Why Did Bismarck Enter World War 1
It all started with the rise of Germany and its seek for a new found power. Otto von Bismarck wished to use it for good and to make German a strong, power country. He was doing a good job of that until the King, Kaiser Wilhelm, relieved him of the position and took control for himself. At this point there is a rivalry that is brewing between Germany and Great Britain. A Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip had been working for the organization which is recognized as the Black Hand(Wars for Democracy). In June of 1914, Princip went out and assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. No less than three weeks later Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.At this point other countries start choosing sides based on previous alliances. Because of these rigid plans most of europe plunged into war because of this single event. America started out as the neutral country during the start of the war. During the beginning America benefited greatly economically, it grew the industrial business and gave jobs to those who previously did not. However this did not work out for
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them in the long run because they were aiding the allies ten times for than the central powers. This didn’t end well when the Germans started to assault boats with supplies on them with their U-boats. The Lusitania was one of those boats sunk, it had Americans on it, 128 of which perished. At this point two sides started to emerge in America. Those reluctant to go to war and those for going to war. Many of those who advocated for war pushed for preparedness, and a large growth our the army, if it came time to join the war.
On the other side, anti war supporters wanted to stay out and fix issues within our own country first. One of these anti war advocates was Robert La Follet, at the time he was governor of Wisconsin. He advocated heavily against the war and used the term, don’t let the poor man fight the rich man's war. Neering the end of Wilson's term he was for preparedness and recommended a buildup of the nation's army. This was until re-election, which moved Wilson to advocate for peace talks and end to the war. Wilson wanted to stay neutral, but with the deficit in aid between the two sides, it became increasingly clear that America was starting to truly side with the allies. He was torn between keeping the US out of war or joining it to keep
democracy. February first, 1917, Germany gave the announcement of unrestricted submarine warfare. This showed that Germany was not willing to work out a peace treaty and was willing to either win it all or lose horribly. This event combined with the Zimmerman telegram, a pack where Mexico would ally with Germany if America joined the war, gave Wilson almost no choice but to call congress and ask for a declaration of war. Wilson came up with his 14 points speech as a way to get people to rally behind him in support of the war. These points consisted of diplomatic and territorial issues. For example, point 4 is to reduce armaments, and point 9 is to readjust Italy's border. If wilson could pass these 14 points then in America's eyes the war for democracy would be a complete success. The role that America had in the war was to support the allies in combat. America had destroyers going up against Germany's u-boats, which worked out well for the most part. Ground combat was by far the largest part of this war however. The French were led by a man named Ferdinand Foch, while the British were lead by Douglas Haig. The Americans stayed independent and were lead by John J. Pershing, they still gave equal contribution even though they did not combine with the allied forces. All the meanwhile the German forces were pushing forward with great power. Americas ground war was mainly lead in the Argonne forest, which is where they had their largest victory against the central powers. Following these battles on November 11th 1918, an armistice was signed for the western front which ceased all hostilities.
Germany had been defeated and with the help of America, Europe is able to stay a democracy for the foreseeable future. Sadly, Wilson's 14 points were not followed, but instead the treaty of versailles was signed. With the treaty there were the “Big 3” victors; Great Britain, France, and the U.S. The terms for the treaty were put forth to benefit the big victors and to hurt Germany for its attacks in the war. Germany lost territory, on the west side was the Alsace-Lorraine, and on the east was the Polish corridor. The Saar, an area of land on the west of Germany was a coal rich area which was taken control of by the League of Nations. Which would be used to benefits countries in Europe. Another area in the west was the Rhineland which is a large industrial region which would be occupied by Great Britain and Italy. The treaty also put a heavy limit on Germany's military, which required a maximum of 100,000 soldiers, 15000 in the navy, no u-boats, and limited ships. Germany would also lost its African colonies. During these times of war and treaties, America's home front was also going through a large change which would shape the future of America. To manage the issues at home and to uphold the safety of the war efforts Wilson enacted the Espionage act. This act allowed the government to restrict free speech with the penalty of being accused of treason. The espionage act only lasted one year until a new act, the Sedition act was instated. This sedition act was built off of the espionage act but with a wider range of limitations on the people such as no anti war propaganda and more restrictions of free speech. Thousands of people were arrested for breaking these rules, one in particular was a man named Eugene Debs, who was the chairman of the socialist party. He used the mail system to promote anti war propaganda. In violation of the sedition act Eugene Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was pardoned 3 years later after the war. These acts seemed as though they were taking a step back in the war for democracy since they go against the foundations of what America was built on. The American people saw this as as a backwards. As prices of goods rose during the time of war people found that they were in great need to obtain more money. Strikes were all too common during the time of the war. People who weren’t even part of a union, or skilled, striked because they knew they could get a pay increase or less hours a week due to the need for supplies in the war. This ended up giving the workforce a higher standard of living and greater benefits during this time. During the end of the war some companies would not allow their staff to strike and would fire everyone who did and hired minorities and others to fill their position. This was when strikes started to slow down due to the lack of power the unions had in fighting the businesses. Overall these strikes really helped the working class group to gain higher overall benefits during and after the war. The people really benefited from these strikes and their effectiveness, and overall was good in terms of being successful in fighting the war. During this boom in job growth African Americans seized the opportunity to find better work and moved from rural to urban areas. Chicago's African American population almost doubled during this migration from the south to the north(Wars for Democracy). African Americans who moved north found that they could get away from all the disenfranchisement and physical labor that they had to put up with in the south. Schooling for their kids was far superior than the south too. African Americans still had to endure racism and segregation however, their day to day life was far superior to that of the south. Of all the groups who benefited from the affects of war, the African Americans came out the best. They were able to gain so much by just moving up north, and the standard of living excelled as well. Women also found benefits due to the war. They were given jobs that would only have been given to their male counterpart. Some of these jobs included working on the railroad or being a street car conductor. This did not last past the war however because once they were not needed the women would be forced to leave the job. The war did lay the foundation for future jobs that women could obtain such as clerical jobs. In a matter of a few years clerical jobs rose from near zero to over a million. A few women also started the NAWSA group which pushed for greater voting rights. They were successful in getting voting rights in an additional eight states(Was for Democracy). Then later on the house passed an amendment that gave the women the right to vote. Although not instantly, women were able to get the stone rolling in getting rights for women both in jobs and in having a say in voting. For them it was a great win and they were very successful in fight their own, small war for democracy.
them in the long run because they were aiding the allies ten times for than the central powers. This didn’t end well when the Germans started to assault boats with supplies on them with their U-boats. The Lusitania was one of those boats sunk, it had Americans on it, 128 of which perished. At this point two sides started to emerge in America. Those reluctant to go to war and those for going to war. Many of those who advocated for war pushed for preparedness, and a large growth our the army, if it came time to join the war.
On the other side, anti war supporters wanted to stay out and fix issues within our own country first. One of these anti war advocates was Robert La Follet, at the time he was governor of Wisconsin. He advocated heavily against the war and used the term, don’t let the poor man fight the rich man's war. Neering the end of Wilson's term he was for preparedness and recommended a buildup of the nation's army. This was until re-election, which moved Wilson to advocate for peace talks and end to the war. Wilson wanted to stay neutral, but with the deficit in aid between the two sides, it became increasingly clear that America was starting to truly side with the allies. He was torn between keeping the US out of war or joining it to keep
democracy. February first, 1917, Germany gave the announcement of unrestricted submarine warfare. This showed that Germany was not willing to work out a peace treaty and was willing to either win it all or lose horribly. This event combined with the Zimmerman telegram, a pack where Mexico would ally with Germany if America joined the war, gave Wilson almost no choice but to call congress and ask for a declaration of war. Wilson came up with his 14 points speech as a way to get people to rally behind him in support of the war. These points consisted of diplomatic and territorial issues. For example, point 4 is to reduce armaments, and point 9 is to readjust Italy's border. If wilson could pass these 14 points then in America's eyes the war for democracy would be a complete success. The role that America had in the war was to support the allies in combat. America had destroyers going up against Germany's u-boats, which worked out well for the most part. Ground combat was by far the largest part of this war however. The French were led by a man named Ferdinand Foch, while the British were lead by Douglas Haig. The Americans stayed independent and were lead by John J. Pershing, they still gave equal contribution even though they did not combine with the allied forces. All the meanwhile the German forces were pushing forward with great power. Americas ground war was mainly lead in the Argonne forest, which is where they had their largest victory against the central powers. Following these battles on November 11th 1918, an armistice was signed for the western front which ceased all hostilities.
Germany had been defeated and with the help of America, Europe is able to stay a democracy for the foreseeable future. Sadly, Wilson's 14 points were not followed, but instead the treaty of versailles was signed. With the treaty there were the “Big 3” victors; Great Britain, France, and the U.S. The terms for the treaty were put forth to benefit the big victors and to hurt Germany for its attacks in the war. Germany lost territory, on the west side was the Alsace-Lorraine, and on the east was the Polish corridor. The Saar, an area of land on the west of Germany was a coal rich area which was taken control of by the League of Nations. Which would be used to benefits countries in Europe. Another area in the west was the Rhineland which is a large industrial region which would be occupied by Great Britain and Italy. The treaty also put a heavy limit on Germany's military, which required a maximum of 100,000 soldiers, 15000 in the navy, no u-boats, and limited ships. Germany would also lost its African colonies. During these times of war and treaties, America's home front was also going through a large change which would shape the future of America. To manage the issues at home and to uphold the safety of the war efforts Wilson enacted the Espionage act. This act allowed the government to restrict free speech with the penalty of being accused of treason. The espionage act only lasted one year until a new act, the Sedition act was instated. This sedition act was built off of the espionage act but with a wider range of limitations on the people such as no anti war propaganda and more restrictions of free speech. Thousands of people were arrested for breaking these rules, one in particular was a man named Eugene Debs, who was the chairman of the socialist party. He used the mail system to promote anti war propaganda. In violation of the sedition act Eugene Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was pardoned 3 years later after the war. These acts seemed as though they were taking a step back in the war for democracy since they go against the foundations of what America was built on. The American people saw this as as a backwards. As prices of goods rose during the time of war people found that they were in great need to obtain more money. Strikes were all too common during the time of the war. People who weren’t even part of a union, or skilled, striked because they knew they could get a pay increase or less hours a week due to the need for supplies in the war. This ended up giving the workforce a higher standard of living and greater benefits during this time. During the end of the war some companies would not allow their staff to strike and would fire everyone who did and hired minorities and others to fill their position. This was when strikes started to slow down due to the lack of power the unions had in fighting the businesses. Overall these strikes really helped the working class group to gain higher overall benefits during and after the war. The people really benefited from these strikes and their effectiveness, and overall was good in terms of being successful in fighting the war. During this boom in job growth African Americans seized the opportunity to find better work and moved from rural to urban areas. Chicago's African American population almost doubled during this migration from the south to the north(Wars for Democracy). African Americans who moved north found that they could get away from all the disenfranchisement and physical labor that they had to put up with in the south. Schooling for their kids was far superior than the south too. African Americans still had to endure racism and segregation however, their day to day life was far superior to that of the south. Of all the groups who benefited from the affects of war, the African Americans came out the best. They were able to gain so much by just moving up north, and the standard of living excelled as well. Women also found benefits due to the war. They were given jobs that would only have been given to their male counterpart. Some of these jobs included working on the railroad or being a street car conductor. This did not last past the war however because once they were not needed the women would be forced to leave the job. The war did lay the foundation for future jobs that women could obtain such as clerical jobs. In a matter of a few years clerical jobs rose from near zero to over a million. A few women also started the NAWSA group which pushed for greater voting rights. They were successful in getting voting rights in an additional eight states(Was for Democracy). Then later on the house passed an amendment that gave the women the right to vote. Although not instantly, women were able to get the stone rolling in getting rights for women both in jobs and in having a say in voting. For them it was a great win and they were very successful in fight their own, small war for democracy.