The purpose of the present study is to identify the participants in the British socialist movement who worked in the Second International. The Second International was a confederation of socialist groups from over twenty nations who tried to carry on the work of Marx in the years of its existence, from 1889 to the outbreak of World War One in 1914. the study explains the political work of the Independent Labour Party, the Social Democratic Federation, and the Fabian Society, all of which gained focus from their membership in the International. The findings of the present study are that the focus of the British socialist movement in the period from 1889 to 1914 came from the Second International, an organization that British socialists helped to form and through which they were able to formulate an effective political party that lasted long after the world war they were powerless to prevent. It was this triumph which gave evidence of their special kind of optimism.

Economic reform completely dominated the later half of the nineteenth century. Cooperation proved the more dominant of alternatives. This study examines the significance the English working class perceived in their own Rochdale cooperation. The American labor press reveals the philosophy by which Americans adapted the English idea peculiar to their own cultural traditions. The Sovereigns of Industry are most representative of genuine cooperative practices in labor. The Texas Cooperative Association represents the largest agricultural cooperative undertaking. Both organizations have been examined primarily through their own records. The class fidelity among English workers and the need for class survival necessitated successful cooperation. The American worker, free of permanent caste, experienced no such solidarity and instead opted for individual advancement and upward social mobility.

This study has been limited to those seventeen significant years from the outbreak of World War I to the passing of the Statute of Westminster, for during those years British colonial policy changed radically. An era of the domination and supremacy of the imperial parliament disappeared to be replaced with a policy of equality and partnership. This change in British colonial policy was the result of many significant events. The present study will show how those events and London's responses to them helped to bring about the consummation of the long-sought nationhood of the colonies. The results of the study have been presented chronologically. During World War I (treated in Chapter II),' the colonies supported London with troops, skilled workers, contributions and foods of all kinds. The loyalty and sacrifices of the dominions aroused the interest of the mother country and eventually led to a change in the relationship between London and the colonies. London demonstrated her new attitudes of sympathy, co-operation, and understanding in a number of ways.

The entry of the United States into the Great War was enthusiastically endorsed by Congress on April 3, 1917. Even after the declaration of war, however, the exact nature of American participation was unclear. This thesis examines the role of American involvement in the war, as it responded to requests for support from Great Britain and France.