Since the early 1900s, war and violence have profoundly impacted the course of history. The United States uniquely benefitted in some respects from conflicts such as World War I and World War II. However, America has not suffered the same costs as other nations in these conflicts. In fact, the death tolls and infrastructure damage faced by the United States is a fraction of the damage faced by foreign countries. The common American is not cognizant of this, and tends to only view conflict in terms of how the United States is affected.
In the case of World War I, the United States was not present in Europe for the majority of the fighting. By joining the war in 1917, America had not experienced the years of bloody trench warfare like the British, French, Germans, and Russians had. (Foner, 733) By the end of the war 116,000 Americans had died compared to 2 million Germans, 880,000 English, 1.3 million French, and roughly 2 million Russians. (Mougel) The British and French saw this as reason for them to have more power in negotiations after the war. The United States saw themselves as the cavalry who were responsible for winning the war, while the European nations had been fighting and dying for three years when America was not present. This lack of credit to England and France was not received well. Woodrow Wilson was not able to implement his 14
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Americans felt that because they have the strongest military and provide the degree of economic support that they have, they are entitled to certain privileges when negotiating with other countries. Since the end of World War II, the American military forces have acted as the world police. This makes the United States come across as arrogant and self-centered in the global community. It also explains why many foreign nations harbor a degree of resentment for