What was the Status of Americans after WWI? WE SAW HOW BAD THINGS WERE FOR GERMANY UNDER THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES. WHAT WERE THE CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AFTER WWI?

Conditions with Germany after the Wars:  - Germany had to pay $33 billion in reparations even though they were bankrupt after WWI  They lost 1 million square miles of their land and they lost colonies  - They lost their colonies as well. These lands were became other countries.  Germany had to disarm its army. They only had 100,000 soldiers in the Army and only 6 battleships. They could not made or get anymore weapons or tanks or submarines or planes…  Germany had to take the blame for WWI & had to accept the new government put into place by the Allies

How did people in Germany feel after WWI?  The people in Germany were very unhappy. They did not like the new government  They were mad when they had to give away a lot of their lands  They were bankrupt and their economy suffered a lot. Their money was not worth anything at all. They used it for wallpaper and kites and to set fires.  They were looking for a way put of this mess…They even turned to Adolf Hitler as a new leader to put Germany “Back on the Top”!

 - During the war, American factories produced a lot of supplies for the war  Examples: Ships, trucks, small weapons like pistols, large weapons like cannons, uniforms, gas masks, helmets, etc. - During the war, the US produced more war supplies than any other country ever had before. - The US Government used Propaganda to remind civilians (people not fighting in the war) to help with the war effort Factories in the US during WWI:

African Americans and Women during the War  These factories needed workers as many men were off fighting in the war. Thousands of African Americans left the South to work in northern cities where the factories were located.  The war also brought new opportunities for women. Many women took jobs that had been open only to men. Women worked to make weapons, repair cars, deliver mail, and direct traffic.  Through this work during the war. People changed their opinion about African Americans and women and their ability to work and contribute to society to some degree.

Women’s Suffrage  At this time, only men had suffrage (the legal right to vote). The work women did convinced people that this was unfair. In 1919, the Senate passed the 19 th Amendment to the Constitution and this amendment was approved in 1920 giving women the right to vote in the US.

US and Treaty of Versailles  Several European leaders blamed Germany for the fighting in Western Europe. These Allied leaders used the Treaty of Versailles to punish Germany.  President Woodrow Wilson did not want to punish Germany, but he did support the Treaty of Versailles because it created the League of Nations.  The League of Nations would try to solve problems peacefully in the future. Members of the League also promised to protect one another if war did start.  The US Senate did not approve this treaty. They feared the League of Nations might pull the US into future wars. They wanted to practice more Isolationism b/c WWI was so destructive.

The Economy in the US after WWI  After WWI, a popular new President was elected, President Warren G. Harding. His election message was “Back to Normalcy”  The economy of the US went through a boom after WWI  Reasons for the Economic Boom:  Increase in international trade during and after the war  Most European nations had borrowed money from the US during the war. When the war ended, these repayments helped the US become the richest country in the world

The Automobile Industry  The entrepreneur, Henry Ford, added to the economic boom in the US after WWI when he founded Ford Motor Company in  These factories began mass production which means using machines to make many products at once.  To produce large numbers of cars, Henry Ford set up assembly lines. An assembly line is a long line of workers and equipment where each worker does a specific job.  This is an example of division of labor where each worker or group of workers has one small task in a big project. This process allowed Ford’s factories to produce cars more quickly and inexpensively than they had before mass production.

The Automobile Industry  Ford spent less money to make cars and could now charge lower prices for the cars. He could also pay his workers more and still earn a profit. Low prices and high wages meant more people could buy these cars.  Other companies copied this idea of mass production for their products  More products led to more workers and more money being made and more people buying these items…All of this led to more money in the economy

Saving and Investing  For the first time, Americans were able to own things that they had never been able to afford before: sewing machines, refrigerators, cars, vacuum cleaners, toasters…  Now, people started to want to save this extra money that they had  Other people invested money. This means that they used savings in the hope of earning more money in the future  A stock is a share of ownership in a company. When a company earns money, the stock goes up. When a company loses money, the stock goes down.  The place where stocks are bought & sold is the stock market

Government in the 1920s  The US elected 3 Presidents in the 1920s:  Warren G Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover  These 3 Presidents had things in common: They were all Republicans and they all encouraged strong economic growth in the US  “The Chief Business of the American People is business.”