World War I, 1920s Prosperity, and the Great Depression

In 1914, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey fought Britain, France, Italy, and Russia. Other nations joined the conflict, and the war reached across the Atlantic Ocean to affect the United States. The British and German navies blocked American shipping. In 1915, almost 130 Americans died when a German submarine sank the British ocean liner Lusitania. President Woodrow Wilson demanded an end to the German attacks. They stopped but started again in 1917. The United States declared w
ar.

President Wilson had a 14-point peace plan, including the creation of a League of Nations. He hoped the League would guarantee the peace, but in the final Treaty of Versailles, the victors of the war insisted on harsh punishment.
 After the war, the United States had problems with racial tension, struggling farms, and labor unrest. After Russia’s revolution in 1917, Americans feared the spread of communism. This period is often known as the Red Scare.

In October 1929 the good times ended with the collapse of the stock market and an economic depression. Businesses and factories shut down. Banks failed. Farms suffered. By November 1932, 20 percent of Americans did not have jobs.