USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

TREATY OF VERSAILLES

[SOURCES]
How did World War I impact the European economy?

(A) Brought about equality of class

(B) Solved economic debt between countries

(C) ** Put countries in an economic debt and increase unemployment

(D) Let to arms and naval race

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -Europe. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased for three Allies (Britain, Italy, and the U.S.), but decreased in France and Russia, in the neutral Netherlands, and in the three main Central Powers. The shrinkage in GDP in Austria, Russia, France, and the Ottoman Empire reached 30 to 40%.

Concept note-2: -The First World War created a situation where imports from other countries into India started reducing and there was higher demand for goods like rails, cloth, jute bags.

Concept note-3: -Because so much had been destroyed during the war, many European countries were heavily in debt to the United States and could not afford to rebuild. There were shortages of food and raw materials; thousands of refugees were still homeless. Due to these difficulties, there were almost no jobs and unemployment was high.

Concept note-4: -Stock prices collapsed first, by the end of 1919. The downturn in wholesale prices came 6 months later. By the autumn of 1920 a severe industrial depression had developed. Factory employment dropped 30 percent from March 1920 to July 1921.