America and the Great War

America and the Great War
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America and the Great War
Introduction
The Great War was a worldwide war that started in Europe. It began in July 1914 and ended in November 1918. It involved more than 70 million soldiers drawn from different countries and colonies across the globe. America decided to remain neutral in the war for about two years but eventually got into the war after Germany decided to sink a British vessel that was ferrying approximately 128 Americans. The involvement of the US in the war saw the Central Powers defeated and a peace treaty (Versailles Treaty) negotiated for future peace among nations. This paper analyzes the Great War and America’s involvement in it.
How Nationalism, Militarism, and Imperialism led to World War 1
Nationalism is a kind of patriotism where one feels extremely loyal to his nation and places the interests of that country above any other state. Nationalism was widespread in Europe in the early 20th century and was one of the leading causes of the first world war (WW1) (James & Wells, 2014). Many Europeans, before the great war, believed in the military, economic, and cultural supremacy of their countries. Their attitudes were fueled by thing like fanatically patriotic reporting. Several newspaper pages of this period were full of nationalist rhetoric as well as inflammatory rumors about the enemy nations. Politicians, diplomats, and Royals did not do much to deflate the pressure that was caused by nationalism, they in fact added to it by making provocative statements.

Nationalism made both governments and citizens excessively confident on their government and the strength of their military (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003). It gave them an assurance that their country was righteous, fair, and with no blame. However, these nationalist notions demonized enemy countries, presenting them as uncivilized, scheming, aggressive, and deceitful. It made the citizens believe the hungry imperialism of their hungry neighbors was a threat to their nationalism.
Other than the Franco-Prussian and the Crimean War, the 1800s was a time of relative peace for most European nations. The European powers, except France which lost to the Prussians, easily won these wars because they were both fought against under-equipped and underdeveloped nations. “This indifference to war, along with the arms race, contributed to a growing delusion of invincibility” (Goemans, 2012). The British believed that given their economic and naval might, they would have the upper hand in any conflict. The Germans, on the other hand, had tremendous faith in the military efficiency of Prussia, their growing armaments and fleet of submarines and battleship, and their “industrial base” (Goemans, 2012). The high command of the Germans had ultimate confidence in their Schlieffen plan should any armed conflict erupt. The tsar of Russia also believed that the massive 1.5million-man Russian army and God protected his throne. Some European powers, by the late 19th century, had grown drunk with nationalism.
For instance, British had enjoyed two hundred years of commercial, naval, and imperial dominance with an empire covering nearly one-quarter of the entire globe. These achievements made them believe that no country would ever stand against them and win. However, with the 1871 unification of the German-speaking nations and the rapid growth of the country’s military resources coupled with the belligerent Kaiser, the British nationalists started getting worried. In the mind of Kaiser, the main obstacle to the expansion of Germany was Britain (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003). As the powerful nations thumped their chests and filled the minds if their people with a sense of superiority and righteousness, a war started to cook. The Germans became increasingly jealous of the Britons, and the Britons became increasingly weary of the Germans.
However, the nationalist movement of the Slavic groups was one of the most significant nationalist movements in the build up to the second world war. Pan-Slavism was the belief that the eastern European Slavic people were a formidable force in the region and deserved to have their own country (Goemans, 2012). The nationalism of these people was most pronounced in Serbia where the culture had been on the rise from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Pan-Slavism particularly challenged the influence of the Austro-Hungarian empire over the area. Annoyed by the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in secret cooperation with the Russians, many Serbs joined the Black Hand nationalist movement to push Austria-Hungary away from their region and develop a stronger Serbia. The Serbs called on Russia to do something about the annexation without knowing that Russia had a hand in it (Goemans, 2012). When Russia threatened to wage war against the Austrians over the issue, Germany threatened to reveal the hand they had in the matter, and they did nothing. Consequently, tensions rose in the region and the pan-Slavism movement eventually led to the killing “of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which was the immediate cause of WW1” (Goemans, 2012).
American Involvement in the War
Prior to the war, isolation had been a long-standing tradition of isolation. The country has, since the era of George Washington, struggled to stay protected by the big oceans forming its borders. When conflict erupted in Europe following the murder of the Austria-Hungarian Archduke, the United States decided to continue this tradition and stay out of the self-destruction that was taking place in Europe then. The United States was a country of immigrant and found it tough to pick one side over the other without spurring civil unrest within its borders. While the nation was, by language and history, more closely tied to Britain, there were millions of US citizens whose motherland were Austria-Hungary and Germany (James & Wells, 2014). Offering their support to either the central powers or the allies had the potential of creating ethnic rifts within the country.
As a result, President Woodrow Wilson decided to declare the neutrality of America. The US decided to continue trade with both sides during the early times of the conflict. However, the British could simply not allow trade between the Americans and the Germans. They decided to put a blockade on the Germans, effectively cutting off 90% if the trade between them and the Americans and tripling the trade between the allies and the Americans (Soffer, 2009). This situation led the Germans to launch submarine warfare against the Americans at sea (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003). The German sank a British vessel with 128 Americans it and the Americans eventually decided to join the war and back the allies to defeat the central powers.
The efforts of the United States’ military in support of the Allied Forces proved to be decisive. The Russians quitting the war made it possible for the Germans to move most of its soldiers from the east to the western front where there was a stalemate. The constant supply of fresh troops countered the potential advantage that the Central Powers were starting to get over the Allied Powers and that demoralized the Germans. The Americans got into “the bloody trenches, and by November 1918, the war was over” (Soffer, 2009). The America contributions to the war did not start and end on the battlefield; the US mobilized its entire economy to ensure that the side they were supporting emerged victorious. The US civilians provided extra fuel and food to the war effort by turning off furnaces and planting extra vegetables. America also led a propaganda campaign against the Central Powers to raise enough funds and troops for the war.
The war was eventually won, and President Woodrow Wilson proposed the Versailles treaty to avoid similar situations in the future. The treaty had 440 articles and 15 parts, the first of which talked about “The Covenant of the New League of Nations, which Germany was not permitted to join until 1926” (Soffer, 2009). The allied powers negotiated the treaty among them with minimal participation of the Germans. After being strictly implemented for five years, the French agreed “to the modification of critical provisions” (Soffer, 2009). Germany accepted to pay reparations under the Young and the Dawes plans, but Hitler cancelled all those plans in 1932 when he ascended to power. Under Hitler, Germany began new aggressions on its enemies, eventually leading to another world war in 1939 (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003).
Conclusion
The Great War was undoubtedly a destructive war. It involved millions of military personnel, cost millions of money and led to the loss of thousands of lives. America decided to stay neutral for two years after the war started but eventually decided to throw its weight behind the Allied Powers after Germany sunk a ship that was ferrying tens of Americans. The involvement of America in the war saw the German side lose and be forced to pay reparations under the Versailles Treaty. The Germans agreed to all the terms but slowly started going against them until Hitler eventually cancelled the whole deal in 1932.
References
Goemans, H. E. (2012). War and punishment: The causes of war termination and the First
World War. Princeton University Press.Hamilton, R. F., & Herwig, H. H. (Eds.). (2003). The Origins of World War I. Cambridge University Press.
James, D. C., & Wells, A. S. (2014). America and the Great War: 1914-1920. John Wiley &
Sons.
Soffer, R. (2009). History, historians, and conservatism in Britain and America: from the Great
War to Thatcher and Reagan. Oxford University Press on Demand.