The Inter-War Years

Abstract

The First World War and the Versailles Treaty represented a watershed. The old world order had gone; a new one was taking shape. So far as the Anglo-American relationship was concerned, the United States was now clearly the stronger partner. Four years of bitter struggle had depleted the resources of the one and greatly augmented those of the other. Now the United States was the leading creditor nation and New York the world’s financial centre. America’s industrial production exceeded that of Britain, France and Germany combined. Contrary to what many had anticipated, the US had shown itself capable of raising vast armies and deploying them in a distant theatre. Its President had largely set the agenda at the Peace Conference.