Ww1 Essay Research Paper Korey

Ww1 Essay, Research Paper

Korey

“Knowledge is power lets take over the world”-Nostajik

So many battles, so many wars, and so much bloodshed. The unprecedented amount of casualties, deaths, destruction and cruelty will truely make this century one to remember. With all this negativity a form of positivity was forged from it. We now have a higher technology and better understanding of how to react it certain cases in order to prevent mistakes made int he past. WWI and its prime example of the potential dangers of nationalism, militarism, and alliances. Although those actions or beliefs on their own can be positive it was the negative that brought the world in the state of world war. For example nationalism: brings a country together unifying it therefore working better and stronger and more effeciently, alliances: creating peace and understanding for support of two or more nations,militarism: makes a country stronger and shows developement in the countries economical areas. Although it was these “positive” things that created the disatrious events of the war, there it was also beficial. WWII showed the world of the extent of what bigotry, descrimination, and desperation can lead to. Vietnam and Korea both gave future wars a form of guideline on how to handle certain situations in upcoming wars and fueds with other nations.

It was known as the war to end all wars: “A war to make the world safe for democracy”, as president Wilson had said in a speech to congress on April 2, 1917( Marshall 32 ). World war one was a war mixed with both the old and the new. New technology was used, sometimes for the first time. Many new weapons and styles of warfare were first used in the war. But many times the generals on both sides resorted to the most primitive style, of just “throwing” as many men as possible at the enemy in an attempt to wear down and defeat them. One of the new styles of warfare was trench-warfare. Trenches would run for miles, and soon became the daily living place for many soldiers. World war one was a war of “unparalleled bloodshed”, with casualties in the millions. It was no doubt the bloodiest war that the world had ever seen before. Americans did not want war. They wanted peace and remained neutral for most of the war. America had already went through its own war about fifty years earlier, and they knew the destruction and devastation that war caused. But when the time came, the United States knew they had to enter the war. World war one had to be fought, and it had to be won for the preservation of “certain unalienable rights”.

Earlier in the decade many of the European nations had signed secret alliances with other ones, so they were bonded together both by politics and by the military. Through the rise of secret alliances

many of the European nations were building up their armies and becoming suspicious of other countries militaries. On June 28, 1914 Europe exploded. On this day the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand,

and his wife were visiting the Bosnian town of Sarajevo. While driving through the town, Gavril Pricip, just a schoolboy, pulled a gun and assassinated both the Archduke and his wife. The two nations that were directly involved, because of the secret alliances, drew several others into the issue, and within a few days most of Europe was involved in what would someday be called World War One.

Going into the war, soldiers were ready to fight for their country, and many thought that the war would be very short. But as the war dragged on, many soldiers lost interest in the war, and it seamed to many like everyday life. Although America was reluctant at first to enter the war, they made some key differences. Even before they

joined they were the key suppliers of amunitions to both Great Britain and France. America was willing to help the allies, but did not want to get directly involved in the war. But on February 4, 1915 the Germans declared the waters around Great Britain a war zone. This affected America because they could no longer take supplies to Great Britain safely.

One major turning point in America s actions toward war was the sinking of the British liner, the Lusitania, off the coast of Ireland on May 8, 1915. One-hundred and twenty-eight Americans drowned when the Lusitania was sunk. At first president Wilson did not even want to hear the details of the sinking, fearing he would overreact. He just sat down at his typewriter and sent the Kaiser a strongly worded letter

of protest against the sinking. The Kaiser ignored the warning, and the Germans sank another British liner. The president protested again, but refused to enter the war. The British became somewhat mad at the president for not entering the war. Whether the United States wanted to help, or not, this war had to be won by the Allies to put an end to the Kaiser s control, and to preserve democracy.

After the Germans had sunk the Lusitania in may, 1915 (which sank within 15 minutes), the United States protested and demanded that such attacks be stopped. But almost one year later, in march, 1916, another British liner, the Sussex, was sunk by German submarines. The United States again protested strongly, but the president refused to enter the war.

Even after all that America had gone through, one letter would convince them that they had to enter the war. This note was ca