The Tragedy Of The Great Wars

The end of World War I was, in actuality, just a predecessor for World War II. With brief peace, the feeling of uneasiness loomed. In Lost Generation in the 1920s: 1919-1927, Carlisle states, “Thus in Europe, World War I clearly gave birth to a set of discontents that would coalesce into World War II,”(Carlisle). This feeling resided in the minds of the people. Fitzgerald expressed this in the last words of the novel, narrated by Nick Carraway, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,”(180). The “current” is the inevitability of the past recurring. Fitzgerald ends the novel this way to exhibit that all the events of the war are bound to repeat, and to cement the idea that humanity will never morally advance. This belief of hopelessness is the last element in the multi-faceted predicament of the American people’s disillusionment.

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.

The Great War, or World War I as it came to be known, dealt a devastating blow to the optimism and self-confidence of Western civilization (Foner 733). In fact, when war occurred in the year 1914, President Wilson proclaimed American neutrality. However, as in the years leading up to the War of 1812, naval warfare which was in Europe made its way into the United States (Foner 734). In addition to this, Britain declared a naval blockade of Germany and started to stop American merchant vessels (Foner 734). Moreover, Germany made the decision to commence submarine warfare on ships seen entering and leaving British ports. What is more, is that in May of 1915, the British liner Lusitania (which was transporting an excessive amount of weapons such as firearms) was sank by a German submarine off of the coast of Ireland, this resulted in the death of 1,198 passengers, 124 of which were Americans (Foner 734).

During World War I, thousands of British soldiers were diagnosed with “shell shock,” a condition which was thought to encompass both physical and psychological symptoms. The discovery of shell shock is typically considered to be an important catalyst in the gradual recognition of mental illnesses caused by combat. However, the characterizations of shell shock as an early discovery of post-traumatic stress disorder made by many historians are false. Shell shock should not be thought of as a credible wartime medical advancement, but as a false and primitive identification of war-trauma.

For the students and staff of the University of Saskatchewan in the early 20th century, times of conflict generated a necessity for change. During the Great War, the recruitment propaganda was everywhere on campus; mainly consisting of images of masculinity intended to inspire men to enlist or shame them for not doing so. However, due to the lowering number of male students and faculty, the role of women had to adapt. Through administrative archive documents depicting the need for female instructors, such as Jean Bayer, to replace former male professors, we see evidence of this adaptation. While this shift may not have fundamentally changed gendered ideologies on a large, permanent scale, the effect it had within the University of Saskatchewan was nonetheless significant. The Great War acted as a catalyst for an integral change at the University of Saskatchewan; students and

World War II-- also known as The Holocaust / The Genocide -- was the world 's second 'Great War '. World War II was much more larger in scale and more longer in duration. World War I had only lasted for four years, while World War II had lasted for six years. I find it quite interesting that contrary to popular belief; the United States did not enter World War II until 2 years after the genesis of the conflict. It was only in 1941, when the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor that the United States had entered the war. World War II started in 1939 due to Germany performing an unprovoked attack on Poland. Surprisingly, only a few months later after Germany invaded Poland; the whole European continent was at war. In 1939, the United States was not ready to go to war. In the early 20th century, the United States Army only ranked 39th in the world. Many Americans believed that the United States could not handle another global conflict right after the Great Depression. Although the United States was not 'officially ' part of the war at that time, that did not stop the United States from becoming 'unofficially ' involved.

The First World War was a devastating calamity in which 10 million soldiers lost their lives fighting for their countries. This figure is ridiculous, but when one realizes that, that does not include the civilians who lost their lives during the fighting, the number seems even more ominous. This terrible event happened, and America tried to stay neutral for a while; however, we eventually found ourselves entangled in its web of destruction and for the a little more than the last six months of the war America was part of the fighting. The Germans were no fools, when America and its “dough boys” joined in the fighting they knew it was a big deal, it even lead to a strike by the Germans. “We must strike,” General Erich Ludendorff told his fellow commanders, “before America can throw strong forces into the scale.” But what was the final act that pushed America past the point of no return? What effect did America actually have while fighting? Why was it such a big deal that this one country joined in the fighting? What was going on in America, while its soldiers were out fighting on another continent somewhere in the world? The purpose of this paper is to examine those questions and discuss the influence that America had while fighting in Europe in the Great War as well as the politics that occurred internationally after the war ended.

A dilemma that was happening for many years can be resolved, but there will be disadvantages and advantages ,no matter what the outcome is. The Great War also called the World War I , started on July 28, 1914 in Europe.The war lasted for four years to end all wars that happened before involving other countries. From beginning to end of the four years, men were not the only ones working hard, so were women. When men went to fight in the war, it led to major grasps in the labor market, so industries and the government reached out to women and asked them to volunteer in specific jobs that were hiring. However the paying jobs did not mention to women that the high wage jobs were temporary.The government used a sneaky tactic on women in order

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

Retired venture capitalist Gregg Bemis owns the salvage rights to the Lusitania — and he thinks he can solve the 100-year-old mystery of why it sank so quickly. His biggest obstacle: The Irish government, which has fought him for years over his plans to explore the wreck.

“Oh,” Grant muttered, mostly to himself, “well that’s good, I guess. Thanks, Auntie.” Grant shuffled over to the dining room to help finish setting the table with the other women. He didn’t look back.

The alliance system, imperialism, arms race, and military plans created a perfect situation for a war in Europe, which would eventually become the Great War. With Germany, Great Britain, France, and Russia being the top powers in Europe, these countries would be the front runners in the discussion of the topics mentioned above and how their participation in those topics eventually led to the Great War. The order of topics to discuss that would ultimately lead to the Great War would be Imperialism being the spark that would lead to an arms race, which would then lead to an alliance system, with military plans truly making the war a world war.

“It’s over. It’s all over,” yelled the paper route boy as he ran through the neighborhood. James Williamson’s jaw dropped. He was thirteen years-old living in New York City with his mom and his fourteen year-old sister, Elizabeth. “I’m so sad Dad couldn’t live to see this moment,” said James. His father had been killed along with the other 16 million casualties during the Great War. Mom came in from the other room wondering what all the ruckus was about. She saw James crying with joy, and he cried out, “The Great War is over! It’s all done!”

On 28 June 1914, a Serbian shot an Austrian. Within six weeks, many of the countries of Europe had become involved in a war that was to cause the deaths of 10 million soldiers, but was the assassination the only cause of war? WWI wasn't just any war, it was also a new beginning and a new cause for a few of the european countries that had been involved. The end results for Germany had been the worst, which not only caused Germany to have a new purpose and have resentments, but also to make something new from that beaten Germany. WWI was caused by many factors but the ones that always come first to our attention could be one such as Militarism, which was an arms race that was capable of making countries into great allies or an enemy to fear. Not only do some people feel pride in being what they but also they can take their nationalism to a whole new level. Take hitler as an example. Believing that his race was far better than any of the others out there, but it doesn't end there. Allies was a big part of it also. If one country went to war with another then the allies would be called upon and join in as well, which led to the opposing countries allies stepping in followed by any of their allies, allies. But change played a great role also. Not everyone wanted change which could mean a loss to any power a country held. Imperialism wasn't accepted by all and there were those leaders in countries that knew what imperialism could mean to the power they