The impact of the First World War Essay Example for Free

The impact of the First World War Essay Using the four passages and your own knowledge, assess the view that the impact of the First World War was the main reason for the booming economy in the USA in the 1920’s (40 Marks) I believe that the First World War did not have as much of a significant impact on the American economy as mass production, infact i however see that instead of benefiting the economy the War in fact had the reverse effect to that of which interpretation A and C suggest that the war was the most important factor of the 1920’s American economic boom. Firstly, the biggest reason as to why mass production was the main reason for the economic boom was that the American GNP soaring from $72.4 billion in 1919 to $104 billion 1929 only 15 years after mass production was first implemented in America, the figures show the huge impact that mass production had upon the American economy, this is direct evidence of the huge impact mass production had as opposed to the 3 other interpretations which do not have any direct evidence of the impact they had upon the American economy, this is supporting that mass production had the most important impact on the American economy and shows evidence of why mass production was the main reason for the 1920’s boom. This leads to a criticism of source A as the interpretation does not refer to The First Wold War costing America over $32 Billion, instead of injecting growth into the economy the war in fact had the reverse effect as less money was available in America leading to slow growth in the economy. Mass production had a positive effect upon economy, boosting its GNP through stimulation of the American retail market. This supports why the War was not beneficial to the economic boom of the 20’s compared to mass production. Interpretation B states that ‘the key to the boom was a tremendous increase in productivity resulting from technological innovation and the application of scientific management’ this goes against the point that interpretation D suggests that Andrew Mellon was the key figure of the 1920’s boom in America. The reason why scientific management had a bigger impact than Andrew Mellon’s  reforms is because the implementation of mass production saw workers’ pay increased from $710 to $857, whereas Mellons reforms were based upon the banking in America which had little effect upon all classes whereas mass production benefited all classes of society. Also the scientific changes to production and the national scale it happened saw upon America begin to prosper and boom far before Andrew Mellons policies were implemented, after which there was little impact by Mellons policies as opposed to mass production which propelled the boom this supports the fact that mass production was the key reason for the booming economy in America. Mass production was the main reason for the economic boom is because once it was introduced in 1914 just a few years later there became a clear direct change to Americas economy as interpretation B states ‘Although the population grew by only 16% during the decade, industrial production almost doubled’ The increase in production saw the American economy begin to produce more and more goods, leading to a sharp increase in jobs, sales and profits. This supports my point that mass production was the most important factor to the American economic boom. Further support for mass production being the catalyst for the economic boom is because once production in mass was introduced in 1914 just a few years later there became a clear direct change to Americas economy as interpretation B supports ‘Although the population grew by only 16% during the decade, industrial production almost doubled’ The increase in production saw the American economy begin to produce more and more goods, leading to a sharp increase in jobs, sales and profits. This backs up the point that mass production was the most important factor to the American economic boom. Another point why mass production was the most important reason for the economic boom was the impact on electricity demand. Electricity demand shot up due to businesses needing electricity to power the machinery to mass produce products, interpretation B supports this as it says ‘Electricity consumption more than doubled during the decade mainly because of industrial demand’ the increase propelled a whole new area of business in America  creating thousands of jobs and further  strengthened the American economy showing further evidence that mass production was important to the boom. Mass production also effected domestic consumption of electricity. The increase of electricity usage further developed the economy of America. Interpretation B mentions the increase of power usage: ‘in 1912 only 16% of the population lived in electricity lit dwellings, the proportion had grown to 63% by 1927’ it also states ‘electrical household appliances came into general use. This can be used to criticize Interpretation C as it quotes ‘If every American could own a car and a house, buy quality clothes, own stock, take vacations and go to the movies then clearly there was no longer any significant inequality in society’ This quote is inaccurate as many across America did not see the benefits of the boom as interpretation C suggested. Much of the wealth was split between the North of America and the south. The north saw boomed while in the South the more agricultural based economy began to suffer, farmers where particularly affected by the boom new te chnologies and farming equipment left American farmers with a huge surplus of food. In order to sell the food farmers would drop and drop their prices until it soon became unprofitable and many became bankrupt and fell into poverty, hundreds of thousands of farmers land and homes were repossessed leaving them homeless. this is a criticism of interpretation C as it stated everybody had benefited from the war in America however it is untrue, whereas interpretation B states 63% lived in electricity lit dwellings not over exaggerating the impact it had and so making B more of a valid source. More evidence why mass production was the most important reason for the economic boom was the impact on electricity demand. Electricity demand shot up due to businesses needing electricity to power the machinery to mass produce products, interpretation B supports this as it says ‘Electricity consumption more than doubled during the decade mainly because of industrial demand’ the increase propelled a whole new area of business in America creating thousands of jobs and further strengthened the American economy showing further evidence that mass production was on necessities and not  luxuries while the male was away at war. This created a big stunt in the countries in economic growth. I also believe that passage C is not as important to boom in America, the passage asserts that America had the upper hand compared to its European rivals as WWII had devastated much of the European countries building factories and infrastructure. However this infact had the reverse effect that the passage expected, newly built factories in European countries had the latest technologies installed with modern planning and architecture compared to the previous buildings destroyed in the war. The rebuilding would have also increased productivity and kick-started economies as each country needed to develop and progress after the war. These countries needed lots of workers and so work was easy to find. People could earn wages and rebuild their lives by purchasing new houses. Consumer and governmental spending in the allied and Axis countries stimulated the countries’ economies leading to rapid economic growth. England and France quickly re-established their economies into even stron ger economic powers than before. Furthermore there was a huge amount of inequality in America, Racist inequality was at its highest during the 20’s with extremist groups such as the KKK gaining huge following from American people, and over 5 million people were members of the KKK in the 20’s. With 100’s of blacks being attacked and killed passage C is shown as a further inaccurate and invalid passage as it is contracted by evidence against it showing that America was not equal as Passage C suggest. A big criticism of interpretation D is that the piece is taken from an autobiography published almost 90 years after they had taken place, therefore the passage will not be as valid as a piece from the same time period. Also being an autobiography the piece will always have a bias towards Andrew Mellon and will possibly over play the role he had and will not mention any bad things about him. The passage is not as important as mass production impacted the whole of America on a national scale this showing that the innovation of businesses were more important than the  reforms he implemented. In conclusion I believe that mass production was the fundamental reason for the boom in the 1920’s. Their war was not important and did not have such an impact on American society as it was only a short term temporary effect on the economy, whereas mass production propelled all levels of society and business into economic growth and expansion. Interpretations a D are not as beneficial to the economy as they did not have such a major impact and interpretation D only made a small contribution to the economy unlike mass production which completely overhauled the whole American infrastructure permanently. Source C is also not a fully valid and reliable source, the passage has multiple criticisms due to the war being a very controversial point; however the war was a negative as it stifled the American economy and did not bring any long term positives to America. I believe that mass production was a much more significant reason for the boom in America as opposed to the war and Andrew Mellon’s policies as it had vast evidence of creating one of the most prosperous boom periods any economy has ever witnessed, this period saw America become the most affluent and powerful nations on earth from the 1920’s.

King Richard Essay -- History England King Richard Essays

King Richard My report is on Richard I, byname Richard the Lion-Hearted. He was born September 8, 1157 in Oxford, England. He died on April 6, 1199 in Chalus, England. His knightly manner and his prowess in the Third Crusade(1189-92) made him a popular king in his own time, as well as the hero of countless romantic legends. He has been viewed less kindly by more recent historians and scholars. Richard was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and he was given the duchy of Aquitaine, his mother’s inheritance, at the age of 11 and was enthroned as duke at Poitiers in 1172. Richard possessed precocious political and military ability, he won fame for his knightly prowess, and quickly learned how to control the turbulent aristocracy of Poitou and Gascony. Like all Henry II’s legitimate sons, Richard had no filial piety, foresight, or sense of responsibility. He joined his brothers in the great rebellion(1173-74)against his father, who invaded Aquistaine twice before Richard submitted and received pardon. Thereafter, Richard was occupied with suppressing baronial revolts in his own duchy. His harshness infuriated the Gascons, who revolted in 1183 and called in the help of the â€Å"Young King† Henry and his brother, Geoffrey of Brittany, in an effort to drive Richard from his duchy altogether. Alarmed at the threatened disintegration of his empire, Henry II brought the feudal host of his continental lands to Richard’s aid, but the younger Henry died suddenly(June 11, 1183)and the uprising collapsed. Richard was now heir to England, and to Normandy and Anjou, and his father wished him to yield Aquitaine to his youngest brother, John. But Richard, a true southerner, would not surrender the duchy in which he had grown up. Richard received Normandy on July 20, and the English throne on September 30. Richard, unlike Philip, had only one ambition, to lead the crusade prompted by Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem in 1187. He had no conception of planning for the future of the English monarchy, and put up everything for sale to buy arms for the crusade. Yet he had not become king to preside over the dismemberment of the Angevin Empire. He broke with Philip and didn’t neglect Angevin defenses on the Continent. Open war was averted only because Philip also took the cross. Richard dipped deep into his father’s treasure and sold sherif... ...of Hubert Walter, justifier and archbishop of Canterbury. It was Richard’s impetuosity that brought him to his death at the early age of forty-two. The Vicomte of Limoges refused to hand over a hoard of gold unearthed by a local peasant. Richard laid siege to his castle of Chalus and in an unlucky moment was wounded. He died in 1199. He was buried in the abbey church of Fontevrault, where Henry II and Queen Eleanor are also buried, and his effigy is still preserved there. Richard was a thoroughgoing Angevin, irresponsible and hot-tempered, possessed of tremendous energy, and capable of great cruelty. He was more accomplished than most of his family, a soldier of consummate ability, a skillful politician, and capable of inspiring loyal service. He was a lyrical poet of considerable power and the hero of troubadours. He was both an honored and despised man. Works Cited: A History of the Crusades; Vol. 3; 1954 Richard the Lion Heart; K. Norgate; 1969 Itinerary of King Richard the First; L.Landon; 1935 Loss of Normandy 1189-1204; 2nd Edition; 1961 Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings; A. Kelly; 1950 Encyclopedia Britannica Online; www.eb.com; 1999

Discourse On Colonialism Essay

In â€Å"Discourse on Colonialism† mentioned on page two, paragraph three, the author makes a connection with the misinterpretation of how the Europeans thought that those who did not practice Christianity were savages. â€Å"†¦is Christian pedantry, which laid down the dishonest equations Christianity=civilization, paganism=savagery, from which there could not but ensue abominable colonialist and racist consequences, whose victims were to be the Indians, the yellow peoples, and the Negroes.† In Things Fall Apart, when the missionaries landed in Africa, they accused the Umuofians of ignorance for not knowing how to â€Å"properly† practice religion. At the time of Things Fall Apart, religion was associated with â€Å"living things† while the European missionaries said that â€Å"correct religion† came from worshipping gods that were not concrete objects. On page 146 the text said, â€Å"Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm,â€⠄¢ replied the white man. ‘They are pieces of wood and stone.† This shows that the Europeans established supremacy over the Africans by denouncing their religion, which ultimately aided their efforts to colonize the Blacks. On the very first page of â€Å"Discourse on Colonialism†, it says â€Å"A civilization that proves incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilization. A civilization that chooses to close its eyes to its most crucial problems is a stricken civilization.† The same situation occurred in Things Fall Apart with the initial European contact because the Umuofians did not see them as a threat. This led to the decimation of their culture as the Umuofians allowed the Europeans to live amongst them and convert the outcasts. That was the Umuofians biggest mistake because when the Europeans had established a base of converts, it helped them to continue to convert the tribesmen and eventually take over the African tribe. Connections with Kaffir Boy: In â€Å"Discourse on Colonialism† by Aime Cesaire, he talks about the effect he witnessed due to colonialism which he believes â€Å"dehumanizes even the most civilized man†. He is talking about in Kaffir Boy, Mark at young age, witnesses the â€Å"dehumanization† of his father. â€Å"He seemed uncharacteristically powerless and contrite, a far cry from the tough, resolute and absolute ruler of the house I knew him to be, the father whose words were law.† (pg 22). A fine line is formed between races as Mark observes. At the time, the white people had established supremacy over the black people due to the laws of Apartheid. When Mark’s father was being dehumanized, it was a very overwhelming occurrence for Mark because he learned there are individuals who have more power than his father. Page two of â€Å"Disclosure of Colonialism† the author speaks of the â€Å"brutalized and degradation of the colonizer†. The blacks are brutally treated by their own people even. They can take a man and turn him into an animal. Connections to SOAPSTONE Evidence: The diction of Discourse on Colonialism is anger. The author, Aime Cesaire, expresses his opinion concisely, and emphasizes how Europe is indefensible spiritually and morally. â€Å"Henceforth, the colonized know that they have an advantage over them. They know that their temporary, â€Å"masters† are lying. Therefore, that their masters are weak.† (pg 1). In Cesaire’s opinion, the Europeans are indefensible because their actions to colonize are lies to the eyes of Africans. Since these lies are not acknowledged by the natives the Africans can fight back with their religion, and crumble the colonizers without faltering. Even the title â€Å"master† is acknowledged as a lie. The Africans know that the colonizers are not the ones to command them. Cesaire knows that in the perspective of a native. Cesaire speaks without humor. His seriousness can be found throughout â€Å"Discourse on Colonialism†. Many times he points out the hypocrisy of th e colonizers. His criticism of the Christians is relentless. He points out the â€Å"Hitler† side of everybody. Connections with current events Currently in syria there is an uprising in a place resembling the slums in which Kaffir Boy takes place. Mark grew up in a place where jobs were hard to come by, and people were dragged out of their houses at night by the police and were sometimes shot. This week in syria, â€Å"Islamist extremists in Syria’s insurgency killed 150 soldiers in a battle for control of an Aleppo suburb this week, including 51 who were executed after they had surrendered.† The same sort of thing happened in Kaffir Boy, except it was  the opposite with the police killing the civilians, going to their houses at night so the police knew people would

Romantic Expressivism And Humanism - 1781 Words

Summative Assessment â€Å"Romantic Expressivism† states the feeling or the self-realization of what is upheld in original values. The way we describe the world around us is not going to be the same as other people’s thoughts. Giving an ethical standard of what the world around us is, becomes a way to use expressivism to explain certain occurrences that can show a deeper meaning than morality. Poems such as â€Å"Tintern Abbey† â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn† and â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† are written in the period when Romantic Expressivism was the understanding of the universe. A Romantic poets’ insight comes from the vision that they originally express as well as their views of the cosmos. The authors behind these poems write in such a style that†¦show more content†¦A poem by William Wordsworth, â€Å"Tintern Abbey†, pushes forth to a concept of an expressivist view or idea that embodies the new movement of Romantics. John Ke ats, â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn† and â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† also contains the original thought of the universe and gives a certain truth that serves as an insight into the mind of those who wrote during this time period. â€Å"Tintern Abbey† entails deeply into nature, and the reoccurrence of a past life. Wordsworth had visited the Tintern Abbey before, and returns five years late while he is on tour. From the opening phrase, we can detect a hint of laboriousness, even a potential tedium. (Fairer 179) Moving more into his writing, he goes deeper into his meaning using sensual language: The landscape with the quiet of the sky. The day is come when I again repose Here, under this dark sycamore, and view These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts (Wordsworth 289, Line 8-11) This short excerpt from his poem recalled his past and present time in viewing the Abbey and signifies a true feeling of love or excitement to return to a memory that brings about this setting of tranquility. Repetition in the sense of a reoccurring state of mind can suggest how time takes its toll. (Fairer 179) From