The Tragedy Of The Great War

The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world.

In the book, America's Great War: World War I and the American Experience, Robert H. Zieger discusses the events between 1914 through 1920 forever defined the United States in the Twentieth Century. When conflict broke out in Europe in 1914, the President, Woodrow Wilson, along with the American people wished to remain neutral. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century United States politics was still based on the "isolationism" ideals of the previous century. The United States did not wish to be involved in European politics or world matters. The U.S. goal was to expand trade and commerce throughout the world and protect the borders of North America.

Prior to the First World War, the USA was a flourishing power in terms of having one of the largest economies and military strength, however America had few foreign policy ambitions during this period. Despite purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, there was no real interest in expanding America. Before The Great War, it seemed unlikely that America would become involved in war over the conflicts of other western powers. They considered themselves a ‘City on the Hill’, an example to the rest of the world of stability and democracy. The large Navy ensured security of the North American continent and the small professional army, points to the overwhelmingly defensive front they put on. Washington adopted an isolationist policy with regards

At about 1:00 in the morning on April 6, members of the United States House of Representatives went home exhausted. After 15 hours of debating over President Wilson’s request for a declaration of war, all members voted for the war… All except one. Jeanette Rankin is the first woman elected to Congress, and is also the only member to vote against the war. Rankin declared “I want to stand by my country but I cannot vote for war. I vote no.” She later clarified her response saying “I believe that the first vote I cast was the most significant vote and a most significant act on the part of a woman, because women are going to have to stop war. I felt at the time that the first woman in Congress should take the first stand

Laurence Binyon said “A man is only missing if he is forgotten” in his poem For the Fallen, these words stayed with me during the entire experience at the exhibition. The exhibition is dedicated to those who did not return from World War I, it is a moving and important exhibition that commemorates those who did not return and Alabama’s part in the war. Before visiting the exhibition, I understood America’s role in the Great War, however, I did not know the role that Alabama played in the war. When America entered the Great War, Alabama had 95,000 people that were included in the military’s 4 million personnel; I found that to be a shockingly high number due to the lack of enthusiasm about the war from the south.

“The Tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst” wise words from Henry Fosdick. When it comes down to the time where an individual hits rock bottom, a man either do its best or do its worst. Although, Man can do its best and do its worst at the same time. There are many reasons how man’s best can result to man’s worst. Henry Fosdick statement is both true and false.

World War I, also known as the Great War, started in 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This conflict was originally rather minor, but soon, a multitude of different nations were becoming involved. The reason for this was mainly because of the alliances that different countries had made with each other. These countries, such as Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France quickly became involved in the war. Troops were sent off to fight on the western and eastern fronts of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany led very harsh attacks against the Allies and held the upper hand towards the beginning of the war. In 1917 the Allies (Russia, France, Great Britain, and Italy) gained vital countries, but unfortunately lost some in return. In 1917, Russia was taken out of the war by the Bolshevik Revolution, and the United States joined the fight against Germany. Originally the US had been a neutral nation, but after Germany began attacking US ships and submarines as well as making plans with Mexico against this neutral nation, they decided to join the Allies (Editor). After this point the war became increasingly intense for soldiers, as well as people at home. Soldiers tirelessly fought for their countries with an unyielding sense of patriotism and many sacrificed their life for their nation. During WWI, new technologies were introduced that made life for the soldiers increasingly more

Similarly, Fussell is neutral throughout his book, which enables him to be cohesive and direct with his points and illustrations. In his introduction, he states that his book is about “the British experience on the Western Front…and some of the literary means by which it has been remembered, conventionalized, and mythologized” (ix). He quickly makes a disclaimer that his readers will find themselves reading mostly about British literature and the trench life of both British and France. While reading through The Great War and Modern Memory, it can be noted that Fussell generally leaves his opinions out from the narrative. His focus is to find the way “the dynamics and iconography of the Great War have proved crucial political, rhetorical, and artistic determinants on subsequent life” (ix). He does that by gathering his resources, studying them, and presenting them as they are. He wants history and the works of writers from the past to speak for themselves. Writing in such a way allows him to develop his point, on how literary elements that developed the minds of those living in the twentieth century, effectively and concisely. Perhaps this is why he states that if he were to subtitle his novel, it would be called “An Inquiry into the Curious Literariness of Real Life” (ix). He wants all of the examined “literary traditions [writings of soldiers] and real life to transect” so that he won’t have to twist any ideas provided by those who experienced the war. He wants to analyze

Between 1914 and 1918, many of the worlds leading countries were neck to neck in a bloody and gruesome battle known as the Great War or World War I. The United States practiced its policy of isolationism, a policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other countries. However, in April 1917 the United States officially entered the war. Although the United States only fought in two battles, at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, the fighting took a heavy toll on American lives. In an attempt to restore public opinion, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to help the United States slip back into isolationism. In response to the overwhelming desire of Americans to keep their distance from foreign conflicts, the United States remained diplomatically and militarily isolated due to public sentiment, internal politics and lack of military preparedness, and economic repercussions of the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, one of the most difficult issues with Vietnam was that the American public was against the war because it was not a just war; so, upon their return home soldiers were treated not with a hero’s welcome but with hate-filled shouts of “baby killer” (Newman 6). As a result, it was hard for a soldier to find peace with the acts of war he/she had committed, whether morally right or wrong, when the public viewed the war as totally meaningless. General Westmoreland makes the same observation, “I recognized that it was not the job of the military to defend American commitment and policy. Yet it was difficult to differentiate between pursuit of a military task and such related matters as public and congressional support and the morale of the fighting man, who must be convinced that he is risking death for a worthy cause. The military thus was caught in between” (Summers 29). Vietnam was also the first time television crews were allowed access to all aspects of war leading to the loss of innocence with a nation itself.

World War 1 also known as The Great War started for a number of explanations; discrimination and imperialism, militarism nationalism, and alliance. According to the World of information imperialism is the policy which is expanding the country’s power and acquiring new land or countries by force. Militarism is when a country wants to preserve the strongest and most defensive military strength. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire where central powers of WW1 but the allied powers where France, England, Russia, and the United States. Many of these countries joined World War 1 because of Alliances, where they had a treaty with that country or countries that in a challenging times they would be there to help in any way possible even if it meant they are set in the middle of a world warfare.

There was a time when the first Great War ended. Everyone celebrated that there was peace. A darkness comes upon these countries from Germany. War breaks out and is at our door step. A time we all knew would come The Great War II. World War II began on December 7, 1941 and ended in august 1945. The axis powers were Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, and Romania versus the allies U.S, Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia. Hitler became a General of Germany. The Treaty of Versaille was being under attack by Adolph Hitler. He broke the Treaty of Versaille by taking weapons to the Rhineland’s and had concentration

World War I left an acrimonious taste across the world. One would say it was the biggest gaffe to have ever been made. World War I brings with it the loss of millions of precious lives and much devastation that follow; to this day it is believe that everything bad that happen in the world is a consequence of World War I.

Before America had separated from the British, the colonies suffered under a long despotic rule under the British crown. But, as many realize, it is difficult to stray from what one knows. People were reluctant to separate from the British. They were scared that their small section of land in North America wouldn’t flourish without help from the British, and for this reason, they did nothing when the British inflicted upon them a number of injustices, despite them knowing that what was happening was wrong. Other simply didn’t care. They weren’t affected directly, so they had no reason to separate. Others, the Tories, remained loyal to the government simply because they benefitted under their rule.

On November 13, 2015 tragedy struck. The terrorist group called ISIS arrived in Paris and had a shoot out killing 129 people. France wasn 't going to stand down and do nothing. Instead, France declared war on ISIS. Considering their past, this is a huge moment for France. Now they need our help in this war. To really understand whether or not we should join France in the war effort, we need to analyze the whole situation and the repercussions this war could have on us.