Lesson 4 of 8
The U.S. Becomes a World Power
Around 1900, reformers set out to fix the problems the Gilded Age created, and the country stepped onto the world stage. This was the Progressive Era, followed by America's entry into World War I.
Progressive Era reforms
- ●"Muckraker" journalists exposed corruption and unsafe conditions
- ●New laws regulated food and medicine for safety
- ●Trust-busting broke up some giant monopolies
- ●The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote
World War I (U.S. enters 1917)
The war started in Europe in 1914. The U.S. stayed out at first, but attacks on American ships by German submarines pulled it in. American troops helped tip the balance toward the Allies, who won in 1918.
- ●1914: war begins in Europe
- ●1917: the U.S. joins the Allies
- ●1918: the war ends with Allied victory
- ●President Woodrow Wilson pushed for a League of Nations to prevent future wars
WHY IT MATTERS
World War I announced the United States as a major world power. The peace that followed was shaky and helped set up an even bigger war twenty years later.