Unintended Consequences:
The Experiences of Minorities during WW1 and the Roaring Twenties
World history is replete with examples of actions that were the catalyst for unintended consequences. During WW1, the British organized an Arab insurrection by promising an Arab empire after the war. The uprising was done to weaken the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after this decision, the British made the Balfour Declaration, which promised a Jewish nation in Palestine. Both decisions were made during the war and seemed plausible at the time. Little did anyone realize the decades of conflict that would result. Another example involves Mikhail Gorbachev. He inherited a nation on the brink of economic collapse. In an attempt to save it, he instituted his glasnost and perestroika policies. The…show more content… However, the policies designed and implemented to save a nation actually caused its’ demise. When the people had a taste of liberty, they demanded more; thus, today the former Soviet Union has been disbanded. (Kevlin, 2007) As a result of the United States entering WW1 for the reason of preserving democracy, it fostered unintended consequences as well. These include the emergence of the new negro, the great migration of the negro population into the northern states, segregated neighborhoods which fostered new economic growth and a negro middle class, women suffrage and greater independence especially with freedom of sexual expression, an increase in consumerism, and a growing tension between those who favored the new ideals and those who saw the old way of life and morals being eroded.
One of the unintended consequences of the