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powerful position as the country became a creditor for many devastated European countries. After the
war, Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts for peace. Clickhere to see more about Wilson and
the League of Nations.

Power Abroad, Prosperity at Home

During this era, the United States began to extend its power overseas, economically, politically, and
militarily. Below are some examples of U.S. involvement overseas:

• Haiti
Over the course of nineteen years (1915–1934), the U.S. military held sway over the Caribbean
nation of Haiti. Ostensibly there in case German forces sought to gain a foothold in the Caribbean,
the U.S. Marine Corps proved to be an unpopular governmental force over the course of its
occupation.
• Philippines
When the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, it bought the Philippines from
the Spanish. The United States intended to make the island nation a U.S. colony, but the Filipinos
had declared their independence from Spain years earlier and were not going to become a colony
again without a fight. The ensuing war left some 6,000 U.S. soldiers dead or wounded; the Filipinos
suffered hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and some 18,000 military deaths.
• Panama
After taking on the abandoned canal plans, the United States (under President Theodore Roosevelt)
helped the Panamanians gain their independence from Colombia in exchange for control over a strip
of land around the canal. Ten miles wide and fifty miles long, the strip of land was granted to the
United States “in perpetuity.”

Changes at Home

While the characterization of the early twentieth century as the Roaring '20s is entrenched in the popular
imagination, the reality of the time was more complex. Below are just a few of the cultural changes of the
early twentieth century.

• The foundation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP)
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is one of the nation's oldest civil rights groups. Under the
leadership of writer, poet, and activist W. E. B. DuBois, the association’s mission (as stated
in its charter) was to “promote equality of rights and to eradicate caste or race prejudice
among the citizens of the United States.”
• Prohibition
The Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution prohibited the sale and consumption of
alcoholic beverages in the United States. Its passage was a response to the nation's spirit of
reformation at the time. While drinking was against the letter of the law, a healthy black
market sprang up to provide those who wanted to drink relatively easy access to alcohol.
The Twenty-first Amendment (1933) put the power to legislate drinking back in the individual
states’ hands.
• Nineteenth Amendment
Ratified in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment finally gave women the right to vote, the
culmination of a century of struggle on behalf of the proponents of women’s suffrage.