During the late 1800s and early 1900s Europe became polarized as rulers entered into pacts agreeing to come to the defense of their allies in the event of war. Many believed this would prevent war by creating a balance of power that would protect the weak from the strong and make conflict too costly to wage.
At the same time populations were growing quickly, industrialization was changing economies and political outlooks, and competition for overseas empires as a source of raw materials created rivalries between nations.
Many scholars still debate the exact causes, but after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914 the war started when old grudges, new nationalism, and tensions of the old European empires exploded into open conflict. Both those directly endangered and those bound by loyalty of treaties took up arms.
The American perspective on the world seemed as complex as anything in Europe during the early twentieth century. Outward looking public opinion in the United States long held that our security depended on defending the Western Hemisphere and that Europeans should solve their own problems. However, the nation was not isolated from the world from 1900 to 1914. The American “empire,” largely begun by President Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the twentieth century, focused on increasing business interests and protecting national influence in Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean.
At the outbreak of the war, Great Britain cut all of the transatlantic news cables, except for their own, so all information was filtered through the Allied perspective, which vilified the German Kaiser and Central Powers. By 1915 this perspective was further reinforced when a German operative with plans for sabotage of American factories and ports was discovered. Meanwhile, American shipping was forced by Britain into their ports as they blockaded Germany.
Germany responded with submarine warfare around the British Isles and announced they would try not to sink neutral ships. By 1916, American exports to Germany had largely stopped. President Wilson made one final attempt in early 1917 to mediate between the Allies and Central Powers with a call for a negotiated “peace without victory”. But Germany, which continued to fear American resources being committed to the Allies, declared unrestricted submarine warfare against all shipping including neutral vessels.
Already outraged by the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, which was carrying influential American passengers and a secret cargo of ammunition, the new losses in 1916-17 of civilians, American merchant ships, and goods and materials at sea to the German submarines (also known as U-boats) became intolerable. One of the last straws that inflamed the public in 1917 was when the U.S. intercepted and published the Zimmerman note, a message to the Mexican government from Germany that promised to return Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in exchange for a German-Mexican alliance should the U.S. enter the war. At the same time, the Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the collapse of the czar, ending their fight with the Germans on the eastern front. Americans who had been resistant to allying themselves with Russian “despotism” could now fight solely for the cause of democracy. The public was outraged and ready for a declaration of war in April 1917. The people of Benton County responded by enlisting, joining the Red Cross, or doing what they could at home. Learn more about the impact of World War One on Benton County by exploring the exhibit below.
At the same time populations were growing quickly, industrialization was changing economies and political outlooks, and competition for overseas empires as a source of raw materials created rivalries between nations.
Many scholars still debate the exact causes, but after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914 the war started when old grudges, new nationalism, and tensions of the old European empires exploded into open conflict. Both those directly endangered and those bound by loyalty of treaties took up arms.
The American perspective on the world seemed as complex as anything in Europe during the early twentieth century. Outward looking public opinion in the United States long held that our security depended on defending the Western Hemisphere and that Europeans should solve their own problems. However, the nation was not isolated from the world from 1900 to 1914. The American “empire,” largely begun by President Theodore Roosevelt at the turn of the twentieth century, focused on increasing business interests and protecting national influence in Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean.
At the outbreak of the war, Great Britain cut all of the transatlantic news cables, except for their own, so all information was filtered through the Allied perspective, which vilified the German Kaiser and Central Powers. By 1915 this perspective was further reinforced when a German operative with plans for sabotage of American factories and ports was discovered. Meanwhile, American shipping was forced by Britain into their ports as they blockaded Germany.
Germany responded with submarine warfare around the British Isles and announced they would try not to sink neutral ships. By 1916, American exports to Germany had largely stopped. President Wilson made one final attempt in early 1917 to mediate between the Allies and Central Powers with a call for a negotiated “peace without victory”. But Germany, which continued to fear American resources being committed to the Allies, declared unrestricted submarine warfare against all shipping including neutral vessels.
Already outraged by the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, which was carrying influential American passengers and a secret cargo of ammunition, the new losses in 1916-17 of civilians, American merchant ships, and goods and materials at sea to the German submarines (also known as U-boats) became intolerable. One of the last straws that inflamed the public in 1917 was when the U.S. intercepted and published the Zimmerman note, a message to the Mexican government from Germany that promised to return Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in exchange for a German-Mexican alliance should the U.S. enter the war. At the same time, the Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the collapse of the czar, ending their fight with the Germans on the eastern front. Americans who had been resistant to allying themselves with Russian “despotism” could now fight solely for the cause of democracy. The public was outraged and ready for a declaration of war in April 1917. The people of Benton County responded by enlisting, joining the Red Cross, or doing what they could at home. Learn more about the impact of World War One on Benton County by exploring the exhibit below.
