Category: USH: World War One

During World War I, Germany Unleashed 'Terrorist Cell In America'

In the early years of World War I, as many as 1,000 American horses per day were shipped off to Europe to assist in the Allied war effort, even though the United States was officially neutral. Those horses became the target of germ warfare, infected with anthrax cultures on American soil; at the same time, mysterious explosions were rocking U.S. munitions factories, and fires were breaking out on ships headed to Europe.

Journalist Howard Blum says this was all part of an aggressive campaign of spying and sabotage the German government unleashed on the United States soon after war broke out in Europe. Blum’s book, Dark Invasion, is about the campaign and the effort of American law enforcement to crack what Blum calls “the first terrorist cell in America.” It’s filled with fascinating characters, from the duplicitous German ambassador who held the title of Count, to Capt. Franz von Rintelen, who plotted destruction while living at the Yacht Club in New York, to the NYPD bomb squad detective who in effect formed an anti-terrorist squad to try to find the saboteurs. Interesting

Fresh Air Interview

NPR Fresh Air Interview: Woodrow Wilson Brought New Executive Style To The White House

Woodrow Wilson, America’s 28th president, left the White House in 1921 after serving two terms. But today he remains a divisive figure.

He’s associated with a progressive income tax and the creation of the Federal Reserve. During his re-election bid, he campaigned on his efforts to keep us out of World War I, but in his second term, he led the country into that war, saying the U.S. had to make the world safe for democracy. The move ended America’s isolationism and ushered in a new era of American military and foreign policy.
A. Scott Berg is the first scholar to have access to two sets of Wilson-related papers: hundreds of the president’s personal letters; and the papers of his doctor and close friend, Cary Grayson. Berg’s new book, Wilson, uses those papers to fill in missing pieces of the president’s life.

He joins Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross to discuss how Wilson changed the role of president, and his groundbreaking decision to enter World War I.

Assange and Espionage Act

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, responds to critics, press reactions, the treatment of Private Bradley Manning and potential charges pressed against him under the The Espionage Act (1917).

What was the US press’ reaction to the controversy?

In what way does the US Justice Department have a potential right to charge Assange?

In what way doesn’t the US Justice Department have right to incriminate Assange?

Interview: Tracing The Divides In The War 'To End All Wars'

The human cost of World War I was enormous. More than 9 million soldiers and an estimated 12 million civilians died in the four-year-long conflict, which also left 21 million military men wounded.

“Many of them were missing arms, legs, hands, genitals or driven mad by shell shock,” says historian Adam Hochschild. “But there was also a human cost in a larger sense, in that I think the war remade the world for the worse in every conceivable way: It ignited the Russian Revolution, it laid the ground for Nazism and it made World War II almost certain. It’s pretty hard to imagine the second world war without the first.”

Hochschild traces the patriotic fervor that catapulted Great Britain into war during the summer of 1914 — as well as the small, but determined British pacifist movement — in his historical narrative To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918. The book frames the Great War not as a struggle between nations but as a struggle between individual people — sometimes even family members — who supported and opposed the war.

The German Menace?

Part One: Develop an Argument

For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:

To what extent was Germany to blame for the outbreak of World War One?

Follow the following directions:

  • make sure that your name is in the post
  • make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “Shame on Germany” or “Germany: Not Innocent but Not the Primary Cause”)
  • one-page, single-spaced
  • Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
  • use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument (I just installed a proxy detector on my website to catch plagiarism. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
  • Post your essay in the “comments” link below

Part Two: Defend Your Argument

  • When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
  • Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
  • Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
  • You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.

The Inevitable Great War?

Part One: Develop an Argument

For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:

Given the potentially lethal combination of long-term historical forces, was World War One inevitable?

Follow the following directions:

  • make sure that your name is in the post
  • make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “The Inevitable War” or “A War of Choice”)
  • one-page, single-spaced
  • Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
  • use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
  • Post your essay in the “comments” link below

Part Two: Defend Your Argument

  • When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
  • Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
  • Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
  • You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.