The 1920s were profoundly shaped by World War I and by movements well underway before the war. Three major patterns emerged: first, western Europe recovered from the war only incompletely; second, the United States and Japan rose as giants in industrial production; third, revolutions of lasting consequence shook Mexico, Russia, and China. Each of these developments brought into doubt western Europe’s assumptions about its place as the dominant global power.
The Disarray of Western Europe, 1918-1929. In western Europe in the 1920s, new and often troubling political, social, psychological, and economic patterns arose. Fascism gained power in Italy and Germany. Over ten million died in the Great War and millions more were wounded. The governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary collapsed. Western Europe’s dominance of world markets lost ground and fell behind the United States and Japan.
The Roaring Twenties. A brief period of stability, even optimism, emerged in the middle of the 1920s. Germany’s new democratic government promised friendship with its former enemies. The Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, was signed by a number of nations. However, internal politics was polarized by leftists who wanted to emulate the Communist regime of the Soviet Union and by rightists who sought authoritarian government based on the recovery of national honor. By the latter half of the decade, general economic prosperity and the introduction of consumer items like the radio and affordable automobiles buoyed hopes. A burst of cultural creativity appeared in art, films, and literature. Women, who lost their economic gains in the war’s factories, attained voting rights and social freedoms in several countries. In science, important advances continued in physics, biology, and astronomy.
Fascism in Italy. In 1919, Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party, which advocated a corporate state to replace both capitalism and socialism and an aggressive foreign policy under a strong leader. Once in power, Mussolini eliminated his opponents, issued a stream of nationalist propaganda, and began a strict program of government-directed economic programs.
The New Nations of East-Central Europe. Many of the problems that beleaguered western Europe also plagued the new nations created at Versailles, from eastern and central Europe. There were also rivalries among the small eastern European states, where authoritarian governments often took hold. Peasant land hunger, poverty, and illiteracy continued despite regime changes.
Industrial Societies Outside Europe. Settler societies, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, became more autonomous during this era. Canada saw an increasingly strong economy and rapid immigration during the 1920s. Australia emphasized socialist programs like nationalization of railways, banks, and power plants and experienced rapid immigration as well.
The Rise of the American Colossus. Of greater significance was the rise of the United States to international economic prominence, even while it attempted to shrink from the world political stage in the 1920s, after its Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles. (Intervention in Latin American politics continued, however.) The U.S. economy boomed between World War I and the Great Depression and established itself as an innovator in products, technology, and corporate practices. The nation also exported its culture around the world through music and movies.
Japan and Its Empire. After World War I, Japan became Asia’s leading industrial power. The industrial combines, called the zaibatsu, rapidly expanded in areas like shipbuilding. Like Western countries, Japan saw its political institutions challenged by war and depression. In response, the nation developed an aggressive foreign policy pushed by a government controlled by the military. Advances in education and rapid growth in population were two other features of this era.
A Balance Sheet. Changes in Europe, the settler societies, the United States, and Japan in the 1920s were complex. Political, economic, and social forces fostered varying degrees of change. Continuity was sought after in many quarters, but seldom found.
Revolutions: The First Waves. An unprecedented tide of revolution swept key regions outside Europe. Each, with varying degrees of success, challenged the Western model of the role of government in the economic, political, and social realms.
Mexico’s Upheaval. In Latin America, the first of these challenges occurred in Mexico. Calls for political and land reform, education, and nationalism led to the Mexican Revolution. Several key players, like Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Victoriano Huerta battled for control of the country, eventually yielding to Alvaro Obregon. The constitution of 1917 made promises of land reforms (slow to materialize) and public education (more successfully met).
Culture and Politics in Postrevolutionary Mexico. Attempts to “Indianize” the na