World War I
“I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.”
Erich Maria Remarque, from
All Quiet on the Western Front
Questions to consider:
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What are good reasons to go to war?
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What are bad reasons to go to war?
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Why would a country join a war that is not its own?
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How should the losers of a war be dealt with after the war?
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What's the best way to prevent war?
A note about Crash Course videos:
John Green's Crash Course history videos are intended to be viewed by high school Advanced Placement students, but I think they offer valuable information for everyone. I don't expect you to understand all the references made in the video, but we will use the following procedure each time we watch these videos:
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We'll watch the video once, stopping halfway through, to get the gist of what is being presented.
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We'll watch the video a second time to identify key terms and ideas.
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We'll watch the video at the end of the unit to see if we've understood the major points of the video.
Why would the United States want to get involved in a European War?
Watch the short video to the right, which contains some amazing footage of World War I, to find out some possible explanations.
The Germans lost WW!, and they were punished for having started the war by the Treaty of Versailles. How exactly were they punished? Was this a good idea?
One of the results of WWI was the establishment, for the first time in its history, of American dominance in global economics and colture. Read about some of the other effects of WWI on both America and the rest of the world by clicking on the image to the left. Be prepared to make a brief presentation to the class on one of the topics.