US Economic History - Essay Example

Your US Economic History Introduction To have a better understanding of USA’s economic history before and during the World War I, I have viewed two films about the topic. Both were downloaded from youtube.com and they are entitled “Origins of World War I” and “Declassified – Secrets of World war I”. The two films were complimentary rather than duplication as the first one served as an introduction to World War I, specifically discussing the detailed causes of the World War. The second film, which is composed of cuts gave a short introduction of the War and its origin, but moved on to discuss the happenings during the War, specially the involvement of USA. Here, I examine the relevant economic and historical event pertinent to the War, with primary use of the first film that I have mentioned and just a support from the ideas given by the second film, if it is found to be necessary Main Body Overview of the Film The film “Origins of World War I” discussed the both the major and minor events and causes that led to the War. It is a film consists of two cut in which one runs for about 10 minutes. The center of the discussion in the film is Europe specifically Great Britain, Germany and France. The film gives appropriate understanding of the economic reasons behind the war. On the other hand, the film “Declassified – Secrets of World War I” was more focused on the involvement of USA in the war, although it also had a great introduction on the emergence of the war. Description of Historical Events in the Film In the “Origins of World War I”, the pre-World War I era was described as an era of peace and prosperity for Europe. Introductions of technological products such as mechanization and creation of excellent ideas both enliven the economy so that speed and efficiency were achieved. The success of Europe had its zenith during the Golden Age of European Imperialism. This era was achieved through Europe’s industrial strength and imperialism, their domination of the rest of the world. The film “Declassified – Secrets of World War I” also began with the conflict between the European countries, primarily between Britain and Germany and Serbia and Austria. It also mentioned the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a 20-year old Serbian national, believed to be trained by the infamous group, the Black Hand. This sparked what will be known as the First World War Economic Analysis of Historical Event Industrialism allowed Europe to strengthen its supplies through voluminous production. Technology has allowed faster, bulkier and efficient production, thus, boosting the supply side. On the other end, imperialism over the territories of Asia and Africa has created a steady demand for all European products. The colonies also provided the needed raw materials in production. This desire for massive product exportation was the central cause for imperialism of the stronger military and economy. The dependence of strong countries on imperialism has created imperialist rivalry among them. This imperialist rivalry was believed to be the primary cause of World War I. USA’s major trading partner, the Great Britain has led in this era of imperialism. During the pre-World War I era, Europe occupied around 90% of the whole Africa. In Asia, Europe has also desired China and India. It is through the British East India Company that Britain got the tight hold on India. Domination of Europe was either through outright colonization or treaties which granted the imperialist the right to exclusive economic exploitation. Economic concept in the film and how the concepts are illustrated The film heavily discussed the economic concept of imperialism. Merriam-Webster dictionary defined imperialism as “the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas” (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated). Imperialism can be thought of primarily as a way making sure a steady and cheap supply of raw materials and a sure market for domestic production. Thus, it is the economic reasons that is paramount in the desire to colonize. Discussion of the Film’s Use of Economics The film had an extensive discussion of the economic concept of imperialist rivalry and economic supremacy. Economic hegemony was the goal of the countries. This is proven by the narration about Germany. Although, industrial boom was late for Germany, It managed to pass Great Britain in production and industrialization. Although it was found to be more dominant than the latter, it felt the pressure to expand to a larger territory more than Britain to maintain economic supremacy. Both countries were dependent on their colonies to maintain economic leadership. This created and exacerbated the rivalry between Britain and Germany. This hegemony of Germany and USA was described in several books. “By the end of the nineteenth century, Britain had a well-developed educational system, a system of production based on family firms, a financial market developed around the financing of trade and large investments (joint stock companies), a strong patent system, and an empire of colonies that could serve as markets for its growing industry. The leading sectors of the economy consisted of a range of consumer goods industries, notably, textiles, metalware, paper, food, watches, and some producer good industries such as shipbuilding and textile machinery. Its industrialization and urbanization had begun before the emergence of the railroads, and the building of railways was a smaller scale activity than in the USA and Germany. Electricity was principally used as a new source of power in largely labor­ intensive industries where more machines were employed with additional labor to generate more production” (Simonetti). The diffusion of electricity began in 1980. The 1860’s and 1870’s were momentous in the countries of USA and Germany as “safe ways of using electricity were invented, and technological applications became viable in industry” (Simonetti). This is believed to have given Germany and USA the opportunities to catch up with Britain. Relevant Economic Concepts That Were Left Out The most popular economic concept specifically from the field of international economics is the ideology of free trade founded on the concept of comparative advantage. The mercantilist idea was the dominant belief during that time, especially in Europe. It is based on the belief that the wealth of a nation is amassed through massive export. This is dispelled by the theory of comparative advantage, which supports trade and specialization. This theory says that importing can actually be helpful because it allows countries to specialize in the product that they do best, that is with the least cost. The necessity of imperialism, which sparked the World War I, could have been overshadowed by the acceptance of free trade. The US Period There was not much discussion about the US participation in the World War I in this film as it tackles about the origin of the world war, in which US has not part. It was only dragged into the world war as Great Britain is its major trading partner However, it should be noted that the World War began in a period where America was already on the rise to the point of even to the point of surpassing Great Britain. “Following the completion of the Union after the American Civil War (1861) and the unification of Germany (1871), both economies [USA and Germany] had large domestic markets. In both cases, railroad investments were made to connect the different parts of the country, and both economies enjoyed the benefits of a continent-wide system of transportation by the late nineteenth century...A large domestic market enabled US industry to grow organically and in a broad-based fashion, moving from consumer goods to producer goods much in the way that British industry had grown in an earlier period, albeit on a much greater scale. The large scale of the US market also paved the way for significant inter-firm divisions of labor, and the emergence of specialized markets such as in machine tools where US firms soon became world leaders. In order to exploit the large scale of its markets, US producers co­ordinated on establishing standards in different components of production” (Simonetti). Works Cited Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. http://www.merriam-webster.com. 8 October 2009 . Simonetti, Suma Athreye and Roberto. "Technology, investment and economic growth." William Brown, Simon Bromley, Suma Athreye. Ordering the International. London: Pluto Press, 2004. 337-375. Read More