The Great War by Liz Pease

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Slide Notes

The Great War

Published on Nov 18, 2015

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

The Great War

By Liz Pease

Photo by whatsthatpicture

United States

Photo by Todd Ryburn

Since a neutrality policy at the outbreak of World War 1, President Woodrow Wilson led America into war so that the country could make the world in the right conditions for democracy. In addition to that, Wilson saw himself as the personal representative of the people.

One of the United States’ main reason for entering World War I was because of Germany’s renewal of submarine warfare. In addition to this, the conflict between democratic and autocratic nations had gradually progressed as time went on. The war also posed a threat the Monroe Doctrine and America’s independence.

Allied propaganda swayed U.S. public opinion because the governments specifically selected what the people saw. Some countries used ads to deceive people and make their motives seem more honorable, such as manipulating citizens’ sense of nationalism.

Central Powers

Photo by Tim Evanson

The British Blockade of Germany was the greatest undertaking from either sides of the alliances during WW1. The blockade became the center for the United Kingdom’s greatest efforts during the war. It was a naval operation conducted by the allied powers to restrict the amount of resources that the central powers could receive. It is one of the main reasons why the allied forces won the war.

During this time period, the Germans went on conquests to control Africa. But these efforts were not successful, and they controlled many countries, but with a lot of revolt. Tens of thousands of German Allied troops died as a result of the germs and tropical disease. Not only this, but the German flag disappeared from the African countries due to armistice during the end of 1918.

The Great War was very devastating in regards to casualties and deaths. Civilian and Military casualties combined the number of deaths reached 37 million. This made the Great War one of the deadliest human conflicts in history. Russia suffered the most casualties over all of the other countries ranging from 1.7 to 2.3 million.

Peace

Photo by Giuseppe Martino™

The Fourteen Points was given by Wilson to a joint session of Congress to assure the country that the Great War was being fought for the moral cause of postwar peace in Europe. The Fourteen points became a basis for German armistice and surrender. Under the final peace settlement of the war, the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to pay large sums of money for reparations.

The Treaty of Versailles may be considered a “peace built on quicksand,” because there were not enough people who were taking part in maintaining the treaty. Also, there were way too many people who had an interest in revising the treaty which led to controversy and conflict among several nations. In the long run, a second world war broke out within decades, which proves that the Treaty of Versailles was indeed a “peace built on quicksand.”

After the war, there was a diminished economic stature in Europe. Inflation rates rose to incredible rates, and there were huge public debts. Foreign markets and overseas investments were completely destroyed; this was view as the biggest loss for Europe. The loss of prestige overseas and weakened grip on their colonies also showed the declining of Europe’s hegemony.

The End

Liz Pease