The First World War was a tragedy that America entered under false pretenses and exited with lasting wounds. America's involvement was encouraged by those who had the least to lose from the war: industrialists, politicians, and journalists. Their efforts were crucial in shifting public opinion from isolationist to interventionist. The war itself led to the deaths of many young American soldiers, and created strife between white and African American soldiers. After the war, racial strife escalated to the level of riots and violence. In addition, after the war returning American soldiers carried the influenza epidemic of 1919 into America. The most devastating and longest lasting consequence of the war, however, was the least apparent.
[...] The reputation of America was that of a policeman, but the nation was far from ready or willing to be involved in such complex European affairs. Indeed, America's role as the global constabulary in Iraq, Somalia, Korea, and Bosnia can be traced back to our intervention in the First World War. America's involvement in the First World War was disastrous due to its deceptive inducement and its long lasting effects. Journalists, politicians, and industrialists all clamored for war in order to fulfill their own goals. [...]
[...] Opponent of the War Speaks Out: Senator Norris' Speech Before the Senate.” American Voices from World War I. Ed. Adrianne Ruggiero. New York: Marshall Cavendish 24-25. -Senator Norris' speech was used to demonstrate the protest among many Americans against the war. Norris speaks out against the disgusting profits made by munitions manufacturers in wartime. Passos, John Dos. Soldier's Disgust with the War.” World War Primary Sources. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Lucent Books 34-36. -This letter from future novelist John Dos Passos to a friend clearly illustrates the horrors of war [...]
[...] The incredible slaughter and death seen in the First World War was unlike anything experienced by Americans of the generation. In a short period of six months soldiers died, and 205,000 were wounded. Later on, young men of this time would be known as the “Lost Generation,” for both their dead and for their disenchantment with society. The new weapons of war, machine guns, poison gas, and airplanes, made it easier to kill off one's enemies quickly, and also to leave massive numbers of wounded men incapable of fighting, but well enough to survive. [...]
[...] The Second World War would ultimately take twice as many lives as the First World War. In totality, America's entrance into the war was a epic calamity that achieved nothing for the nation, and wasted the valuable lives of young men in battle. As John Dos Passos wrote to a friend, war is utter damn nonsense- cancer fed by lies and self-seeking malignity on the part of those who don't do the fighting. (Torr History Day Project Bibliography Bosco, Peter and John Bowman. [...]
[...] This has brought us to the present moment, when Congress is about to declare war and engulf our country in the greatest holocaust that the world has ever known,” (Ruggiero 25). This potential for profits presented to tycoons was too great to ignore, and their pressure on politicians and society brought America to the “undeniable” belief that war was necessary, if only to develop the wealth of the nation. Politicians of the time, though greatly divided on the issue, drove the American people into a passionate movement supporting the American participation in The Great War. [...]
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