After analysis of the interpretations as well as use of my own knowledge, I have reached the conclusion that the war was indeed the main reason why the economy boomed in 1920’s America. The interpretations that support this are A, B and C. While certainly there are other factors that are presented in all of the interpretations, I believe that the prominence of the war throughout these 3 passages support the strength of the argument. Interpretation D attributes Andrew Mellon as the main reason for the boom, but as Cannadine is the only one to do so this limits the strength of his argument. The war was the main cause of the boom as it provided the catalyst necessary to start of a chain of events that provided a huge boost to the economy. Without World War I, it could be argued that the American economy would not have boomed to the extent that it did in the 1920’s.

One of the main reasons for this school of thought is an argument provided in interpretation A. Jim potter states that World War I provided an ‘impetus both to agricultural and industrial expansion’. This was because of the fact that the war brought in a need for armaments and munitions to supply the forces with, and there were many countries that could not yield the materials and products due to their lacklustre industry. America was not like these countries, and with the stimulus of the war they were able to quickly improve their industries and make these new products. As a result of this, as the historian Gary Gerstle suggests in interpretation C, America ‘had created an insatiable demand for American goods and capital.’ Countries were clamouring to get some of the more advanced weaponry that America was producing that they could not facilitate, so money was flooding into America. By the end of the war America had generated $35 billion in net profits by the end of the war. As C.P Hill wrote in his