In 1914 the United States, for all its industrial power, played a limited
albeit expanding role in world economic affairs. It remained a debtor nation,
dependent on Great Britain in particular as a source of capital. Britain and
Germany as well had a greater share of international trade, and the two still
dominated the markets of Latin America. The wartime years changed all
that and dramatically accelerated the rise of the United States as the center
of the global economy.
Immediately after the outbreak of war, the British and French governments
began massive importation of American goods. With Americans making few
purchases from a war-torn Europe, the United States soon transformed itself
from a debtor into a creditor nation, taking up the duties and privileges of
lender to the world. During the course of the conflict, American business
interests also moved aggressively to dominate international trade with the
countries south of the Rio Grande. The physical and financial exhaustion of
all the European powers—winners and losers alike—at the close of the
conflict kept the United States at the center of the global economy long after
the Armistice and the peace treaties had been signed.
World History
