Industrialization, Imperialism, and America’s Entry Into WWI

Week 5 Discussion: Industrialization, Imperialism, and America’s Entry Into WWI Describe the basic industries of America's Industrial Revolution. Explain what made the men who controlled them so successful, and analyze the role of immigrants in industrialization. America’s rapid industrialization took off in the late nineteenth century despite being latecomers compared to other nations such as Europe. America had a large amount of raw materials such as coal, wood, silver, gold, copper, cotton, and oil along with cheap labor from a rise in immigration and American-born workers who moved to industrialized areas (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012). Also, the railroad industry according to Keen et al. (2012), “… played a key role I transforming the Unite States into an industrial power” (p.472). Immigrants also played a big role on industrialization as they were a cheap source of labor, worked hard, and didn’t complain about hard working conditions. The sheer number of immigrants in America during this time helped with the industrialization of America as there were more people in the labor force. Steel was another important material that boosted America into an industrial society. One of the biggest businessmen during this era was Andrew Carnegie, who used steal to create “… the largest corporation in the world…” (p. 476). Other influential businessmen during this time were John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men who dominated the industry during this time were referred to as “… ‘robber barons,’ greedy capitalists who grew rich by devious business practices, exploitation of workers, and political manipulation (Keen et al., 2012, p.476). These men were so successful due to their drive, methods of cutting costs to eliminate their competition, and acquiring new technology which reduced the number of skilled workers needed and increased the amount of production. These men also secured secret deals with railroad companies to weaken their competition, used unethical practices, and used their wealth to manipulate the government and laws (Keen et al., 2012). Despite their cut-throat business practices, some were also very philanthropic such as Rockefeller. According to West (2002), Rockefeller provided “…continuing money and support for what would become Atlanta’s Spelman College, renowned for the education of black women” (p. 75) Rockefeller founded the University of Chicago, and the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller Institute) that helped modernize medical research (West, 2000). How did imperialism play a critical role leading up to World War I? Discuss the foreign policy of the US and the events that drew the country into World War I. According to Keen et al. (2012), imperialism is defined as “… colonizing foreign nations and lands, relying primarily on business, political, and military structures rather than settlers to rule colonized peoples and exploit their resources” (p. 562). Prior to World War I, Britain was one of the “… world’s largest, richest and most dominant imperial power…. occupied one-quarter of the globe” (Llewellyn, Southey, & Thompson, 2017, para. 2). The other significant imperial powers were France, Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Spain (Keen et al., 2012). Imperialism played an important role leading up to World War I because these countries were scrambling to acquire land and control to become the leading power in Europe. Llewellyn et al. (2017) stated that this “… fueled rivalry and led to several diplomatic incidents, such as two Moroccan crises that were largely precipitated by the German Kaiser. The foreign policy of the US was to remain neutral to both Britain and Germany. However, there were several events that caused the US to enter the war. A German U-boat had sunk a British ship called the Lusitania. This caused president Wilson to redefine the term “neutrality.” According to Keen et al. (2012), Wilson “… embraced neutrality as a concept that first and foremost gave neutral nations the indisputable right to trade and travel wherever they liked” (p. 598). Germany had eventually pledged to not attack other ships without warning first as a result of sinking another ship called the Arabic, belonging to the British, which killed two American passengers (Keen et al., 2012). This postponed the US into entering the war until Germany went against their word and resumed their submarine warfare and sinking of ships without warning. Germany had also tried to bait Mexico into starting a war with the US and promising Mexico that they would assist Mexico in regaining their lost territory of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona (Keen et al., 2012). The message sent was known as the Zimmermann Telegram which was intercepted by the British (Keen et al., 2012). War was eventually declared by Congress after Germany began attacking American ships. Keene, J. D., Cornell, S., & O'Donnell, E. T. (2012). Visions of America: A History of the United States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Llewellyn, J., Southey, J., & Thompson, S. (2017). Imperialism as a cause of World War I. Retrieved April 1, 2019, from West, W. (2000). The Truth About Robber Barons. Policy Review, (99), 69. Retrieved from