Case Study
Trace The Origins Of World War I, And Assess If The World War Was Inevitable In 1914?
World War 1 began following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914. The death led to political instability between Bosnia, Herzegovina and Serbia. Before the assassination of Franz, there had been treaties signed between the major European countries, Russia, Ireland, Britain and France. The treaties stated that countries that began a war would be supported with soldiers, weapons and military intelligence (Moses, 2019). During that time, Germany had signed a treaty with the Austro-Hungarian leaders and when Germany and its allies assured them of their support, the leaders declared war. On the other hand, Russia and its allies prepared for war and these included Great Britain and other European countries.
The world war was inevitable in 1914 because of the treaties signed between European countries that triggered defence allies. Therefore, if one country declared war on another, allies of the first country would be forced to support the war. In this case, Germany supported the Austria-Hungary (Central Powers) war while European countries and Russia formed the defence alliances leading to World War 1 (Moses, 2019). In the same year, Germany declared war on Russia and France. As such, these different calls for war across Europe made World War 1 inevitable in 1914.
Explain If The United States could Maintain Neutrality In World War I. If Yes, Explain How. If No, Explain Why Not.
No, the US could not remain neutral in World War 1. It was difficult for the US to maintain neutrality because Britain, France and allies did not have the modern weaponry and strength of the US military while Russia and allies, on the other hand, had the required weapons and soldiers to win the war. This led to the US sympathizing with France and its allies and leaders sought ways to support them. Russia also received the help of Germans who provided more modern warfare and military intelligence. It is imperative to note that Russia, Germany and allies hoped that the US would remain neutral during the war.
In May 1915, Germany attacked a passenger/merchant ship in the Atlantic and resulted in the death of over 2000 passengers and 120 Americans died as well. As a result, public opinion in the US began to influence leaders to challenge their decision to remain neutral since Americans were dying in the war despite not participating in it. More importantly, influence from the public led to leaders making necessary preparations since there was the gradual realization that the war was unavoidable. Economically, Corbett et al., (2017) stated that policies were enacted to allow Americans to find new markets for their product as the war was coming. Therefore, the US wished to remain neutral but the death of their own changed their stand and participating in the war was not inevitable.
Analyze If The United States Should Have Entered World War I To Make The World Safe For Democracy.
Yes, American should have entered World War 1 to make the world safe for democracy. The US finally decided to enter World War 1 in 1917 almost two-and-a-half years after the war began. Additionally, countries lost young men who were perceived to be the future fathers and leaders. During the war, journalists had limited rights on what they could publish as millions of people continued to die and their children orphaned. Amidst the war, the US was one of the safest countries that provided a safe harbour to journalists reporting on the war. According to Corbett et al., (2017) this group of journalists was called muckrakers and provided ample pictures as evidence on the devastating effects of the war. Russia, Germany and their allies had the weapons and military strength to overthrow governments and establish dictatorship. Generations had already been eliminated and those with military backing had seized power in the nations that participated in the war. On this note, the US should have entered the war earlier to help maintain democratic rule on weaker countries.
Analyze If The Treaty Of Versailles Was A Fair And Effective Settlement For Lasting World Peace.
No, the Treaty of Versailles was not a fair settlement and peace would not last. As a result of the treaty, an economic depression hit the world including Germany in the late 1920s. This led to the rise of Adolph Hitler, one of the most feared dictators in the world since he offered a way out of the economic turmoil. The second reason why the treaty would not guarantee peace was that it was offered at a time of political unrest and unstable environments since World War 1 had just ended. Therefore, leaders failed to recognize terms offered by President Woodrow and Germany denounced it calling it ‘morally invalid’ (Thompson, 2018). Another reason why the treaty was ineffective was the refusal of Germany to admit the guilt of beginning the war. On the contrary, this led to increasing resentment and nationalism from Germany towards allies supporting the Treaty of Versailles. In the end, the peace never lasted as World War 2 was beckoning from Germany’s resentments of the treaty.
Explain If The United States Senate Should Have Approved Of The Treaty Of Versailles.
The Treaty of Versailles offered unfair terms and conditions to Germany, but as one of the countries that began World War 1, they had to be held accountable. In light of this, the US approving the treaty would have been a permanent solution that prevents future wars and guarantees peace. This could have been achieved through the League of Nations guaranteeing that German accounts for its contribution to World War 1. During the time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire consisted of the Polish, Slovaks, Austrians, Hungarians, Czechs and Hungarians (Kang, 2018). If the US Senate had approved the treaty, the League of Nations would have ensured that no empire is allowed to rule that many countries thus guaranteeing their independence. This is evident since the treaty stripped Germany of over 65,000 km of acquired land from world war 1 and displacing over 7 million Germans (Kang, 2018). All in all, the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations should have re-visited their terms and conditions since the US Senate support was crucial to the success of their plans.
References
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., Vickery, P. S., & Roberts, O. (2017). US history. OpenStax, Rice University.
Kang, Y. S. (2018). The Big 3 and the Treaty of Versailles. THE EXP JOURNAL, 127.
Moses, J. A. (2019). Christopher Clark, the German historians and the First World War: Telling it’ how it essentially was’?. ISAA Review, 17(1), 5.
Thompson, J. A. (2018). Woodrow Wilson and Peace without Victory: Interpreting the Reversal of 1917. Fed. Hist., 10, 9.