing German aggression. In the year 1915, the Germans had
sunk RMS Lusitania, the British ocean liner, that had more than hundreds of Americans on
board. Wilson had given a warning that it would not be permitted by the United States, any
warfare of unrestricted submarine or any further international law violation. The First World War
had a huge effect on the politics, society and culture of the United States. The counsel for the
female suffrage effectively associated the women’s patriotic efforts in the war with rights to
vote. The strategy was extremely helpful, as subsequently in the year 1920, the United States
Congress made the ratification of the 19th Amendment that guaranteed the right of women to
vote. During the First World War, transmission by radio many a times were considered to be less
reliable than the usage of telegraph or wired telephone. Radio had found a footing, at the sea,
even earlier than the direct involvement of the United States in the First World War (Rydell,
2013). President Wilson’s 1914 Executive Order allowed the Navy to censor international
telegrams sent or received via radio. The major improvement offered by radio over messaging
system like the Morse code were accuracy and speed afforded by using the communication of
voice. Advancement in radio technologies like amplifiers, oscillators, the electron tubes made the
possibility of dependable voice communications. The wireless or the radio rapidly proved to be
very useful for the wartime efforts. Operators of radio with portable transmitter, were capable of

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warning the soldiers of a poisonous gas attack, by making them alert to put on the gas masks
("America and World War One - History Learning Site", 2017).
How technology has affected history talk about the radio impact in the United States
The study of the history of American radio has been conventionally divided into two
segments. ‘Wireless telegraphy’ represented the phase before the year 1921 when radio had been
slightly more than the wireless telegraph, and after the year of 1921 where the radio had been
modified into a medium for broadcasting by discovering the feature of voice transmission. The
communication of radio played an important role for every combatant during the First World
War ("13. Radio During World War One (1914-1919)", 2017). However, during the period
earlier than mechanization, transportation of the army was mostly dependant on the horses and
mules. In terms of the history of technology, the First World War is considered to be important
as it marked the introduction of various new kinds of weapons. Furthermore, it was the earliest
crucial war to take advantage from the technological advancement in electrical power, radio and
other technological fields. The most essential advancement in the radio was the voice
transmission rather than the code. Even advancement in the technology of electricity made a
massive influence on the war. Another example can be taken of the Battleships, which might
have electronic signaling lamps, electronic fire alarms, remote control, an electronic helm
indicator and others (Galbraith, 2015). A further example can be taken of Submarines, which
became effective weapons. Even though submarines had been existing for quite a few years,
during the First World War they began to fulfill their potentialities as a considerable threat.

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Works cited
Primary sources
Eucken, W. (2012). The foundations of economics: History and theory in the analysis of
economic reality. Springer Science & Business Media.
Galbraith, J. K. (2015). The new industrial state. Princeton University Press.
Rydell, R. W. (2013). All the world's a fair: Visions of empire at American international
expositions, 1876-1916. University of Chicago Press.
Saez, E. (2013). Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States (updated
with 2012 preliminary estimates). Berkeley: University of California, Department of
Economics. http://elsa. berkeley. edu/~ saez/saez-UStopincomes-2012. pdf et The World
Top Incomes Database. http://topincomes. gmond. parisschoolofeconomics. eu.
Secondary sources
13. Radio During World War One (1914-1919). (2017). Earlyradiohistory.us. Retrieved 27
October 2017, from http://earlyradiohistory.us/sec013.htm
America and World War One - History Learning Site. (2017). History Learning Site. Retrieved
27 October 2017, from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/america-and-
world-war-one/

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