Militarism, imperialism, and nationalism
World War 1 famously known as the Great War has been a subject of extensive research with various scholars coming up with reasons that might have contributed to the outbreak of war. According to Anievas (2013), World War 1 was a result of an increase in military power, nationalism, imperialism and lastly the alliance system. Militarism was a significant force in several European nations in the years before the World War. Countries such as Germany, Britain, and France invested in military resources to use them for national goals. However, the competition of which country had a robust national defense aroused fear, hatred, and suspicion. In Germany, Wilhelm II endorsed more military expansion and modernization suit that of the British Empire. The British also started expanding their military to counter any threat that would arise. This kind of competition contributed to much tension between Germany and Britain leading to the outbreak of world war 1.
Nationalism refers to extreme patriotism to one’s country. Patriotism to one’s country demanded hatred of another country. Nationalism before the World War 1 was prevalent and became a significant cause of the war. Nationalism gave citizens much confidence that their cultural, economic and military strength was superior as compared to other citizens. This nationalist idea demonized rival countries portraying them as aggressive, uncivilized and deceitful. In Eastern Europe, for instance, Pan-Slavism aggravated the hatred between nations as it was based on the notion that Slavic people had no rights to live in Europe and therefore find their own country ( Kennedy, 2003). This kind of hatred led to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand directly leading to the outbreak of World War 1.
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Imperialism also provided both a cause and context of World War 1. Imperialism refers to a system through which powerful nations establish control of over countries through the exploitation of their natural resources, political pressure and military conquest ( Anievas, 2013). Nations that are conquered are claimed colonies of the superior state. Before the rise of Word war 1, European nations began acquiring colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The acquisition of the territories was met with various clashes among countries such as France, Italy, and Germany who has the same colony interests. For instance, France rivaled Italy over Tunisia while Germany approximated France over Morocco. This precipitated various crises such as the Moroccan crises leading to the emergence of World War 1.
The Alliance system also played a significant role in WWI. Germany was highly alert because it was surrounded by strong opposing allied forces, France and Germany. Britain also joined France and Russia as it feared the Germany strong military powers. Besides, Germany had allied itself with Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empire to threaten British and France interests in countries such as India. This kind of alliances was in themselves dangerous because if a member declared war on other allied members, the level of conflict would quickly escalate as member tried to outdo each other from each unified power is strong. This is what contributed to World War I when the Austria-Hungary king Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbian government. Germany declared war on Serbia but because Serbia was a close ally of Russia they joined forces to attack Austria-Hungary. This kind of conflict led to the escalation of World War I throughout many countries in the world.
U.S. Entry into World War 1
After the World War 1 broke, the President of the United States Woodrow Wilson announced that the United States would remain neutral. The main reasons being that the United States believed in the central theme that for foreign policy to thrive there was need of avoiding entangling alliances. However, Germany had decided not to keep the peace deals after sinking the British ocean liner boat in 1915 where more than 200 people died, including more than 100 Americans. The United States, therefore, declared war against Germany, shedding the neutrality perspective and entering world war. Notwithstanding the American Ideals of peaceful association of nations by way of conquest, Europe continued being inconsistent war. This lead to the increasing loss of life and all progressive nationalists in the United States believed that its involvement in the First World War was inevitable. Germany had violently rejected the peace without victory agreement further sinking three of the American ships. To, therefore, stop the unjustified killings, the United States had no option but to join the war as the internationalism of a peaceful world strategy had failed.
Before the war, the United States had absorbed more than 20 million from the Eastern and Southern Europe. When the World War I began, the lives of the immigrants were put at risk, and this presented a complicated situation for the U.S. The complex conditions ranged from how the enemy would be dealt within as some of the immigrants were coming in the various sectors of the economy. So when Europe went to war, the United States decided to remain neutral as it strategized how the immigrants would play a crucial role in helping them win the war. The conflict between Germany and the U.S. also had significant implications on the economic and financial impact of the country. According to Geiger (2017), trade was substantial to Europe and the United States as it contributes to the domestic growth of the local economy. As the war progressed, it was difficult for the United States to remain neutral and act as unaffected by the events. Besides, the U.S. had a turbulent relationship with Britain after the imposition of strict contrabands which offended American ideals of trade.
The entry of United States into the War was the turning points as it led to the defeat of Germany. In the early days of the war, the Britain and France struggled to defeat Germany due to its military prowess. The United States, therefore, decided to supply fresh American soldiers into the war. The Allied effort was demoralizing to the German which led to them surrendering. The end of the war was not confined to military power but also to other aspects of the economy. American citizens provided extra food to the military and other materials such as fuel prompting Germany to end the war.
Treaty of Versailles
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 was the primary factor that led to the end of World War I. Wilson Woodrow believed that certain fundamental flaws contributed to unhealthy climate leading to the beginning of World War I. His vision was therefore to see the complete disarmament of states, freedom of seas and an end to secret diplomacy ( Mendes, 2017). The treaty which was negotiated by the various allied forces without the participation of Germany to ensure that certain conditions were met. The multiple amendments to the agreement reassigned Germany their boundaries and also assigned liability for reparations. After strict enforcement, Germany agreed to pay the reparations, but with the rise of Hitler to power, the agreements of the treaty remained unresolved.
Besides Germany failing to meet various agreements of the treaty, the negotiations also revealed divergent views between the France and Germany. France, for instance, wanted to fight with Germany again. However, the U.S. and Britain did not want this kind of disagreements as they would further lead to the emergence of a new war. The defeat of the Treaty of Versatile led to creation of a new agreement known as the League of Nations which was highly influenced by Wilson Woodrow. The League of Nations comprised of four permanent members such as Japan, Italy, Great Britain and France. Members of the group were required to respect the territorial boundaries of and sovereignty of all nations. Similarly, they were required not to use military means as a way of resolving international conflicts. President Woodrow efforts to lobby on behalf of US membership were met with firm opposition particularly the Republican. Most of them objected some of the articles of the League that required members to assist any member in case they encounter aggression externally. When the League of Nations document was submitted to ratify it leading to the United States withdrawing their membership. The League of Nations helped in solving various international conflicts but did not prevent the outbreak of another world war.
References
Anievas, A. (2013). 1914 in world historical perspective: The ‘uneven and ‘combined’origins of World War I. European Journal of International Relations , 19 (4), 721-746.
Geiger, R. L. (2017). Research and relevant knowledge: American research universities since World War II . Routledge.
Kennedy, D. M. (2003). The American People in the Great Depression: Freedom from Fear, Part One . Oxford University Press.
Mendes, N. C. (2017). The Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations and Portuguese overseas policy (1910–26). Portuguese Journal of Social Science , 16 (2), 195-208.
