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WWIEarly20thCenturySociety.pptx
The Great War and Daily Life in the Early 19th Century
The Road to War
WWI had no single cause.
Growing international disputes and the rise of nationalism set the stage for an upcoming conflict
In part, the inability of European statemen to resolve the diplomatic concerns that Germany’s rise to power created was a factor leading to war.
Trade conflicts and overseas colonial disputes escalated the situation
Massive arms building by Germany threaten international relationships
The political ideology of the early 1900s, viewed war as a means to test national power
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 provided Germany with a cause to push Austro-Hungary to war with Serbia, sparking the WWI.
The French Second Empire
In the early 1850s, Louis Napoleon’s government promoted new investments in public works, banking, and the railroad system.
These investments helped spark economic growth and the wages of workers soared above inflation.
Napoleon also established universal male suffrage
Although Napoleon wanted to spread his nationalist ideology and gain new territories for France, the political problems of Italy and the rising power of Prussia, led to dissent among the French middle-class liberals.
Feeling the pressure from public opinion, Napoleon in 1870 gave the Assembly greater political power and established a new constitution where the government changed to a parliamentary system with a hereditary emperor as chief of state.
Fighting a Different Type of War
Unlike previous wars, WWI was the first time in history that the total mobilization of the nation’s resources were used for war.
The term total war defined the extreme and brutal conditions of the battles.
For the first time, nations mobilized their manpower and conscripted armies of 100k plus marched into battle.
The various European nations had their industries producing arms and gear for war at a massive level.
Advancements in weaponry like the automatic assault gun, caused war tacticians to fight battles in a new form.
For the most part, European generals and leaders where not prepare for the new form warfare introduced by new technologies.
Trench warfare became the standard for fighting battles.
Battles that before where completed in days, now took weeks and months.
Tens of thousands of men died in each battle.
The Russian Revolution
The Great War had a devastating effect on Russia’s economy.
By early 1917 Russian cities were wracked by shortages and economy was breaking down.
Protests and violent demonstrations filled Russia’s urban centers.
On May 1917, a new government was formed, ending Tsar’s control.
The new government had to share authority with the Petrograd Soviet
On October 1917, the Bolsheviks gain control of the Petrograd Soviet
In March 1918, civil war broke out in Russia between the “whites” and the Bolsheviks (reds).
By the spring of 1920, the Bolsheviks won the civil war and seized full control of Russia with Lenin as their leader
New Attitudes
The period from the 1880s to the 1930s brought intense cultural and intellectual experimentation.
The effects of WWI had many philosophers and scientists questioning the beliefs that guided Western society from the Enlightenment.
The origins of modern philosophy
Logical positivism – a philosophy that sees meaning in only those beliefs that can be empirically proven
Existentialism – a philosophy that stresses the meaninglessness of existence and the importance of the individual in searching for moral values
Influential modern philosophers: Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, and Marcel
Architecture, Art, and Media
Modernism – artistic and cultural movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century which were typified by radical experimentation that challenged traditional forms of art
Functionalism – the principle that buildings should serve as much as possible the function for what it serves rather than focusing on excessive ornamentation
Dadaism – an artistic movement of the 1920s and 1930s that attacked all accepted standards of art and behavior and delighted on outrageous conduct
In 1920s, radio became a mass medium that was used to spread news and entertain the masses
