World War I

BAILEY DEVINNEY
Why Do We Still Teach WWI ?
The significance of students learning about WWI.
 Learning about WWI

We learn about these ev9ents in history to show what helped us in history and what
ultimately led to downfall.

In the case of World War I, it’s possible to tell a story about increasing industrialism,
imperialism and competition for global markets, as well as the deadly integration of new
technologies into battle, such as tanks, airplanes, poison gas, submarines and machine
guns.

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 Learning about WWI

Industrialization played a major role in World War 1. It allowed for new machinery to be
produced and at a much fast rate than ever before. This increase in technology combined
with old war tactics led to total carnage that shocked the world.

The expansion of European nations as empires (also known as imperialism) can be seen
as a key cause of World War I, because as countries like Britain and France expanded
their empires, it resulted in increased tensions among European countries.

The ownership of stocks and bonds from other countries shrank dramatically. Exchanges
were subjected to extensive regulation that did not exist prior to the war. Germans were
not even allowed to trade on the London Stock Exchange for years after the war was over.

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 Learning about WWI
The use of technology during WW1 played a significant role in who won. It changed the
entire face of battle. You could no longer march in a line and fire at each other. One machine
gun could wipe out the entire line. The major impact of technology on World War I was that it
made the war much more difficult for the infantry soldiers who did most of the fighting. The
new technologies led to trench warfare and the lack of new tactics led to massive slaughter at
the hands of the new technology. The machine gun and the tank were new technologies that
influenced WW1 the most. The machine gun lengthened the war and forced it to become a
trench war. The bullets in a machine gun could shoot 500 bullets per minute therefore
making it much more difficult for the rivalry county to fight back.

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 Learning about WWI

In a letter to his mother one soldier, Richard Gilson, wrote about the tragedy of this war by saying, “It was
horrible suspense, as I seemed to be the only man untouched, all around me, and being personally
acquainted with each man made matters worse, in fact, it’s all wrong to call them men, as they were mostly
mere boys,” (1915).

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Significance of the War
Today.
Over 100 years ago, and still relievent.
 Significance of WWI

WWI had many first in the eyes of

wars. It started as a patriotic effort
to serve in this war, young men
were excited to serve their country
and even women were used to help
the war efforts. Propaganda was
posted in many different formats to
boost morale and encourage
citizens to serve their country.
“Many of them viewed it as exciting
adventure and went off to war in
search of glory, (“Significance of This map shows how this war extended all over the world.
World War I” ). World War I was (Walker, Nick. “Europe at the Time of Franz Ferdinand’s
Assassination.”)
also the first truly global conflict
that had yet to happen and had a
huge effect on the 20th century. 8
 Significance of WWI

Here is an example Uncle Sam is one of

of propaganda the most iconic
used during this figures in American
time to sway propaganda.The
women to help image was used to
serve as nurses. encourage men to
(King, W.B. "Hold enlist in the military
Up Your End") and to encourage
civilian support for
the entry of the U.S.
into World War I.

(Unknown. "World
War I Poster - Uncle
Sam".)

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“This is the war to end all wars.” - Woodrow Wilson, 1917

“
Woodrow Wilson, a leader of the
Progressive Movement, was the 28th
President of the United States
(1913-1921). After a policy of neutrality
at the outbreak of World War I, Wilson
led America into war in order to “make
the world safe for democracy.”

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 Significance of WWI
Even though World War I showed devout
patriotism and love for our country many negatives
are viewed from this war from a historical
viewpoint.
“The use of new weapons and the horrible
conditions of the trenches led to over 38 million
civilian and military casualties during the course of
the war. Historians today now view the outcome of
World War I, and the Treaty of Versailles in
particular, as a major cause of World War II. The
Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh consequences
on Germany and led to the rise to power of Adolf
Hitler. Hitler rose to power with a promise to
return Germany's national pride following the
embarrassment of the Treaty of Versailles.”
(“Significance of World War I” ) 11
20 million
Soldier casualties
12 throughout the duration of the war.
Parallels of WWI and the World Today.
How much have things really changed?
 Parallels

Beyond politics, 2020 is also tracking 1914 psychologically, socially and

economically. Financially, both crises are prolonged, brutal and expensive,
requiring substantial increases in borrowing and national debt.

Socially, just as the First World War led to suffrage for women, a trade
union movement and unemployment benefits, coronavirus is fuelling new
ideas for radical reforms such as a basic minimum income, and is
challenging a Western socioeconomic model that many see as having failed
to monetarily value core workers or sufficiently invest in public services.
(Whineray, David. “Coronavirus Has Eerie Parallels with the First World
War. Its Effects Will Likely Be the Same, Too.” )
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 Parallels

Psychologically, today’s governments — similar to their 1914 predecessors — were

distracted as the crisis unfolded at a speed and extent for which they were
unprepared. In the summer of 1914, the Cabinet of the then superpower (Britain)
was focused on Ireland, not Germany; this year, the focus of the US President as
Covid-19 arrived was re-election, not public health. Greater international
leadership by London in 1914 and Washington in 2020 could have positively
impacted both crisis. Instead, Downing Street in 1914 and the White House in 2020
each promoted unrealistic (religion-based) deadlines — the war being over by
Christmas, the US re-opening at Easter — rather than preparing public expectations
for the long haul. (Whineray, David. “Coronavirus Has Eerie Parallels with the First
World War. Its Effects Will Likely Be the Same, Too.” )

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 Works Cited
Gilson, Richard. “Trenches: ‘They Were Mostly Mere Boys.’” Great Western Railway Audit Office, 12 May 1915, Paddington.

King, W.B. "Hold Up Your End" .

movieposters.ha.com/itm/movie-posters/war/world-war-i-propaganda-poster-red-cross-1917-poster-2025-x-275-hold-up-your-end-war/a/16114
6-51569.s.

“Significance of World War I.” History Crunch - History Articles, Summaries, Biographies, Resources and More,
www.historycrunch.com/significance-of-world-war-i.html#/.

Unknown. "World War I Poster - Uncle Sam".

www.1stdibs.com/art/prints-works-on-paper/figurative-prints-works-on-paper/unknown-world-war-i-poster-uncle-sam-lithograph-printed-meisen
heimer-milwaukee/id-a_2878053/?gclid=CjwKCAjw07qDBhBxEiwA6pPbHnpkGrSf9aFrVYTDj8zdbMaLhXGAmSF3hYQ5c9JlAd9aUXaTubL4-
RoC9nkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

Walker, Nick. “Europe at the Time of Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination.” Maps.Canadiangeogrphic.ca.

Whineray, David. “Coronavirus Has Eerie Parallels with the First World War. Its Effects Will Likely Be the Same, Too.” Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, 2020,
carnegieendowment.org/2020/04/11/coronavirus-has-eerie-parallels-with-first-world-war.-its-effects-will-likely-be-same-too-pub-81542.

“Why It Matters Whether Students Learn About World War I in American History or World History Class.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 4
Apr. 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-should-world-war-i-be-taught-american-schools-180962761/.

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