World War I involved an unprecedented number of countries from around the world, as the major powers of Europe involved their colonies for additional manpower. Technological advances such as the machine gun and the invention of poison gas made the combat particularly deadly; World War I was the first war to fully employ the innovations of the Industrial Revolution. Although the United States was officially neutral for most of World War I, war industries were booming, since war supplies were in high demand in Europe. African Americans could move from the South to the North and find industrial jobs, bettering the lot of blacks in the United States. Black population accreted in northern cities and started to become an important voting bloc, while black population in the South decreased. As European powers on both sides started to falter in manpower and willpower toward the end of the war, American intervention provided a critical boost to the Allies that allowed for definitive victory over the Germans...
