HIS109Y1 Lecture : WWI.docx
Document Summary
The war is the culmination of imperialism, imperial rivalries, intense nationalism & militarism. Culture of pessimism about civilization & society, enthusiasm for eugenics (europeans are experiencing crisis of masculinity, racial degradation) Brooke thought war was a good thing (would help people purify & leave old life behind), sense that war could alleviate supposed crisis of masculinity, racial integrity, strength. People thought the war would end by christmas. Ideological, nationalism, total war (complete societal mobilization for the war effort, including machine gun, poison gas, trains, trenches) 1914: u. s. president wilson sent an advisor to europe to assess the situation, who foresaw an awful cataclysm ahead. Arms race & gov"t spending on that had stimulated european economies. Militant nationalism, rivalries over imperial claims & conquests. Germans landed in morocco in 1905~ to prevent fr. interests there. 1906: international conference held in spain concerning this crisis. Germany expected it would get a lot of concessions at the conference.
