World War I was the beginning of a new era in world history. It marked the downfall of empires and the growth of new democratic nations. Although it was a violent war and cost former empires in lives and resources, after the war the world saw more independent nations and, as the title of the Clements text says, “The Emergence of the Americas” (Clements). Although each nation had different paths to, during, and after the war, in general the nations of the Americas benefit greatly while those in Europe had to deal with its consequences. Due the various paths each nation took, the various sources (Clements, Oxford, Zinn, Jackson, and Keylor) also reflect this divergence in consistency of WWI accounts and effects. The five sources can be compared …show more content…
To begin in all the texts, it is agreed that before the war began there was a huge international economic depression which hurt mostly the Latin American nations. One perspective on Latin America saw a low in foreign investments before the onset of war due to their monoculture and lack of internal development and depending on foreign investment (Clements). This makes them very sensitive to economic changes like the one just before the world war. In contrast, some saw Latin America as a rapidly growing region, with increases in European migrants (especially German) bring stronger industries and more investments (Oxford). In addition, according to these historians, the more aggressive economic changes brought by the German can be interpreted as an “economic imperialism” lead by the German Kiser’s wanting an “empire under the sun” (Oxford). During the onset of the war, many nations saw a cut off imports and exports due to tariffs, blockades, and U-boat patrols (Clements). In Peru, there was a food shortage within the first few weeks of the war in Europe, which caused internal strife and tension, putting blame on the native/migrated German population (Clements). In Brazil, German U-boats severely impeded on their exports and when they finally destroyed the key export ships Rio Branco, Paraná, and Macau, the Brazilians declared war on the Central Powers (Clements). On the brighter side, many nations like Argentina, Mexico, and Peru saw increases in nitrate, metal, beef, and oil exports, which helped fund internal development (funding domestic industries), but helped little for their future development (Clements). Moving north, in the United States, Americans saw strong anti-German propaganda, but also an initial want for neutrality. Many Americans wanted neutrality because, one, their large immigrant population opposed such actions, two, the U.S. was
Leading up to the First World War (WWI) was a series of crises -- Serbian unification efforts, the Ten-Point Ultimatum from Austria to Serbia, the Kruger Telegram, the Dreadnought Race, the Moroccan Crises of 1905 and of 1911, the Balkan Wars, and the Bosnian Crisis -- that generated significant conflict and division among the countries of Europe, all of which seemed to lay the foundation for the start of WWI. With concern for its own power and security in a rapidly changing Europe, Germany set out to undermine the power of as well as the alliances between other European countries. In his book The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914, Christopher Clark points out that, while ‘not one of the great powers has escaped the
During the twentieth century the United States of America became involved with three major conflicts that resulted in the nation shifting from a regional power into a global power. Through these conflicts the United States grew territorially, economically and industrially. Foreign policies were altered to allow the United States to gain ground on the world stage and to make their mark on the world. Through careful analysis of primary sources and scholarly document s it is clear to see that the United States involvement in the Spanish American war was the first step for the United States to grow on the world stage. The American victory in the war led to the acquisition of island territories and expanded economic and military capabilities in the both the western and eastern hemisphere as well as an increased involvement in Asia. World War I ended with American democratic ideals to be spread all across Europe. Led by President Woodrow Wilson, the United States led a one sided foreign policy that used intervention, peace treaties and military intervention to endorse international order. Despite a limited role in the war President Wilson was able to outline the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations and both of their presences can be found today.
In the late 1800s there was a rise of militarism as well as nationalism in Europe. This had an effect on surrounding countries. Most European countries were training troops and military tactics even when there was no war. This put not only its own country on high alert it put surrounding countries on high alert as well. Another country noticing that Britain was redding an army made others think they were ready to attack someone.
World War I (WWI) had many main events from 1914 – 1918. It was known as the Great War and the war to end all wars. It also introduced us to many new technology to including Barbed wire, machine guns, artillery, poison gas, airships, aircraft 's, new naval vessels and tanks. All these wartime machines and equipment resulted in unprecedented carnage and destruction, with more than 9 million soldiers killed by the end of the war. This First World War or the Great War, was a global war centered in Europe. This global conflict pitted 2 groups against each other “The Allied Powers” and “The Central Powers”. The Allied Powers was made up of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and The United States. Important people that were known for the Allied Powers were Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister (UK), Woodrow Wilson (U.S. President), Aristide Briand, Prime Minister (France), and Prime Minister (France). The Central Powers was made up of Germany, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Important people that were known for the Central Powers were Prince Max Von Baden, Chancellor (Germany), Heinrich Von Clam-Martinic, and Prime Minister (Austria).
The First World War was an international conflict which erupted in July 1914 involving various nations across the world. Many historians and those who have studied the Great War tend to give varied opinions as to what initially sparked the outbreak. However, although these opinions between researchers differ, they do all tend to revolve around the hostility between the great powers of Europe, the violent assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the controversial pieces of German foreign policy known as Weltpolitik and Mitteleuropa, which according to political theorist Hans Debruck (1899), would not only transform Germany into a nation of great economic and military power, but also into a nation that has been
A) America had long had a policy of isolationism and when it got involved in World War I, many Americans believed that it was a pointless war to fight. Americans were anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler; they fervently hoped that the democracies would win; they fondly believed that the forces of righteousness would triumph, as in 1918. Neutrality became a heated issue in the United States. Ill-prepared Britain and France urgently needed American airplanes and other weapons, but the Neutrality Act of 1937 raised a sternly forbidding hand and provided that the henceforth the European democracies might buy American war materials, but only on a “cash-and-carry basis,” which meant that they would have to transport the munitions in their own ships and America
It can be argued convincingly that the United States emerged from World War I as the world superpower because of U.S intervention and President Woodrow Wilson’s diplomatic leadership. America had now become the ‘saviour of Europe.’ The United States left World War I with a major confidence boost. The war resulted in the death of empires, the birth of nations and in national boundaries being redrawn around the world. It ushered in prosperity for some countries while it brought economic depression to others. It influenced literature, changed culture and politics; social and economic climate was also impacted.
America’s foreign relationships were strictly economic based during the beginning of the twentieth century. America continued to maintain its trading system and eventually resulted in the economy becoming a rival to global power. This path continued throughout the first world war in 1914 as America held a neutral status during the quarrel. However, conflicts were still present such as the issues concerning social conflicts with immigrant loyalties and the fight between cultures involving German
The outbreak of the war prompted the formation of numerous women’s voluntary organizations, and a number of women worked to extend women’s role. In 1942 defense ministers and others finally considered to form WAAC to substitute men in the army. The bill took a year to pass. The WAAC only lasted until 1943 because of the newly founded group WAC. The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps benefited women’s rights, how women got to be accepted in society , and most importantly what the women did to help make the country stronger.
World War II, a war that was fought globally to get revenge from each country that Germany has lost from World War I, but this whole war was unexpected for any country. This leads to the questions of What were Hitler’s ultimate objectives? Was this war an essential or incidental part of Hitler’s program? Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany, overturned the democratic government, created the Third Reich, persecuted millions, and ultimately led Germany and the world into World War II (definition from the book). There were several objectives for Hitler, such as, the end of Jewish race, taking over Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, thus leading to a war globally again. However, this war was an incidental part of his program, but Hitler was very enthused with war from the experience of World War I. This essay will discuss about Nazi foreign policy, Hitler’s ultimate objectives, and if the war was essential or incidental.
During World War I and World War II life back home changed excessively. When the soldiers went to fight in World War 1 and World War 2, women and children had to replace men in the workforce. There was an increase in those affected by the trauma of the wars, and the birth-rates dropped during this time.
“No one wants war”, states David Lloyd George, an English politician during the beginning stages and rising tensions that would eventually spill over to produce the first great war of the 19th century, World War One. The factors that lead to the formation of WW1 were a combination of fragile alliances, the race for power, ignorance, and the assassination of an Austrian duke. Each of these issues contributed to rising tensions, and while the civilized world remained oblivious, the war had begun on July 1914.
There are many different causes that led up to WWI, but there were a handful of root causes that accelerated the development of hostility between nations. One of the main reasons was the shifting of the balance of power. The balance of power between nations is a delicate equilibrium that can be easily thrown off if one nation shows a bit of hostility, or if there is an emergence that threatens the sanctity of this balance. For a power to emerge or change, it directly affects all other nations involved through a butterfly effect of events. In WWI specifically, the unification of Germany threw off all alliances and the control of powers, as it was overwhelming for such a strong power to step up. Structurally and emotionally, this was a dramatic change to the stability of the balance of powers, and such a quick change disrupted the peace between the nations so greatly that WWI occurred. Apart from the breakdown of the balance of powers and emergence of hegemonic threats, other institutional and structural theories can explain the events that caused WWI. Some of these events include social conflicts within the countries, shifting alliances, power rankings, and the struggles to negotiate different resources between countries.
On the 1st of August 1914 World War One, also known as the Great War,
Optimistically the Great War, later termed World War I, was predicted to be the war to end all wars. Given the number of wars that have ensued since, unfortunately, this prediction was unreliable. Nearly 10,000,000 military personnel and 7,000,000 civilians lost their lives in World War I and an additional 20,000,000 people were wounded. War land damage was catastrophic. Of the nine French villages completely destroyed on the Western Front during World War I, six remain uninhabited to this day. Undisputedly, World War I had a tremendous impact on the people of many countries. Map changes in Europe and the Middle East, the Treaty of Versailles with its political and economic impact on Germany, and fear over the installation of Russian communism were among the negative legacies of World War I. Combined they would contribute to an unstable geopolitical climate inevitably leading to future world conflict.