America and the Great War
Nationalism, imperialism and militarism are considered to be the three major causes to have set the stage for the Great War or the World War I (WWI). Nationalism is a strong association, devotion and loyalty to one’s country. It was not specific to a single country as nationalism was prevalent throughout Europe (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003). During the course of the nineteenth century nationalism became stronger. During this period basic literacy had increased which contributed to nationalism.
Imperialism is the second major cause of the WWI. Imperialism refers to a country expanding its power and influence using military or other means of force. In the context of WWI one must consider that the British Empire was the largest at that time, its competitors was Russia which also held massive empire (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003). Germany had an expanding empire while France had a smaller empire. Austria-Hungary had no off continent empires. It means that the five countries with significant empires had different imperialist agendas as a result of engaging in war.
Militarism is the third main cause of WWI, where the term represents overpowering of the civilian dominion by the military. Many of the European countries had influence of the military prior to WWI. In this mind-set, undue influence and glorification is attributed to the military. During the early twentieth century many generals of admirals were considered the de facto rulers of many states. In militarism, despite a civilian rule the military general have the final authority as was the case in Germany at the end of July 1914 (Berghahn, 2008). This ideology was also backed by Pan Slavism and Pan Germanism in their respective territories.
Pan Slavism refers to the movement of uniting the Slav people into a unit to further political and cultural goals. It was an intense nationalistic agenda as Slavs make up a huge chunk of the European population. The agenda was that the Slavs of Eastern Europe should form their own nation. Serbia was a major stronghold and stimulant of this form of nationalism.
Similarly, German nationalism was also on the rise and after the unification of Germany in 1871, this ideology started gaining roots. As it gained momentum it turned into German imperialism, which rivaled the British Empire. The unification of Germany was a result of unifying 26 German speaking states and the notion of ‘Pan-Germanism’ united them. Even after the end of WWI, Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism remained active in Europe, and Italy and Hungary formed an alliance as they had a common agenda (Motta, 2014).
This nationalism also gained support by German Militarism, where the military generals would define the country’s territory and had the final say in crucial matters of the state. Wilhelm II was the new Kaiser of the unified Germany. He was extreme in his measures against socialism in his country (Cecil, 1996). In 1912, he declared that Germany should be ready for war (Cecil, 1996). His aggressive expansion maneuvers worried British nationalists.
The British press and literature started building a narrative around the ‘threatening’ expansion strategies by the German-speaking states. On the other hand, Wilhelm also considered the British Empire a hurdle in the way of German military might and nationalistic agendas. The stage had been set for a confrontation between the German allies (Austria-Hungary) and British, French and the Russian Empires. The assassination of Austrian general Franz Ferdinand at the hands of Slav nationalists triggered the start of the World War I in 1914, which had been brewing for decades.
Initially, the US remained neutral in the war under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. This decision was partly strategic and partly due to popular public opinion to not engage in it. This was despite the fact that the US did not hold a popular opinion regarding the Germans and their nationalistic and militaristic agendas of empire expansion.
The main reason for initially remaining neutral was the ethnic makeup of the US. A great number of Irish settlers in the US wanted their country to remain neutral in the war. This sentiment was also shared by the Swiss and German immigrants in the US. The Irish were adamant in not supporting Britain as it would have hampered their dream of an independent Ireland from United Kingdom. Also, there was the fear of legal and economic backlash due to engagement (Zieger & Zieger, 2001)
But when the war started the news of German atrocities in Belgium started arriving in the US and hate and resentment started building up against the Germans. At this time Wilson did not engage in war directly but granted generous loans to France and Britain. About £230 million of gold was sent to the US (Horn, 2002). The US president did not prepare its military for the war despite a looming threat.
In 1917, the Germans decided to engage in a submarine warfare, which included sinking every commercial ship headed towards Britain. They knew very well that this would mean a war with the US, and they had made their preparations. The Germans sent the ‘Zimmerman Telegram’ to Mexico seeking their alliance (Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky & Soderlund, 2008).
When this telegram was published it created an outrage in the US, also the German fighter boats started sinking American ships in the North Atlantic. Woodrow Wilson asked the parliament to vote to wage “a war to end all wars” (Casey-Maslen, 2014). He also sought the allegiance of the parliament by supporting his proposal with the duty to pave the way for a safer world with democratic values. As a result, in 1917, the US officially declared war against Germany. At that time the US had 127,588 personnel and 5,523 Philippine Scouts (Rinaldi, 2004).
The US contribution to the Great War was decisive. The Russians decided to quit the war earlier, which gave the Germans room to deploy their army to the West. The American army was fresh into the war and had massive numbers and strength. The US troops engaged in the trenches and by November 1918 the war was over.
Woodrow Wilson proposed his peace treaty, to end the war peacefully. To him, the basic flaws in international relations created wars such as the WWI. He put forth his Fourteen Points to create a safer world. Wilson proposal was to end secret diplomacy, independent sea routes and a reduction in ammunitions. He believed that free trade routes, fair adjustments of colonies and paving the way for nationalistic right of self-determination would help in eradicating the tension that originally lead to the war. However, his proposal was widely rejected by the victorious Allied Forces. He also proposed an international organization (much like the current United Nations) to intervene in resolving conflicts between different countries.
The Big 4; Woodrow Wilson of the US, David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy and Georges Clemenceau of France met in Paris to settle the terms of the peace treaty. It is commonly known as the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson’s proposal was rejected as it was deemed too idealistic and the European leaders were bent on retribution more than seeking peace.
Wilson’s peace proposal was considered full of ideals and non-practical, his “war to end all wars” did not end the war at all, as the world saw a more horrific war 21 years later (Hakim, 2012). His Fourteen Points were rejected one by one, but he succeeded in getting the League of Nations approved.
The treaty was rejected, it ended WWI but it did not attain peace in the world. The US had to deal with resistance and opposition regarding the Treaty of Versailles. The German Americans felt as if their homeland was being treated too harshly. Similarly, the Irish Americans felt that the treaty ignored the issue of Independent Ireland altogether. Italian Americans had their resentment about the territorial distribution. During the 1920s and 30s the US remained mostly engaged in domestic problems. Drastic social and industrial changes were occurring in the country during this time.
References
Berghahn, V. R. (2008). Europe in the era of two World Wars: from militarism and genocide to civil society, 1900-1950. Princeton University Press.
Casey-Maslen, S. (Ed.). (2014). The war report: Armed conflict in 2013. OUP Oxford.
Cecil, L. (1996). Wilhem II: Emperor and Exile, 1900–1941. Univ. of North Carolina Press.
Hamilton, R. F., & Herwig, H. H. (Eds.). (2003). The Origins of World War I. Cambridge University Press.
Hakim, J. (2012). A History of US: War, Peace, and All That Jazz: 1918-1945. Oxford University Press.
Horn, M. (2002). Britain, France, and the financing of the First World War. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.
Ayers, E. L., Gould, L. L., Oshinsky, D. M., & Soderlund, J. R. (2008). American passages: a history of the United States. Cengage Learning.
Motta, G. (2014). Less than Nations: Central-Eastern European Minorities after WWI, Volumes 1 and 2 (Vol. 1). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Rinaldi, R. (2004) The Us Army In World War I: Orders Of Battle. Green Data LLC.
Zieger, R., & Zieger, R. H. (2001). America's Great War: World War I and the American Experience. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
