By the end of World War I, the United States had become a world power. It was connected to other countries by politics, trade, and joint interests. As the U.S.was becoming mightier than ever, it had come to believe in the concept of social darwinism which reflected the idea that the world belongs to the strong and fit, and these strong nations dominating the weak ones is a part of natural law. By the 1920s, America had started the journey to become an imperial power and had gained new military strength. During the war, new war methods and weapons were established that changed the way America was on the battlefield. These advancements inspired techniques for future battles and helped the U.S. Army improve its defense and attacks on other countries
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Certainly in the interwar period there was a distinct lack of capital in London and an abundance of it in New York. This can be shown by the fact that by 1928, fully forty percent of British public expenditure was going on war debts of various sorts, and taxes were high to pay for this. Also, the U.S. during the war became a great sink of gold: in 1913 Europe had held sixty-three percent of the world’s total stock of gold and North America twenty-four percent, while by 1925 Europe held thirty-five percent and North America held forty-five percent. Along with this, banking assets in the U.S. just during the decade of the 1920s increased by 36 percent, from fifty-three billion dollars to seventy-two billion dollars. Thus, in other words, comparing the state of the British economy, and in particular available resources, with the situation in the US, it is clear why many US Government officials and bankers became excited at the idea of displacing Britain as the financial power. In fact, according to historian Herfried Münkler, this was precisely the goal of some politicians in Washington. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, a son-in-law of President Woodrow Wilson, was already forging plans to replace the pound sterling with the dollar as the foremost international reserve currency. So, the US's entry into the war in 1917 marked the beginning of its path to becoming a world power as it reached new heights on a global
Certainly in the interwar period there was a distinct lack of capital in London and an abundance of it in New York. This can be shown by the fact that by 1928, fully forty percent of British public expenditure was going on war debts of various sorts, and taxes were high to pay for this. Also, the U.S. during the war became a great sink of gold: in 1913 Europe had held sixty-three percent of the world’s total stock of gold and North America twenty-four percent, while by 1925 Europe held thirty-five percent and North America held forty-five percent. Along with this, banking assets in the U.S. just during the decade of the 1920s increased by 36 percent, from fifty-three billion dollars to seventy-two billion dollars. Thus, in other words, comparing the state of the British economy, and in particular available resources, with the situation in the US, it is clear why many US Government officials and bankers became excited at the idea of displacing Britain as the financial power. In fact, according to historian Herfried Münkler, this was precisely the goal of some politicians in Washington. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo, a son-in-law of President Woodrow Wilson, was already forging plans to replace the pound sterling with the dollar as the foremost international reserve currency. So, the US's entry into the war in 1917 marked the beginning of its path to becoming a world power as it reached new heights on a global