We examine how the United States was pulled onto the world stage during World War I and how the war reshaped life at home in its aftermath. This episode covers the causes of American entry into the conflict, the mobilization of the economy and society for total war, and the ways the federal government expanded its power in the name of national security. We'll also explore the uneasy transition to the interwar years, including debates over internationalism, cultural conflict, economic change, and the tensions of the 1920s. Positioned late in the course, this lesson shows how World War I marked a turning point in America's global role and set the stage for both prosperity and instability in the decades that followed.