World War I Document Questions
Document 1:
Emile Zola is trying to say that that war is life and it is inevitable. He believes that
it is necessary to fight and lose lives for the world to live, and nations who engage in war
are the nations who will end up being successful.
Yes, I think that Emile Zola was definitely influenced by Charles Darwin and his
ideas about the survival of the fittest. Zola believed that people "must eat and be eaten so
that the world may live" which suggests that the strongest nations will survive and the
rest will lose.
This kind of idea can be an underlying reason for going to war. Wars are fought
not only because of tensions between nations, but to determine which nation can survive
and which nation(s) will lose.
Document 2:
All three of these quotes are positivity and enthusiasm in regards to war. In the
first quote, it is said that going to war is better than waiting. In the second quote, it talks
of cheering crowds and how “delighted people were at the thought of war.” In the third
quote, there is an underlying positive hope about the war. People thought it would not last
long and could be easily won and soldiers will be home before they knew it.
These statements do not necessarily suggest an underlying reason for World War
I. They are mostly providing context, as it shows how people felt about war. Though one
could say that all the enthusiasm was the spark that caused the war to start, it would be
ridiculous to start a war just for that one reason.
Document 3:
The two great alliances in Europe in the summer of 1914 were the Triple
Alliance, and the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance included Germany, AustriaHungary, and Italy, and the Triple Entente was the alliance between the United Kingdom,
France, and Russia.
Document 4:
The source of this cartoon is the Chicago Tribune on August 5, 1914. The
cartoonist is John T. McCutcheon.
In this cartoon, the countries are blaming each other, by pointing their fingers, for
starting the war. The hand is pointing to the murder of "the peace of Europe," symbolized
by a stabbed body. By using the big hand to point to the murder, it seems as if the
cartoonist is saying that all the countries collectively were to blame for this great crime,
not just one.
Document 5:
These two songs in the document can be seen as militaristic. In the Russian
National Anthe there is the line, “Dread of his enemies,” suggesting there could be
potential warfare in the future. In “Rule Britannia,” fighting is referenced as well:
“Britannia, rule the waves: / Britons never will be slaves.”
"The Star Spangles Banner," "God Save the Tsar," and "Rule Britannia" are all
about national pride.
Document 6:
The Black Hand was a secret Serbian society run by Colonel Dragutin
Dimitrevic. The objective of the Black Hand was to unify the Southern Slavs under one
nation.
The objective of the Black Hand is connected to the songs in Document 5. In
“Rule Britannia,” the song talks of Britons never being slaves, and in the Black Hand
document, the message is similar for the Slavs. Both songs also give a sense of pride and
honor toward their nations.
Document 7:
Armaments are military equipment, supplies, or weapons. Examples of this can
include vehicles, guns, and war ships.
Between 1910 and 1914 Germany increased its military spending at the fastest
rate. Great Britain spent the greatest percent on their navy. Not only did they have access
to the ocean, they also had a reputation for having a strong navy which could have
influenced their spending.
Document 8:
When Prince von Bulow says he would rather be a hammer than an anvil, he
means that he does not want to be the victim (the anvil) because of the lack of military
preparations. He would rather be the hammer, the attacker.
Document 9:
In this cartoon, Germany is the fool and his folly is the nation’s “already
monstrous armaments.” This can be seen in both the cartoon itself but also the caption.
The German soldier carrying a large gun seems very foolish, suggesting that the amount
of armaments does not necessarily make a nation more powerful.
Yes, this cartoonist was justified in his viewpoint. He felt Germy was spending a
lot and being wasteful which can be seen in Document 7. Great Britain on the other hand
did not spend as much and had a better navy.
Based on Documents 7, 8, and 9, I believe that militarism was definitely an
underlying cause of World War I. The tensions between nations caused an increase of
armament production. As seen in Document 7, Germany’s growth in armaments shows
how much they spent, suggesting their want to become powerful. This militarism should
certainly be included as an underlying cause of the war.
Document 10:
The source of this cartoon is Germany. Its target is England, as indicated by the
phrase “England is the Bloodsucker of the World.” The main idea of this cartoon is that
England has too much power, as demonstrated by the octopus whose tentacles reach all
over Europe.
Document 11:
Colonialism is the establishment of living on land in a foreign territory. Great
Britain had the largest controlled colonial area, along with largest colonial population
(400 million people), as of spring 1914. The concern of the German cartoonist was that
Britain had way too much power and threatened other countries.