*“Age of optimism”
Positive and negative aspects?
Depression
Slow or negative economic growth in 1930s
Political instability
“Improved” military technology
Destructive World Wars
| Century | War Deaths (millions) | Deaths/1000 people |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-99 | 1.6 | 3.2 |
| 1600-99 | 6.1 | 11.2 |
| 1700-99 | 7.0 | 9.7 |
| 1800-99 | 19.4 | 16.2 |
| 1900-99 | 109.7 | 44.4 |
Central powers (formed 1879)
Germany and Austria-Hungary
Allies (Triple Entente, formed 1904-1907)
France, Russia, and Britain
Competitive patriotism
Unstable empires
Serbian nationalism in Austria-Hungarian Empire
*Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary (1863-1914)
Assassinated, June 28, 1914
*Sarajevo, Bosnia
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, July 28
Russia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary and then Germany, July 29-30
Austria-Hungary and Germany mobilize against Russia, July 30
France and then Germany mobilize against each other, August 1
Germans invade Belgium, August 3
Britain declares war on Germany, August 4
Schlieffen Plan
Defense superior to offense
*Machine gun
Ex: German attack on Verdun, 1916
281,000 Germans killed
Poison Gas
German attack on Verdun Fortress, 1916
French 315,000, Germans 280,000
Allied attack at Somme River, 1916
British 420,000, French 200,000, Germans 450,000
4 countries
Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire
28 countries
Japan, Italy, Romania, U.S.
Battle of Tannenberg, 1914
2 million Russian casualties, 1915
Ottoman Arab Provinces
Iraq
Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia
German colonies
Africa
Shandong, China
British blockade of German ports
German submarine warfare
*Lusitania, 1915
*Woodrow Wilson:
"To make the world safe for democracy"
Loans to Allies
Senator George W. Norris
"I think that we are about to put the dollar sign on the American flag."
Changed political environment
German submarine warfare resumes, Feb. 1
Russian Revolution, March 1917
8 to 10 million men killed (1/6)
20 million wounded (1/3)
Debtors to the Americans
Fall of monarchies
Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
New Nations and colonies
*Treaty of Versailles, 1919
Confidence in progress shattered
*"Age of Anxiety"
1. What were the underlying causes of World War I?
2. Why did the war become a stalemate?
3. What brought the United States into the war? How did US participation bring an end to the stalemate?
4. What were the effects of the war?
1. Why is World War I considered to be a "total war"?
1. What messages about war do these pictures convey?
2. What are the motives of the businesses and governments that distributed these images?
1. What experiences did Clapham have? What message about war does Clapham's account convey?
2. Why is Clapham's message different from that of the artwork?