World War I Memorial in Washington D.C.

While Terrence and Martina went on a roller coaster ride through America at the turn of the century, they gained a lot of knowledge about change and the ability to accommodate change. They now understand that societies must remain flexible and work with resources they have. The duo also discovered the importance of foreign policy during this time period. For example, America had to figure out how to trade with Asia and Latin America, and created policies like Dollar Diplomacy and the Open Door Policy in response to this new growth.

In addition, although the United States wanted to remain neutral during the Great War, the Zimmerman Telegram sent by Germany made this impossible. As Americans joined the war effort, they helped the Allies win. This ultimately led to the development of peace agreements, and Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which proposed how to keep peace following World War I. Even with this effort and the formation of the League of Nations, wariness between countries continued, the Treaty of Versailles was not ratified, and Americans implemented immigration policies like the Quota Act in the 1920s.

The 1920s also sparked other changes in the United States. For example, people started to question religion; women gained more rights, such as the right to vote; and groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) became popular. The KKK’s acceptance even grew in the political arena, and helped support the prohibition movement. Because the prohibition movement increased crime in the country, it was repealed with the Twenty-first Amendment in the early 1930s. Finally, the stock market crash of 1929 greatly impacted American lives, and was a factor that led to the Great Depression. Under President Roosevelt’s New Deal plan, the United States began to thrive again.

Terrence and Martina saw the United States go through a great deal of turmoil and change. They realized people must learn from their mistakes and change with the times.