Price Of Victory Analysis

In the chapter “Price of Victory”, McGerr’s thesis states the demise of progressivism was catalyzed by the middle class as they felt threatened by uprising unions, high cost of living, and the income tax. “The middle class…. [was] the dominant power expressing itself through the Progressives”; and they did not believe in the Progressives’ outcomes of World War I as it hindered them socially and financially (280). The middle class had a negative association with unions as unions advocated for better wages and more rights, which increased the price of products. The higher cost of products forced the middle class to have a lower quality of life as they had less money. The Progressives’ war effort generated inflation that was formed by the increase

The war efforts emerged the government into the ideologies of socialism as they controlled the economy and production, as well as political movements. According the journalist Frederick Lewis Allen, he states, “We shall have to lay by our good-natured individualism and march in step” (282). Allen illustrates that the citizens are willing to obey the government by giving up their freedom of individualism. The citizens’ submissiveness can be manipulated by the government by further limiting their rights. For instance, the Wilson’s administration enabled The Sedition Act that made it illegal to utter, print, or publish any disloyal, profane, or abusive language about the government, in which the act is unconstitutional as it is against free speech and press (289). The government has the potential to manipulate its citizens by “remaking individuals” through campaigns, laws and media (288). Just like the government can manipulate the public for the war, the government has the power to influence the majority of its citizen. Thus, it can be inferred that the government could have embedded the citizens’ views for a permanent socialist society during the World War I. For those reasons, the practice of socialism must be limited to only in times of national security, but it must be guided in caution as the government 's influence can manipulate its citizens. As a citizen, one must defend the integrity of the United States by speaking up in times of atrocities when the government is against one’s liberties and rights to the Constitution. The “Price of Victory” was beneficial for the war efforts, but ultimately it was at the price of