World War II's impact on American banking and employment

¶ … consequences that WW2 had on United States society.

The Banks

World War 2 had enormous consequences on many parts of American life. One of these was on the economy, and included in the economy was the result that the War had on the banks.

Admittedly, it wasn't just the War that impacted the banks; Franklin Delaney Roosevelt's New Deal had an inextricable impact too in enhancing the security of the banking system. Initially, involvement of commercial banks in securities underwriting under-cut bank stability. Roosevelt, therefore, implemented the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which separated between commercial and investment banking. Roosevelt also introduced Regulation Q, which forbade banks from paying interest on checking accounts and established a limit on interest rates paid to time deposits.

The post-World war booming era helped these new policies along. Some of Roosevelt's reforms persisted into he 21st century; other have instigated discussion and have been changed by, for instance, the Financial Services Modernization Act (Gramm-Leach-Bliley) of 1999 which blurred the previous strong demarcation between different financial industries.

In short, World War II and Roosevelt's policies changed the banks in dramatic ways; some of these differences have lingered still today (EH. Net U.S. Banking History)

I have chosen Treaty of Paris (American Revolution)

The Treaty of Paris (1783) gave the U.S.A. greatly enlarged boundaries. It was signed on September 3, 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on one side and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The Treaty, therefore, signaled the birth of America as an independent nation.

American representatives were Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. The British representatives were David Hartley and Richard Oswald.

Britain also signed separate agreements with the Netherlands, France and Spain giving them and exchanging as well as ratifying certain parts of land. The American Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784 whilst British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784.

Points included in the Agreement regarding territory were the following:

Acknowledging the United States to be a free, sovereign and independent nation, and that the British Crown and all heirs and successors relinquish claims to the Government, property, and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof;

establishing the boundaries between the United States and British North America;

Great Britain and the United States were each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River;

Territories captured by Americans subsequent to treaty will be returned without compensation

The results of the treaty were greatly enlarged territorial expansion for the United States, and their becoming a major trading partner. All issues, however, took a while to consolidate. The Jay Treaty in 1794 as well as the Constitution (1787) helped.

Of all of the 10 points in the Treaty, only Point 1 still remains in force today (Dull, 1987)