War and Peace

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 386.

When World War I erupted in Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson urged a policy of strict American neutrality. Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare against all ships bound for Allied ports undermined that position. When Congress declared war on Germany in 1917, the American army was a force of only 200,000 soldiers. Millions of men had to be drafted, trained, and shipped across the submarine-infested Atlantic. A full year passed before the U.S. Army was ready to make a significant contribution to the war effort.

By the fall of 1918, Germany's position had become hopeless. Its armies were retreating. In October Germany asked for peace, and an armistice was declared on November 11. In 1919 Wilson himself went to Versailles to help draft the peace treaty. Although he was cheered by crowds in the Allied capitals, at home his international outlook was less popular. His idea of a League of Nations was included in the Treaty of Versailles, but the U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty, and the United States did not participate in the League. The majority of Americans turned inward, and the United States withdrew from European affairs. At the same time, Americans were becoming hostile to foreigners in their midst. In 1919 a series of terrorist bombings produced the "Red Scare". Congress enacted immigration limits in 1921 and tightened them further in 1924 and 1929.

The 1920s were an extraordinary and confusing time, when hedonism coexisted with puritanical conservatism. It was called the Roaring Twenties, the age of jazz and spectacular silent movies. The Ku Klux Klan, a racist organization born in the South after the Civil War, attracted new followers and terrorized blacks, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

For big business, the 1920s were golden years. The United States was now a consumer society, with booming markets for radios, home appliances, synthetic textiles, and plastics. But the superficial prosperity masked deep problems. With profits soaring and interest rates low, plenty of money was available for investment. Much of it, however, went into reckless speculation in the stock market. Frantic bidding pushed prices far above stock shares' real value. Investors bought stocks "on margin," borrowing up to 90 percent of the purchase price. The bubble burst in 1929. The stock market crashed, triggering a worldwide depression.

“Prohibition” in the United States was the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Though the Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, it did little to enforce the law. By 1925, in New York City alone, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs.

While Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, it tended to destroy society by other means, as it stimulated the proliferation of rampant underground, organized and widespread criminal activity.

Many social problems have been attributed to the Prohibition era. Mafia groups limited their activities to gambling and theft until 1920, when organized bootlegging manifested in response to the effect of Prohibition. A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Powerful gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies, leading to racketeering. Stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle.

As many as 10,000 people died from drinking denatured alcohol before Prohibition ended.

Making alcohol at home was very common during Prohibition. Since selling privately distilled alcohol was illegal and bypassed taxation by the government, the law relentlessly pursued private manufacturers who produced the so-called “moonshine” strong drinks.

The cost of enforcing Prohibition was high, and the lack of tax revenues on alcohol affected government coffers.

On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law an amendment allowing the manufacture and sale of certain kinds of alcoholic beverages. On December 5, 1933, the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. At the end of Prohibition, some supporters openly admitted its failure.

Task 1. Explain the following notions from the text.

· American neutrality

· the Treaty of Versailles

· the League of Nations

· the "Red Scare"

· the Roaring Twenties

· the Ku Klux Klan

· a consumer society

· "on margin"

· the “bubble”

· Prohibition

Task 2. Answer the questions.

1) What undermined the position of strict American neutrality when World War I erupted in Europe?

2) Why did not the United States participate in the League of Nations?

3) What events produced the "Red Scare"?

4) Why is this period called “the Roaring Twenties”?

5) What economic and social problems erupted in the 1920s?

6) What was the essence of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution?

7) What social problems appeared after it was enforced?

8) What was its negative impact on the US economy?

9) Give your own examples to illustrate the proverb “forbidden fruit is sweetest”.

TEXT 4. Read the text and fulfill the tasks after it. You may need additional information.