How Wars Changed American Society Essay

The United States fought many wars between the Civil War and the present as a way of maintaining their image as a global power and avoid being seen as weak or incapable as well as feeling a sense of duty to intervene in order to not only ‘help’ countries in need but also remain influencing post-war agendas. Wars changed American society and politics by implementing new programs, providing an opportunity to express our constitutional freedoms of speech and protest, by changing the way Americans thought and felt about race, and by increasing nationalism. WWI is an example of how the United States fought a war in order to maintain its image as a global power and also making an effort to “save the world”. Initially, the government and the American people were not interested in joining the war and they even set a neutrality policy. However, after providing the British with weapons, the U.S. failed to remain neutral. Furthermore, Germany’s actions led the U.S. to join the war by damaging U.S. trade and hurting American civilians. Ultimately, the decision to join WWI can be seen as an attempt to strengthen the U.S.’s

Involvement in the Korean war sparked affect not only American politics, but it also drastically changed the lives of several Americans back at home. Foreign policy such as the Truman doctrine, which was a program designed to contain communism was created during this time. As well as, a fear of communism was instilled in American society. McCarthy claimed that among society there were communists waiting to take control. This resulted in thousands of Americans losing everything they owned after being accused of being communist. This fear further helped the U.S. involvement in the Korean war as soldiers believed that they were fighting to stop the spread of