Even though the war had helped the USA in many ways, it had also created new problems. Unemployment was another big issue that rised as a result of the war. In 1919, four million soldiers were demobbed, while at the same time, industries geared up high levels of production during the war, so returning soldiers had much trouble finding employment. Also prices had doubled between 1914 and 1919, while wages had pretty much stayed the same. This resulted in violent strikes, which went on throughout 1919.
Another few social and economic problems caused by the war included fear of radicalism and race riots. The war had resulted in the Communist revolution in Russia, and in 1919 Communist parties were established in America. This outcome has led to a wave of bomb attacks by anarchists. Also race riots existed in 23 cities across the USA. A large number of black people who had moved to the northern cities from the south were attacked by the white communities. The riots were also a response to the discrimination and poor economic state of affairs that the black communities faced after the war.
Immigration problems had raised a lot since the war. The vast majority of Americans wanted to end the open-door policy which had brought millions of people to the USA in the nineteenth century. There wasn’t much land available and industries became more mechanised, thus the need for workers decreased. Most of the immigrants were poor labourers with very little education and as a result of this; people’s attitudes towards immigrants became intolerable. In 1917 a literacy test was needed before they would be allowed into America to prove they could read a 40-word passage, which disadvantaged people from Europe, Italy and Russia. But this just led to immigrant ‘ghettos’ appearing in the northern cities of America, where a large amount of crimes and prositution took place. The result of this was a widespread intolerance of foreigners which continued into the 1920’s.
Isolationism was another big issue which resulted because of the war. President Woodrow Wilson very much wanted the USA to take a leading role in world affairs after the war. But, a large number of people believed that America had done way more than enough in the First World War. The majority of Americans did not want their soldiers to be injured or killed trying to resolve problems around the world. In 1919 and 1920 Congress disagreed to support Woodrow Wilson and rejected the league and soon rejected Wilson. The people of America wanted to go back to what life had been like before the war, so they voted for President Harding who had planned to do exactly that, of which what he called 'normalcy'.
So American society has been changed drastically as a result of WW1 and because of it, America is what it is today with its world leading productions and economic strength. The problems with immigration and isolationism have turned to positive aspects of America, making it one of the most multi-culturalised and coalition country of the world today.
