How Conflict and Crisis Built the Modern American Economy

Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel

This educational video provides a comprehensive overview of how three major global events—World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II—transformed the United States from a regional power into a global economic superpower. The narrative begins by contrasting daily life in 1915 versus 1945, highlighting the dramatic shifts in technology, education, and labor that occurred in just thirty years. It then systematically analyzes how wartime demands and economic crises forced the federal government to expand its role in the domestic economy, shifting from a laissez-faire approach to becoming a major employer, regulator, and consumer. The video explores key economic themes such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rates, and federal debt. It uses clear animated charts to visualize how government spending surged during wartime and the New Deal, effectively reducing unemployment and driving industrial growth. The content explains complex concepts like the military-industrial complex (without using the term explicitly, but describing the mechanism) and the connection between government funding for war research and modern consumer technologies like the internet and commercial aviation. For educators, this resource serves as an excellent bridge between units on military history and economics. It moves beyond just dates and battles to explain the structural changes in American society. The video includes built-in pause points with guiding questions, making it ready-to-use for checking understanding. It is particularly useful for explaining the origins of the modern American middle class, the concept of the "teenager," and the lasting impact of the New Deal and WWII on the federal government's size and scope.