The Role of the Federal Government
In the 1900s, the government’s roles changed enormously, and various factors are attributed to these changes. In the year 1914, World War I had begun and many countries were involved. The American government was neutral until the year 1917 when the RMS Lusitania went down in a war zone in Berlin. The entry of the United States into the war changed the roles of the federal government. The roles of the government, therefore, changed by increasing its size, scope, and control. One of the first changes came in the sea transport sector, where the government nationalized the shipping sector, telegraph, railroads, telegraphic cable industries etc. The government focused on improving the military by increasing the budget and the number of people recruited in the army. This also implied that the government, through the treasury, had to raise taxes significantly. The government also made amendments that suppressed free speech; thus, no one was allowed to criticize the approaches that the government took during the war. Additionally, the government also censored most of the printed materials; instead, it rode on propaganda, which favoured the great war’s approaches.
During World war, I the newly created Federal Reserve became a major was of accessing funds. This was slowly leading to inflation that could result in grave consequences years after World War I. Later in the year 1929, America plunged in what is commonly known as the Great depression. This was characterized by the massive loss of employment, closure of banks, increasing poverty etc. This significantly changed the role of government once again since most of the focus of the federal government was military due to the past war. Thus, the government had to come up with new approaches to change the situation. However, Herbert failed, and his successor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came with various approaches dubbed ‘The New Deal.’ These changed the role of the government significantly. The federal government turned on various financial reforms and also providing relief for the affected citizens. The federal government also had to come up with new projects, i.e., building public buildings that could employ those who lost their jobs.
The Second World War also changed the role of the federal government. By the time World War II had begun (1939), the federal government’s role was now extensive and shaped by the first war, depression and other factors. The advancement of other militaries implied that World War II was more expensive than the first war. The federal could only counter this by introducing new taxes; the income tax rate rose significantly during this period. The government also took more loans to finance the war. During this period, the government resorted to raiding the homes of most Americans and putting them on concentration camps without trials. Most of them were of Japanese descent; thus, a massive violation of human rights – instead of protecting them.
The rise of the civil rights movement also changed the role of the government. The 1940s and 1960s saw the rise in civil rights activists like Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. The movements brought massive pressure through peaceful protests. Consequently, this prompted the government to pay more attention to them. In response, the federal government had to abolish the existing segregation laws that existed in most states. It also had to do away with discriminatory measures in education, housing employment and grant voting rights to the African Americans.