What is Reddit's opinion of Where We Stand: Women Poets on Literary Tradition?

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The short answer is yes and no. The long answer is complicated.

WWI was a major contributor to US prosperity. It created markets for American goods and provided jobs for many Americans who served in the military or worked on production lines making things like rifles, tanks and aircraft. However, there were some negative effects as well. First, it led to massive debt accumulation by European nations. Second, it led to increased immigration from Europe into America which contributed greatly to population growth but at times strained resources. Finally, if you look back further than 1918, you can see how bad the Great Depression really was before WWII even started. In fact, one big factor leading up to World War II was the Great Depression. If not for the stock market crash of 1929, we might have never gone to war with Germany.

So while WWI had positive implications for the United States, it certainly wasn't all good news.

For more information about WWI and its impact on the U.S. economy, check out this article written by two economists from UCLA: https://www.businessinsider.com/wwi-impact-on-the-u-s-economy-1918-to-1945-2017-11#ixzz4P9F6WnkH

It's worth noting that most people don't realize just how huge the Great Depression actually was. While the unemployment rate hit 25% around 1932, when President Roosevelt took office, the real unemployment rate was closer to 50%. That means half of the working age adults in America weren't getting paid their full wages. And that doesn't count those who lost everything in the bank failures. So yeah, it was pretty damn bad.

As far as what happened to the economy after WWI... Well, the bottom line is that it was only relatively recently that the US began to recover from the Great Depression. We've been recovering ever since.

And finally, this isn't exactly related to your question, but I wanted to mention something else. There are still a lot of misconceptions about WWI. For example, many people think that Britain won the war. They didn't. France did. And so did Russia. Yes, the Germans were defeated, but they surrendered first. Also, the Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Allies, not the Central Powers. Germany also agreed to pay reparations to the Allied Nations for damages incurred during the war. This would later be known as the Dawes Plan after Henry Gage Dawes, an American banker. He proposed the plan in 1919 and it became law under Woodrow Wilson in 1924. The plan called for a fixed schedule of payments over 30 years, starting at $2 billion per year. It also allowed the German government to borrow money from private banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). By 1930, Germany was paying off almost 40 percent of the total amount owed.

The rest of the world (including the Soviet Union) thought that Germany should be punished for losing the war and they tried to force them to make reparation payments. However, the Dawes Plan gave Germany a way to repay its debts without having to pay interest.

In any case, I hope this helps clear up some confusion. If you'd like to learn more, there are plenty of books available on the subject. Here are some recommendations:

This book by John Keegan will help you understand the causes of the First World War. It's very readable, easy to understand, and covers many different topics. It's available on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/World-War-Generation/dp/0393312097

Another excellent read on the same topic is:

A History of World War One by Allan Mallinson. It's a bit dry at times but it does cover many important facets. It's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/History-World-War-One-ebook/dp/B00K3ZN6QI

Finally, if you're interested in learning more about the Great Depression, check out the following two books. Both are written by economists but they do a good job covering the history behind it.

A Financial History of Modern America by William Niskanen. It's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Financial-History-Modern-America-William-Niskanen/dp/1400071374/

Why the Economy Crashed by Robert J. Gordon. It's also available on Amazon.

Hope this helped.

Best wishes,

Abigail

P.S. If you want to know about the stock market crash of 1929, I recommend reading this book on the Crash of 1929.

It's a good read and it includes a lot of great information.

I found it on amazon:

Crash: The Untold Story of the Greatest Crisis in American Business and Life by Charles P. Kindleberger.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask me.

P.S. I'm not affiliated with any company or organization. All opinions are my own.

Thank You!

- Abigail

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