MMW 15 Lecture 1 8/4/2014 1:30:00 PM

Outline Lecture One: World War I and its Aftermath

I) MMW15 as Culmination of a Thematic Sequence
a) The 20th Century and Beyond
o i) Capstone of The Making of the Modern World sequence
o ii) Was it all worth it?
o iii) Do I understand more fully the challenges that lie ahead
for me and for the world?
b) Emphasis on the Beyond
i) 1989 the end of history?
end of the Cold War
clearly history did not end in 1989
clashes b/n liberal western tradition vs its
antithesis (ultranationalism, fascism, etc)
o Chinas trying to assert itself in
southeast asia; Japan trying to put
aside Pacifist and trying to militarize
(to defend itself against China);
endless conflict in Ghaza (Israeli vs
Hamas); Putin and Ukraine
very same conflicts and struggles we experienced
in the 20
th
century is still very alive today. We are
more immune ot those problems, but maybe
were at a greater risk to destroy our species.
ii) Legacy of the short 20th century
iii) Struggles that still define our world
c) The Assumptions of Liberalism
o i) What is historical Liberalism? What did it stand for?
relationship to WWI
o ii) Politically, economically, and socially
Politically: individual rights of citizens; self
determination of nation states; self determination of
certain groups; representative govt based on the notion
of a social contract (citizens give up certain rights for
the protection of property, etc)
Economic: laize faire (mercantile, commercial, business
issues)/govt should not intervene too much; access to
open markets; no taxation without representation; if
you are going to tax, it must be minimal just enough to
sustain
Social: the right to private property; right of freedom
of worship (separation of church and state); freedom of
expression (assembly and presence of free press/no
censorship); right to privacy; education of informed
citizenry (believes in literacy and public education)
o How is it that countries with benign liberalism contribute to
WWI?

II) Liberalism and the Outbreak of the War
a) Liberalisms championing of national self-determination
o if you share a common religion, language, cultural tradition
you have the right to determine your own national identity.
i) The case of Balkan nationalism
(1) Aspiration of Slavic-speaking peoples
(Bosnians, Macedonians, Croatians, etc.) for
unification under Serbia
were part of Austro-Hungarian (part of it was
Ottoman) empire, but wanted to be aligned more
closely to Russia.
(2) Assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand on June 28, 1914
inspiration behind this was the motive of
self-determination
immediately Austria blamed Serbia for being
part of this assassination called for a
punitive attack against Serbia
ii) Treaty entanglements: Dual Alliance vs. Triple
Entente
Dual Alliance: Germany and Austria
if one goes to war, the other must
join/back-up.
Serbia was joined with Russia, which was in
Triple Entente (Russian, Britain, France)
o therefore, liberalism was a cause to
this escalated continental war
b) Role of the Liberal Free Press
o i) Fueled the publics pro-war sentiment
war = ultimate contest b/n nations (like sports! World
Cup!); nationalistic fervor
Germany: outrage with Serbian conspiracy to
assassinate archduke; outrage with Russian
mobilization to Serbias aid
o ii) Propaganda steering public opinion towards war could not
be reversed
c) Liberalisms faith in progress and rationality
o i) General nave, blas attitude about war
everything will be better after the war
o ii) False sense of security
o iii) Assumption that Western Civilization had reached a
pinnacle of progress
(1) Rupert Brookes 1914 poem The Soldier

III) The Realities of Total War
a) Wars paradoxical power to produce both profound delusion and
disillusion
o i) Wilfred Owens 1917 poem Dulce Et Decorum Est
o ii) Scenario on the Western Front
b) Casualties on the Western Front
o i) Examples of Verdun and Somme
o ii) Advancement in the tools of destruction turned on Europe
itself
o iii) So, why was there no concerted effort at peaceful
settlement?
c) War as Zero-sum game
o i) Hobsbawms theory that 1914 had inaugurated an age of
total war
not a war b/n countries, but war b/n societies
using all material resources and all that is human
to achieve total war victory
total victory or total defeat; no room for
compromise or partial victory Zero Sum Game
o ii) Success an either/or equation for all sides
o iii) Stalemate in the trenches

IV) The Aftermath of the War
a) Human cost
b) Psychological Impact
o i) Survivors of the war usually fell into two groups
(1) Nurtured an attitude of dark cynicism, or a savage
sense of invincibility
dark way of seeing life itself; targeted minorities,
women, etc. Became ultranationalist right side.
EX: Hitler!!!
o fear of war made the people appease
Hitler
(2) Or a lingering sense of futility and disillusionment in
Europe
(3) William Butler Yeatss The Second Coming
o ii) Impact on the tradition of Liberalism

V) Wilsons Peace Without Victors vs. European Realpolitik
a) American Prominence After the War
o i) U.S.the only major industrial power aside from Japan still
intact
o ii) W.W.I and its aftermath propelled America into its role as a
global power
b) Ideal vs. Pragmatic Agenda
o i) Woodrow Wilsons liberal vision of a new world order
o ii) Fourteen Points (January 1918)
(1) Championed U.S. decision to shed its traditional
isolationism
(2) Real reasons for entering the war
(a) Violations of rightsmade the life of our own
people impossible
(b) Assurance of the freedom of the seas (Articles
II and III)
(i) Safeguard free commerce, free access to
markets
(3) Redress the colonial issue (Article V, Point III)
(a) An absolutely impartial adjustment of all
colonial claims
c) Clash with Realities of Postwar Europe
o i) The Divergent Aims of the Big Four (show image)
o ii) A league of nations as a global tribunal of opinion
o iii) A Carthaginian Peace
(1) No attempt to cultivate lasting peace between
warring factions
(2) France and Britain intent on crippling Germany for
good
(a) No plans for economic rehabilitation of
Germany
d) Economic Consequences in Inter-war Years
o i) Germanys growing dependence on U.S. creditors
(1) 1929 Wall Street stock market crash
o ii) Moratorium called on all German reparations by 1932
o iii) Economic turmoil contributed to political unease
Treaty of Versailles (Paris Peace Treaties): Big 4
o Orlando (Italy)-
o Wilson (US)- idealistic agenda; somewhat drunk with that
idealism; not practical enough; didnt win support from his
own Congress; league of nations (US was never a member)
o REVIEW AUDIO NOTES FOR THE BIG 4 AND WHAT THEY
STOOD FOR DURING THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
John Maynard Keynes
o economist
o foresaw starvation, massive unemployment, and social
instability future trouble for Germany
o thought itd be wiser for victors to rebuild Germany so society
becomes more stable
o Keynes was actually right
up to Americans to provide Germany for all the credit it
needed
Germany became so dependent on US
1930 Germany unemployment 2.5 million
1932 unemployment 6 million
Hitler got most votes at this time; see the
correlation!
VI) The New World Order After Versailles
a) The Fantasy of Self-determination
o i) Respect the will of those immediately concerned within a
region or arrangement rather than the material interests of
outsiders
o ii) The fantasy of one people, one nation
(1) How far can one go with self-determination?
b) The Real Agenda behind Self-Determination or Nation Creation
in 1919
o i) Containment of Bolshevik Revolution
(1) Creation of an isolation belt of buffer states to
contain Russian influence
o ii) Contradictions behind self-determination
(1) E.g. The newly created Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia after the war
c) Absolute Impartial Adjustment of Colonial Claims
o i) Neither Impartial nor Consistent
(1) Self-determination was not applied to colonized
areas
(2) British partitioning of Africa, the Middle East was
hardly impartial
o ii) Mandate System
(1) Colonies classified into Class A, B, or C
A colony is more ready for independence
Mandate system = colonial system
not a single mandate was granted independence
during this mandate system! suspicious!
(2) Imperialism in sheeps clothing?
d) The Legacy of Wilsonian Liberalism
o i) Critique of liberalisms flaws
8/4/2014 1:30:00 PM

8/4/2014 1:30:00 PM