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The author speaks of the Socialist Challenge and the War that played an important part of the United States economy during the early 1900 's . He tried to connect these two items as a driving force

The Socialist Challenge refers to the emergence and growth of socialism in America at the turn of the century . Most of the early like Sinclair , London and Dreiser wrote numerous books that criticize the excesses of the capitalistic system , portraying its ugly side . This was shown in the harsh and ugly realities of life for an ordinary

worker in the factory

Basically the socialists believed that socialism ' will bring about a better and more beautiful life where people cooperatively owned and worked and shared the resources of the earth . Such an attractive portrayal of a socialist system contributed to the growth of unions making them a powerful economic force . Despite the threats and bitter reprisal by the country 's top capitalists , the unions continued to flourish around the United States

During this period of popularity of the ideals of socialism , the war in Europe had come knocking on America 's door . This war , more famously known as World War 1 which started in 1914 , was originally a European war . America , through its president , Woodrow Wilson had promised that the United States would stay neutral in the war . However , speculation was rife that he was searching for legal reasons to enter the war to maintain the balance of power and economic necessities

After the...