Connection Across Time

Looking back on to World War I a connection across time can be made through the lands that were formed through it that are still here today. The big four made decisions that cut the nations into many different lands. What they did not realize, is that by doing this cultural differences were made that would lead to civil wars later. The lands are like that today in the Middle East. Religious oppostitions lead to wars in these areas. From these lessons you learn to look at the big picture, and all that can happen off of your decisions. Major decisions should take a lot more speculation to avoid problems in the future.

2 US Events

Invention of the Gas Mask

On July 25, 1916, Garrett Morgan used his new invention to save 32 men that were trapped in an explosion in an underground tunnel. Morgan an his team used gas masks to save them, making them seen as the new invention to get. After they were rescued fire departments all around the country wanted to buy this new invention. This invention was later refinede by the U.S. Army to be used in World War I.

A connection can be used across continents because this invention saved soldiers from death all around the world. Although the death toll was very high, this invention helped to save the lives of many soldiers.


Federal Farm Loan Act

The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 was a United States rederal law that was created to increase credit to rural, family farmers. This act was signed into law by the President of the United States at the time, Woodrow Wilson. Under the act, farmers could borrow up to 50% of the value of their land and 20% of the value of their improvements. The minimum loan was $100 and the maximum was $10,000. Loans made through the Act were paid off between 5 to 40 years.

A connection across continents can be made because of the power this gave to the United States. Because of this the United States was able to become more powerful in making their land stronger, it made it worse for other continents because they did not have the strength that the United States had. Affecting them in an indirect way.

Spotlight On

Lusitania

The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania was attacked by German U-boats. The Germans say their U-boat only fired one torpedo. Many believe the second explosion was caused by the ignition of ammunition hidden in the cargo hold.The damage from the second explosion that made the ship sink. The Lusitania sunk within 18 minutes.

 

Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died. The toll of civilians killed in this disaster shocked the world. Americans were outraged to learn 128 U.S. civilians were killed in a war in which they were officially neutral.  The sinking of the Lusitania heightened tensions between the U.S. and Germany and helped sway American opinion in favor of joining the war.

3 Works of Art

 

This painting, by Paul Nash, represents the devastations of the war. The broken trees and absence of all houses and life represent the havoc that broke out. This is a very important painting because it was made by a soldier who was lucky enough to be sent home because of a sprained ankle from falling in a ditch. This is his depiction of what he saw. It's not all bad though. The sun in the background gives a feeling of hope for renewal and restoration from the devastating state that the land is in at the moment.

This watercolor, by Otto Nix, represents the cruelties of war. New technologies, like poisin gasses, led to a huge death toll. Nix is trying to show his view of soldiers, as monsters. Their monstrous nature of these sodliers can be seen the the inhuman appearances of the soldiers in battle because of the gas masks. Even their hands look as if they are claws. The soldier on the right shows their need for power with his raised arm. All of these soldiers rushing toward their death shows how Dix thinks war is vain and stupid.

 This piece of art, by John Singer Sargent, is one of most disturbing pieces of art I came across. This is showing a column of soldiers stumbling across the battlefield blinded from gas, but on the other side of the canvas is men playing football. This shows the horror that was happening along with the normality of life during this time. Hanging in the Imperial War Museum, this painting is a sad yet true depicion. One can not help but have sympathy for those who are scarred from this war.

3 Important People

General John J. Pershing

 

Also known as "Black Jack", John J. Pershing was a gerneral officer in the United States Army. His importance is obvoius once you learn that he was promoted to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army, General of the Armies. Not only this, but he also holds the first United States officer service number. He did many great things to get this high reputation. He led the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI and was known as a mentor by many great United States Army gernerals during WWII.

 TE Lawrence

 TE Lawrence was a British Scholar who had attended Oxford and learned Arabic on an archeological expediton. In WWI, he took what he learned and turned it into an idea to weaken the Ottoman Empire's Central Powers by brginning an Arab rebellion. First he lead the Arabs in  a querilla campaign behind the lines, typing up many of the Ottoman troops. This led to their capture of the port town of Al-' Aqabah, reaching Damascus by the end of the war. Although they had a great victory, the Arabs never were able to form a unified nation, causing the Middle East to be split between Britain and France. All of this made Lawrence known for his part in helping weaken the Ottoman Empire which aided the Allied victory in WWI.

                       

                          Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch was a French army supreme commander and chief though to have one of "the most original and subtle

 mind[s] in the French army" during WWI. Some of his achievements include serving as a general in the French army during WWI and becoming a Marshal of France. Chosen as a supreme commander of the Allied armies, Foch was seen as a great leader. He was even made the Marshal of Poland and was very importand in his role of advocating for peace so that Germany would never be a threat to France again. He even someone saw the future as he said "This is not a peace. It is an armistive for twenty years". This was shown to be correct when WWII started two decades later.

Chapter 27

What is my blog about? (introduction to the chapter) - My blog is about chapter 27 in A History of Western Society. This chapter is about World War I, answering many different questions: What caused the War? Hod did the war ead to revolution and the fall of empires? How and why the war and revolution have such enormous and destructive consequences? And how did the years of trauma and bloodshed form elements of today's world, many of which people now accept and even cherrish? My blog is about the less talked about things from World War I. In my blog I talk about important people during this period, works of art from this period, a spotlight on something i found interesting from this time, U.S. events unrealted to the war during this time period, and how they are connected to what was happening across the continent, and last a connection across time.

What do I hope to accomplish? By writing this blog, I am trying to point out things less obvious from the war that aren't well know like textbook material, making them more well known since they are an important part of this war as well.

EQ: Was Wilsons idea that "this was the war to end all wars" correct?
Answer - No. This was quite the opposite actually. All of the attempts to gain peace backfired and just led coutries to be even more upset. Not getting what they wanted, being treated unfairly, and not even being involved at all was seen as insults to different places, leaving a hostile idea of revenge in the back of their minds. When all of this tension finally surfaced, WWII is what erupted. Leading this statement to not only be false, but almost a joke because it was a reason that the next world war came about.