America Before The 1900's Analysis

The American identity was finely sculpted into its unique persona in the first half of the 20th century. This period had many distinct events that transformed how the lives of American citizens were perpetrated. America before the 1900’s was viewed as a lower middle class migration pit for immigrants who couldn’t go on with the injustice they were facing in their home countries, and would rather go to the U.S. to try and create a life for themselves. The view of American life was significantly altered, however, in the early and mid-1900’s. The Americans strived to become a more advanced and adaptable society through the conflicts of world wars, an unpredictably fluctuating economy, and industrialization to become a strong and independent …show more content…
It was April 2, 1917 when Wilson made this statement. The Zimmerman Telegram sent from the Germans to Mexico saying they would return land Mexico lost from the U.S. if the Mexicans would join the war and fight with Germany, and the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat that killed 1,198 innocent human beings were the two main driving points for this push for American involvement in the war. It created an identity in the U.S. of strength and integrity for doing what they believe is right to protect their people. Those value was later reinstated with the entrance and resolution of WWII for the United States. The U.S. didn’t join the war until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 2 of 1941 which cost the lives of 1,177 sailors. Franklin D. Roosevelt was riled up from the act and quickly brought it to the attention of congress that declaring war would be the only proper response to the act. Congress didn’t saunter about for too long before agreeing with the notion and declaring war. This time the entrance to the war was initiated in a more …show more content…
The amount of U.S. citizens alone from 1870-1920 increased more than two times, going from just 40 million to 100 million citizens. This new plethora of capable hands caused an upsurge of jobs. The railroad was a large beneficiary of this upsurge in jobs with the amount of railroads jumping from just spanning 9,000 miles to a staggering near 200,000 miles. The industrialization also brought forth many new technologies for citizens such as automobiles, radios, and electric washing machines. These inventions on there own led to many new ideas and creations, which is why this time resulted in industrialization. It brought forward not just the industrialization but it also brought forward urbanization. In 1870 only ¼ of U.S. citizens lived in an urban area, however it had a vast increase to ½ of citizens by 1920. This jump lead to a much closer and tight knit community that were powerful and didn’t need outside