UNIV 3539 Blog

A GROUP WEBLOG FOR THE PEOPLE'S CENTURY I UNIV 3539.

September 30, 2007

Lost Peace

Lost Peace focuses on the hopes and dreams of the people after World War I. These people who had to go through this terrible time really thought this would be the last of all wars. Although there was a great attitude of optimism when the war ended, there was also a big amount of disillusionment after the war due to all the post war settlements. A huge thing for people to face after the war was over was all those people that were left behind and did not survive through the war. At the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, American President Woodrow Wilson held out a promise to the "silent masses of mankind," of a "people's peace" -- a peace made secure by the new League of Nations and the achievement of universal disarmament. This gave many people the hope a new and better life, and to work toward the peaceful resolution of all future and potential international conflicts. Many new nations were able to experience a great new life of having freedom, while Germany went backwards and found themselves crippled by hyper-inflation. The United States did not join in on the League of Nations, they were not very concerned with the dealings of other countries at that time. In other countries, facisism and militarism were on the rise.No one, even the veterans of the first World War thought they would have to go back into war, but sure enough fifty five million people were about to lose their lives in World War II. So, yet again there was a sense of "lost peace" for many, many people living to deal with the second world war, and all the post traumatic effects of it afterwards; just as many had to deal with from WWI.

Posted by

Ryan W. at 10:27 PM CDT

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Bessie J. at 5:08 PM CDT

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Melanie L. at 4:38 PM CDT

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The Age of Hope

The program is called the "Age of Hope" because the anticipation of a better quality of life for the people of Europe had sparked a widespread belief of resilience and drive for social change. As stated in the readings, ?The dawn of the twentieth century was steeped in hope and optimism. It was a new age of enlightenment: the extension of education, the emergence of mass communication, and new mobility -- all would revolutionize and enrich modern life.? These advancements in technology, also known as the Industrial Revolution, gave promise that their current disposition would soon falter and sovereignty would prevail. For example, during the program, the construction of the Titanic was viewed as on the most marveled and phenomenal contrivance of the modern era. It was believed that this great ship would transport oppressed individuals from totalitarianism to a paradise in America, until its fateful sinking which still haunts the remaining survivors today. This era also marked the significant beginnings of political and social change. The population?s eagerness for political and social change was like fighting an uphill battle. Between lobbying for social equality, for both African-American minorities and women, to escaping political and social persecution in Europe, people all over the world were beginning to develop a sense of liberalism. However, their hopes were not realized. In their quest for social equality, the population confronted the powers that be to guard their cultural diversity in a society that often demanded assimilation. In response to the pressure, the government offered the people protection to worker?s rights, and the extension of the right to vote, but this was all used in vain. These devices were actually pawns for manipulation. In summation, this apparatus gave the authorities control over the masses to gain momentum in the emerging society.

Posted by

courtney a. at 11:50 AM CDT

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September 27, 2007

Red Flag ? Lost Peace

The killing fields of the Great War produced unexpected results in 1917. After almost three years of unrelenting slaughter, the French Army mutinied?had the Germans known they might well have pushed through to victory before the United States could make its entry into the conflict felt. More ominously, and with repercussions throughout the rest of the twentieth century until today, the long-suffering peoples of Russia revolted and brought the Romanov dynasty to an end. The provisional government?s failure to extricate itself from the war gave the Germans the opportunity to send the exiled V.I. Lenin by train across Germany to incite trouble. Lenin and his minority party (for propaganda reasons called the Bolsheviks or the Majority) staged a coup d? �tat and replaced the provisional government with the Supreme Soviet (Supreme Worker?s Council). The proletarian revolution envisaged by Marx seventy years earlier had occurred in the least likely of places.

Lenin immediately withdrew from the war (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) and surrendered huge swathes of Russian territory to Germany. By late 1918, British, French and American armed forces were in Russia aiding the so-called ?White? Russians in their civil war against the Bolsheviks.

Following the Armistice, the victorious Allies met at the Palace of Versailles to draw up a settlement. What were the major results of the Peace Conference, geographically, economically, and politically? Did the treaty and the resultant League adequately address the issues that brought about the Great War? Why did the United States not join the League? Would our participation have saved the world from the Second World War? Why was the League unable to prevent the rise of Hitler and the rearmament of Germany?

Posted by

William M. at 9:44 PM CDT

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Adam Nickas

says:

What were the major results of the Peace Conference, geographically, economically, and politically?
Germany was particularly dealt with harshly as a result of the Peace Conference. Much of their land had to be forfeited; they were forced to pay the reparations of the war; and they had to claim responsibility for causing the war in the first place. Overall, Germany was largely alienated by the global community and they were given very little sympathy. The forfeited land was handed over to Poland and Czechoslovakia. The reparations were given to the Allied nations. This repayment for the war caused Germany?s poverty level to significantly increase. The demands for reparations were simply too great for the German economy to withstand.

Did the treaty and the resultant League adequately address the issues that brought about the Great War?
The League initially seemed effective in dealing with Germany, but overall, they failed to address all of the complex issue that brought about the Great War.

Why did the United States not join the League? Would our participation have saved the world from the Second World War?
The United States did not join the League for two primary reasons.
1) The American people were highly skeptical about joining because they believed the U.S. would be dragged in to fight another country?s war or conflict.
2) The U.S. Congress did not ratify the Treaty which resulted in a lack of authorization for President Woodrow Wilson to admit the U.S. to the League.
President Wilson worked very hard to sway public opinion. He traveled the nation explaining the benefits of joining, but the American people were never fully convinced.
It?s hard to tell if U.S. participation in the League would have prevented the Second World War. I believe the League would have still lacked the motivation needed in addressing Germany even if the U.S. was a member. It would have taken an extraordinary amount of cooperation, which was significantly lacking, in order for the Second World War to be restrained.

Why was the League unable to prevent the rise of Hitler and the rearmament of Germany?
The League was weak and would not take action when it was most necessary. They simply turned a blind eye to what was happening in Germany (and other parts of the world, for that matter).

Posted on Wed, 3 Oct 2007 11:55 AM CDT by Adam N.

Allison Swan

says:

There were many things that resulted from the Peace conference at Versailles. Geographically, Germany lost much of its land, and, with the dismantlement of the Austrian-Hungarian empire, new nations such as Yugoslavia, Poland, and Czechoslavakia were formed. Economically, the Germans were ordered to incur the cost of the war and the country's economy suffered from inflation. The British, French, and other countries around Europe faced many years of economic recovery after the devastation of the first World War. Politically, as mentioned previously, the Austrian-Hungarian empire was dismantled, and many new, smaller countries were formed, each with their own form of government. The Germans were now weak politically on the European stage, due to the provisions from the Treaty of Versailles, and they resented this fact very much.

The Treaty of Versailles did address the issues that brought about the war, and would have proved a useful tool if it had been enforced. Also, the creation of the League of Nations was also a good idea in theory, and was created in direct response to the issues that had brought about World War I.

The United States, despite the efforts of President Woodrow Wilson, did not join the League of Nations. This is because the American people were anxious to leave the affairs of Europe behind and were not supportive of the League.

The participation of the U.S. in the League of Nations probably would not have been enough to prevent World War II entirely. However, many aspects about it may have been prevented, and the scale of the war may not have been as great. The U.S. was a force to be reckoned with, especially after its ability to sway the first World War. Many people, such as Hitler, may have seen the League of Nations as a more credible entity having this huge world power as a member of the League. This may have prevented some of his, and others', actions.

The League was unable to prevent the rise of Hitler for one very important reason : they didn't try. The policies that were set forth in the Treaty of Versailles were ignored on a large scale, and, in the end, countries such as Italy and Germany were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Without the enforcement of the Treaty, the actions of Hitler and Mussolini were unanswered and unprosecuted.

Posted on Mon, 8 Oct 2007 7:56 PM CDT by Allison S.

Lafonda Boyd

says:

The treaty in my opinion was basically set up to punish Germany. The world economy was crippled because of the war. The United States did not join the League because the Senate voted against it. The treay was basically talk because it was not put into effect, but if it had it would have addressed the issues that caused the war. The did not work because Hitler still was able to start a second World War.

Posted on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:49 AM CST by Lafonda B.

September 23, 2007

Red Flag

The Russian Revoultion has been thought of as one of the most influential, but not successful, revolutions in the twentieth century. It was not a pleasant time period for the people living in Russia. They were very oppressed, and unable to live the way they pleased or participate in the activities they wanted to. Every aspect of their lives were ruled by their Tsar, Lenin and his party, the Bolsheviks. The people of Russia, especially the peasants and working class, felt they were working for equality and justice for their lives in the future, and that they were special and needed to spread communism to the rest of the world.These people wanted to believe that in the future they would be able to enjoy equality and justice in their lives if they joined in as communist, and that is how so many people joined in the communist mission. The goal of the Russian Revolution was for industrializatin of Russia, but the problem with this goal is that the people participating in making this goal come true; was that it was at the people of Russia's expense,sometimes meaning death. This revolution in Russia could have transformed all of world society, but in Russia it was lead by ruthless leaders who caused much harm to the people of Russia. In Red Flag, we are able to see real life stories of people who experienced Communism first hand. We can see through them how they wanted to believe that Communism was going to make their dreams come true in the future for themselves and their families, but how instead it turned their lives upside down and into a scary, sad nightmare that no one will forget.

Posted by

Ryan W. at 9:11 PM CDT

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September 22, 2007

killing Fields

Europeans countries had been on top of the world. Expectations were great. They were easily persuaded to follow the government due to the glory and grandeur associated with the patriotic war. It was their patriotic duty to support the war.

The soldiers soon discovered they were not properly prepared to go to battle. They had bayonet training but little target shooting, grenade and automatic weapon training. They were ill supplied with weapons, ammunition, food, water, and drugs. The soldiers lived in trenches which caused dysentery illnesses. Rats and lice caused problems for the soldiers. The rats ate on corpses. Some soldiers could not take the deplorable conditions and left, when found they were executed. They were willing to take the chance of being executed than stay in the trenches.

I believe the war finally ended because everyone was tired. The Allies got a second wind when the US entered the war. The German?s felt they could not hold out against the fresh legs of the US. Does anyone really win when 9 million soldiers and 15 million civilians die? I don?t believe you can call anyone a winner. Everyone was losers and just tired of fighting!

Posted by

Amy C. at 8:10 PM CDT

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September 17, 2007

Killing Fields

Most men were so eager because at this time countries were pushing independece and "only the strongest will survive". With a new way of thinking, instead of uniting all of Europe and now becoming their own nations, men were eager to fight who they were. They were told this would be the war of the century and no one wanted to miss out.
Soldiers weren't properly trained with any of the new weapons created during the industrial revolution. Very few were actually trained properly. Also, the trenches were nothing like what they had imagined. Little food, water, excessive lice and diseases. No soldier was prepared for the living conditions they were put in.
Finally as the war came to an end, US President Woodrow Wilson proposed some 14 points that soon changed Europes map forever. American troops steped up and brought a bigger defense which helped end the war. Germany decided to quit fighting, however, they would try again at a later time...

Posted by

Lindsey C. at 9:55 PM CDT

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September 16, 2007

Killing Fields

In 1914 the world would find it's first global conflict, that would change the world as we know it forever. many people thought that the war was going to be a great thing. Many of the soilders were excitited and wanted to become heroes for their home countries. What the soldiers didnt know was that more than 9 million of them would never see their families again. The war was very harsh on the men who lived, many of the leaders didn't know how bad it was in the trenches. the leaders were launching attacks that were impossible for the troops at achieve and mnay of the men were dying because the leaders were more than ten miles away calling out orderes.the trench life was very unforgiving.Not only was it muddy and lonley, but also there was many illnesses and lack of food. In the passage a man recalls seeing a horse and then coming back to see nothing but the bones,because men were so hungry that they cut off meat to eat for dinner.

Posted by

Ryan W. at 9:14 PM CDT

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September 15, 2007

Killing Fields

?People everywhere believed what their leaders told them?that they would better off after the fighting and that the soldiers would be home soon. . .Men flocked to the colors, fearing they?d miss a war that could be over by Christmas.? Keeping in mind the ?Age of Hope,? what factors explain why Europeans so readily went to war in 1914?

The war they made soon came to be known as the Great War (biggest war in history). It was unlike all previous conflicts in scope and ferocity?industrialization and technological innovation produced lethally efficient killing tools, especially artillery and machine guns. Unfortunately, leadership and training lagged far behind and the war on the Western front quickly settled into a defensive deadlock. How did the experiences of ordinary soldiers compare with their expectations? How did soldiers cope with the conditions of the front?

By the end of the conflict, at least nine million soldiers were dead. On average, 2,500 American soldiers died in every day of combat?if U.S. participation in the Great War had lasted as long as the Civil War, some three million American troops would have died. The video did not mention that at least 15 million civilians were dead as well?some estimates are substantially higher). Four great empires disappeared from history as a result of the war?the ?bright promises? of 1914 were never realized. Why did the Great War finally end? Did American troops save the day? Did the Allies truly win or did an unbeaten Germany agree to stop fighting?

Posted by

William M. at 12:11 AM CDT

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September 11, 2007

Age of Hope

I believe this program is called the ?Age of Hope? because so many changes took place during this century. As the text and movie stated, some people were affected by the innovation and others were not. The rich felt that this was a Beautiful Era but the poor were not as fortunate. The many living at poverty level and in underdeveloped countries were still starving and struggling to get by in life. Electricity was important in changing the future of the world. It gave light to darkness. The inventions of electrical home appliances changed the woman?s life in a way that we take for granted today. Rayon and nylon fabrics were developed which made clothes more affordable. Medical science advancements increased life expectancy. Railways, automobiles and airplanes increased communication between long distances. Radio and cinema were significant in the mass communication advances. I believe the many advances during this century far exceeded the hopes of the people. As I read about the many things invented during this time period, it is amazing that we still use a variation of these inventions.

Posted by

Amy C. at 4:07 PM CDT

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September 9, 2007

Age of Hope

The exhibits that mesmerized fifty million visitors to the 1900 Paris Exposition intimated a bright
future?literally as well as figuratively. From the wonders of electric lights that vanquished the
darkest of nights to the near-daily innovations that promised to revolutionize every aspect of daily life, the dawn of the twentieth century elicited a sense of optimism and hope. For a generation, the peoples of Europe had lived in peace. This period, also known as the Belle �poque (Beautiful Era), would last until 1914 when an assassination in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo plunged the continent?and eventually most of the world?into the madness of industrialized and mechanized
total war.

And yet we might wonder why ordinary people were hopeful: little had changed socially. When
the crowned heads of Europe gathered for the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, they carried
?the white man?s burden? of ruling three-fourths of the world?s population. Even in the world?s
great democracy, the United States, women and minorities remained second-class citizens.

Why do you think this program is called "Age of Hope"? At the turn of the century, what gave
people hope for a better future? Do you think their hopes were realized? Why or why not?

Posted by

William M. at 6:40 PM CDT

Comments (2)

Lindsey Crosby

says:

I believe the Age of Hope brought hope and dreams to people who never thought they could have them. It brought freedom, health, and new and better jobs. Even thought they didn't see it right away they knew it was coming soon. Just seeing the French Revolution, watching them stand up for themselves and change from an absolute monarchy to a democracy gave them hope. They realized that they can change the world if they unite and stand up for what they want. I think the Age of Hope made them see the start of changes that would significantly change them forever. I think they did realize the hope the people had because they began to dream and even though it wasn't happening thatt day, they saw it coming in the future.

Posted on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:29 PM CDT by Lindsey C.

Lafonda Boyd

says:

I feel that it was called the age of hope because things where so bad, that hope was all people had to hold onto. Also there where many new advnces being made in the world during this time and people felt that this was going to bring about great changes.

Posted on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 7:25 PM CST by Lafonda B.