The causes and meaning of the great war

Front matter

THE CAUSES AND

MEANING OF

THE GREAT

Preface

The principal reason for the teaching of history is to explain the meaning of human life, and in this way to reveal to the learner his relations to the social and moral world of which he is a part. The understanding thus afforded is the best equipment possible for intelligent and useful service in the cooperative life and work of a democracy like ours.

With this conception of the function and value of history and of the importance of making clear to American boys and girls our national ideals as well as our international relations and responsibilities, the author has prepared this book, upon request of the Connecticut State Council of Defense, for use in the upper grammar grades and the lower classes of high schools. Emphasis has been put upon the reasons why our country entered the conflict and the large part she played in winning victory for the cause of democracy and humanity.

One of the author's aims has been to show how the new Germany, which came into being in 1871 as the outcome of three 'SUT#esSf©Twars, differed from the old, and how her wonderful material success led to an intense desire for world conquest and world domination.

Furthermore, it has been his purpose to show that this great war, spreading far outside of the limits of vi PREFACE

the countries in which it started, was the outward expression of a world revolution in men's thoughts — one that must profoundly influence not only the ideals and purposes of Europe, but those of America and the entire world. American boys and girls should understand what this revolution signifies to the United States, and also how it is likely to affect the relations of the United States with other nations. They should gain some conception of what we have come to be as a great free country. They should acquire some knowledge as to our duty to co-operate, in the spirit of friendship and good-will, with other countries for the social, moral, and political betterment of humanity.

If this book proves helpful to intelligent citizenship and patriotic service, the author's aim in writing it will be realized.

In closing, I wish to acknowledge my deep obligations to Miss Elizabeth P. Peck, of the Hartford Public High School, and to Mr. Forrest Morgan, of the Watkinson Library, Hartford, both of whom have read the manuscript and have offered many valuable suggestions; and especially to my wife, whose cordial co-operation and constructive criticism have done much to give the book whatever merit it may possess.

Wilbur F. Gordy.

Hartford, Connecticut, June 14, 1914.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century . . 1

II. Bismarck and the New Germany 10

Chapter I Nationalism In The Nineteenth Century

i. The Causes of the Great War. — To find the The murder causes of the Great War beginning in 1914, and duke^f Austo explain its meaning, we must go back to the caused/the last century. For we should remember that the ultimatum

. . sent to Ser-

conflicting forces which manifest themselves in bia deadly struggles on land or sea have always their beginnings long before the outbreak of the war itself.

The assassination of Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, and his wife in Serajevo on June 28, 1914, was not the real cause of the ultimatum which Austria sent to Serbia forcing upon her national annihilation either by direct surrender of her independence or by a war against overwhelming odds. The murder of this Austrian prince furnished only the pretext which Austria had been seeking ever since the end of the Second Balkan War in 1913. There had been bitter and burning hatred between the two countries, and this had a definite relation to European rivalries, jealousies, and national ambitions, which cannot

National unity and national expansion

The complete union of all parts of Italy be understood without at least a brief reference to events occurring many years before the Great War began.

2. Two Movements which Altered the Balance of the European World. — After the overthrow of Napoleon, in 1815, there were five great Powers in Europe — Great Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. This situation remained without much change, though with some difference in relative strength, for nearly sixty years. Then followed two world-wide movements which altered the entire balance of the Powers in Europe. The first of these movements was toward national unity and the second toward national expansion. As examples of growth toward national unity, it will be sufficient for the purposes of this book to make brief mention of three countries — Italy, the United States, and Germany.

3. Growth Toward National Unity in Italy. — Italy had been for ages a mere " geographical expression." It was not a single state, like Spain or France, but was made up of several unconnected sovereignties, the rulers including an Italian king, a Spanish king, two Austrian archdukes, and the Roman pontiff, the richest provinces being directly ruled by Austria. For many years patriots had. striven to make of these several divisions a united Italy. In 1821, 1831, and 1848-1850, they had carried on armed and bitter contests for this ideal, and in 1859 they had enlisted France in their cause. The struggle ended in 1870 with the complete union of all parts of Italy into a single kingdom, a constitution and a national parliament being established. The Italian Victor Emmanuel was made king.

4. Our Own Civil War a Struggle for National Our Civil Solidarity. — Within the period of this struggle in victoryfor" 1 Italy our own Civil War was fought. This war, as ^Jy nal you know, was the outward expression of two conflicting political ideals — that of sectionalism and

that of nationalism. The South stood for sectionalism, based upon the principle of state sovereignty, while the other parts of the country stood for nationalism. The antagonism between these ideals had existed since the adoption of the Constitution, and found most ardent expression through our leading statesmen. In the South Jefferson and Calhoun had been the most conspicuous advocates of state sovereignty, while in the North, long before the Civil War took place, Jackson and Webster had openly proclaimed the preservation of the Union. After four years, 1861-1865, the war ended in victory for national unity, and there was no doubt that the sentiment of the American people overwhelming^ favored national solidarity.

5. Austria and Prussia Rivals for Leadership in The infa- Germany. — The next country to form a union of its S°" biood Cy many states was Germany. The most important andiron " of the German states at this time were Austria and Prussia, and they had long been rivals for leadership. Through skilful and unscrupulous methods,

Bismarck's desire to expel Austria from the German body

Bismarck's guiding principle : " The end justifies the means "

Prussia finally won in the struggle, her leadership being established by Otto von Bismarck and his infamous policy of " blood and iron."

6. Bismarck's Purpose the Consolidation of the German States Under the Leadership of Prussia. — When this powerful but unprincipled leader first came into prominence as the head of the Prussian ministry, under William I, in 1862, his purpose was the consolidation of the several German states into one mighty empire under the dominating leadership of Prussia. But as Austria was then the leading German Power, and too huge and conglomerate to make a subservient part of that empire, Bismarck's first step was to crush and expel her from the German body.

7. Bismarck's Brutal Policy of " Blood and Iron." — To carry out his purpose a powerful army, perfectly disciplined and superbly equipped, was necessary, and to secure it the taxes were vastly increased. To this increase the Liberals in the Prussian Landtag strenuously objected. But he was not at all dismayed by the bitter and violent opposition he had to meet. They threatened to hang Bismarck. Although challenged again and again to the duel field he remained unmoved. Thrusting aside those who stood in his pathway, he silenced the press at will; he bullied the Landtag. He scornfully referred to his opponents as "mere pedants," and with brutal frankness exclaimed: "The making of Germany

PRINCE BISMARCK

Bismarck's open defiance of constitutional rights is a matter not of speechifying or parliamentary majorities; but of blood and iron." By this he of course meant that his aims were to be achieved not by argument or by moral suasion, but by the use of bayonets and bullets on the battle-field. The triumph of his master, the Prussian king ; and of his country, the Prussian state, was to be brought about by any methods he could devise, his guiding principle being: "The end justifies the means."

For four years he took the money he needed, in utter disregard and in open defiance of constitutional rights. He could safely do this because the army, which was wholly at the king's disposal, protected him against a possible revolution on the part of the people. This same army, enlarged and improved, was his chief instrument in carrying out this policy of "blood and iron" outside the kingdom.

8. The War with Denmark (1864). — By able, crafty, and audacious diplomacy, in which he overmatched all the rulers and chancellors of rival states, he brought on, in rapid succession, three wars during a period of seven years. In the first of these (1864) Denmark was speedily overcome and the North Sea coast brought under control. Criticism at home of his unjust methods were stifled on account of the spoils of war.

9. The War with Austria (1866). — Austria had joined Prussia in the war and shared in these spoils;

but in the second war (1866) Prussia defeated Aus- Austria

tria ; took back the share of Danish plunder which withdraw

had been given her, and then forced many other fr r ° m ^

German states into a new North German Confed- German

states

eration with the King of Prussia at its head. There was formed a second confederation also, which included the four states in South Germany — Bavaria; Wiirtemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Baden. Compelled to withdraw from membership in the group of German states, Austria shortly afterward united with Hungary to form the Dual Empire of Austria-Hungary. The first part of Bismarck's great purpose had been achieved. Austria had been pushed out.

Thus did Prussia suddenly rise to a leading posi- Prussia fills tion among the great Powers of Europe; and her position m people, in pride and self-confidence, were now Euro P e ready to grant their dictator all that he wished in planning still greater conquests.

10. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). — One Bismarck, more war was fought not only for the purpose goads™ ' of defeating France, but for that of fusing the * r a a r nceint0 two German confederations into one consolidated union, with Prussia in the position of ruler. This was the Franco-Prussian War, begun in 1870, which Bismarck brought on, as he himself asserts, by deliberately falsifying the report of an interview between the Prussian king and the French ambassador. Bismarck played this trick upon the French people to goad them into war, knowing

The Germans conquer France

The Germans force upon France a humiliating treaty

The plan to reduce France to a small state well that Prussia was thoroughly prepared to fight and that France was not.

Like the conflict between Prussia and Austria, this war was brief; for within six weeks the French were disastrously defeated by the German armies. The Germans captured the French emperor, and at the end of seven months they were in possession of Paris and had conquered France.

ii. The Germans Force Upon France a Humiliating Peace. — Then the Germans forced upon France a humiliating and, as they supposed, ruinous peace. She was compelled to pay 5,000,000,000 francs (a billion dollars) as a war indemnity; to give up Alsace and Lorraine, French provinces lying close to the German border, which were invaluable for their mines of coal, iron, and potash, and which included the old French district of Metz, the strongest fortress in western Europe. France was also compelled to make a commercial treaty with Germany, which for over forty years crippled French export trade and increased German imports. A condition of the treaty was that northern France was to be occupied by German troops until the indemnity was paid, and as Bismarck had fixed this indemnity at what he believed was an impossible sum for France to pay, he believed that the occupied region would remain permanently a German possession. France would thus be reduced to a small state which could not stand in Germany's way.

But France heroically bent every energy to paying this indemnity quickly, and within two and a Effects of half years the vast sum had been raised; moreover, demSty upthrough her titanic efforts to create new industries JJJJ/q^. 6 she rose to a great new prosperity. Germany, on many the other hand, suffered a temporary relaxation and decline as a result of the extravagance caused by this unearned wealth, and after long years her wrong-doing proved a bitter curse.

12. The Creation of a New Germanic Empire. — The most marked immediate result of the Franco- Prussian War was the new Germanic empire that was created. The King of Prussia was crowned German Emperor — not, as often styled, Emperor of Germany — as the head of all the German states and thus the second part of Bismarck's great purpose had been achieved.

13. " It Pays to Make War " Is the Foolish Con- Out of the elusion of the German People. — You may well note ^ts the 1 " the important fact that in all the wars just referred German to it was the almost perfect Prussian military ma- emerges chine, aided to some extent by troops from the

other German states, that swept away with crushing force all opposition; and that out of the three conflicts emerged the German Empire, with Prussia dominant and Bismarck all - powerful. Having Bismarck a now became a popular idol, Bismarck by his policy popular ldo1 of "blood and iron," of treachery and fraud, accomplished his great purpose. He had proven to the satisfaction of the German people that a well-trained," well-equipped army was a good investment for the country. It pays to make war was their foolish conclusion based upon the hazardous idea that they were sure always to win.

CHAPTER II BISMARCK AND THE NEW GERMANY The new

German

Empire the

greatest

military

Power in

Europe

Bismarck needs a period of peace

Rapid growth in population

14. The Beginning of a New Epoch in European and in German History. — The victory over France was the beginning of a new epoch in Europe as well as in Germany, for the new German Empire, being the greatest military Power in Europe, had secured, under the leadership of Prussia, unrivalled military prestige on the Continent. It now became the leading aim of Bismarck to secure and maintain for Germany a dominating position in the field of European diplomacy.

15. Bismarck Changes His Methods to Meet New Conditions and New Problems. — To achieve this end, he changed his policy to one of peace. Germany needed a period of freedom from war, in order to develop her imperial political institutions, and also to foster and strengthen her economic life. New conditions had arisen, and new problems were to be met.

One of these was the rapid growth in population. Germany's prosperity had been attended by a large increase in the birth-rate. When the

Franco-Prussian War ended (1871), the population of the German Empire had been 41,000,000; by 1900 it had risen to 56,000,000; and in 1911 it had grown to about 65,000,000, or more than 50 per cent in forty years. Of course, this exceedingly rapid growth brought about the problem of feeding, clothing, and otherwise supporting the greatly enlarged nation.

Another problem was the rise of the industrial The rise of class. Before 1871, Germany had been for the SaUiass" most part dominated by the agricultural interests. But after that year, through the mineral wealth she had acquired in Alsace-Lorraine, the number of those engaged in industry began to increase by leaps and bounds; and her industrial leaders demanded a share in the political control of the empire. They attained their end, although they were forced to overcome the fierce resistance of the landholders, or Junkers.

Furthermore, there was a remarkable shifting of a remarkthe population from rural sections to urban cen- *f foepoputres, as in many other countries at that time, and lation this trend of population cityward both increased the difficulty of providing the necessaries of life for the whole nation and also required that labor must be provided in the cities for the ever-growing army of workers.

16. The Marked and Even Revolutionary Results ^piSym-

of the New Conditions. — The results — industrial, so- creases her

material

cial, and political — of these new conditions were wealth

Germany's need of foreign markets

Germany requires a corresponding expansion in her merchant marine

Striking increase in German shipping marked and even revolutionary. Many new and varied industries were built up and organized as rapidly as possible; and by skilfully applying to these industries the principles of science and art Germany increased her material wealth with astounding rapidity.

17. Expansion of German Industries Involves the Development of an Extensive Commerce and a Corresponding Expansion in the Merchant Marine. — Expansion of industries involved other activities. Industries demanded , raw materials, nearly all of which Germany had to get from outside her own boundaries; and when the raw materials were made into finished goods, these had to find markets, some at home, but most in foreign lands.

With an extensive foreign commerce, which was the outgrowth of her industries, Germany required a corresponding expansion in her merchant marine; for she wished to control her own carrying trade. Here again her merchants and capitalists showed marked efficiency, and this was especially evident in the building of the Kiel Canal, connecting the North and the Baltic Seas. To control the site of such a canal was the chief object in making war on Denmark (1864) and in seizing the provinces of Schleswig-Holstein, through which the canal was cut.

In 1871 nearly all German shipping had to clear from Baltic ports; by 1900 — striking increases having been made in the nineties — her vessels numbered more than 4,000, her merchant marine surpassing that of any nation in the world except Great Britain; and in 1905 over 7,000 vessels of all nations, but largely German, cleared from Kiel alone, a port which had grown from some 30,000 inhabitants in 1870 to 150,000 in 1905.

18. Germany Stupendously Increases Her Wealth Germany and Steadily Grows in Material Efficiency. — With this ^wealth rapid enlargement in economic life, Germany was a°d S stu- ly not only supporting her rapidly increasing popula- pendously tion — so that emigration had nearly ceased — but

she was stupendously adding to her wealth. Her steady growth in material efficiency was due not only to great skill in applying scientific principles to agriculture and to production in her industries, but to the thoroughness with which she trained her workmen, her salesmen, men in every walk in life, with a view to making them more efficient in their assigned vocations.

19. The Idealism of the Old Germany Gives Place Materialism to Gross Materialism. — In the expansion of her eco- German nomic life, her wealth-producing power, Germany ^JJ^wl never lost sight of the material advancement of universities,

. . and every

her people. Her all-absorbing desire was for ma- field of naterial wealth and the power that comes with such deavor wealth. Her aspiration for the finer things of the spirit was almost wholly giving way to gross materialism, which dominated her schools, her universities, and every field of national endeavor. Even humane sentiment, which has done so much

Germany must be the overlord of the Continent

The Triple Alliance a great triumph of Bismarck's diplomacy for modern progress in many other lands, was openly derided in her Reichstag, her press, and also her pulpits, as either the cowardly self-interest of slavish weaklings or a hypocritical screen for exploitation. The idealism of the old Germany of the days before Bismarck was fast disappearing.

20. Bismarck's Reason for Desiring a Period of Peace. — In order to accomplish the smooth working of these colossal economic changes that were to create a new Germany, a period of peace, as we have already noted, was necessary. To secure it and also to maintain the commanding position of Germany on the Continent which her military victories over Austria and France had given her, Bismarck, as we have said, sought aid in diplomacy. For it was indispensable that Germany should maintain her prestige as the predominant power in Europe. She must be the overlord, the international dictator, of the Continent.

Bismarck's Great Triumph in Bringing About the Triple Alliance. — With this great end in view, Bismarck made an alliance first with Austria- Hungary and then with Italy, forming what was known as the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance, signed in 1883, was perhaps the greatest triumph of Bismarck's astute diplomacy. For so long as he could rely on the friendly support, or even the neutrality and open markets, of Austria-Hungary and Italy, and at the same time keep up the rivalry and antagonism between England and France on the one hand and England and Russia on the other — a rivalry and antagonism which grew out of conflicts arising through colonial expansion — Germany's mastery in European political relations would be undisputed and irresistible, and the old balance of power in Europe could never be restored. This situation Bismarck was able to maintain until the end of his career, and it continued for many years afterward.

Chapter III William II And The Mad Ambition Of Ger- Many For World Domination

22. William II Dismisses Bismarck as Chancellor. The Kai- — TWerf ul though Bismarck was, and great as were tomie "* his achievements, he was at last obliged to give way to one whose authority was greater than his own. This was the new ruler of the Fatherland, William II, who was crowned King of Prussia and German Emperor in 1888. His more familiar title, is the Kaiser. Two years after ascending the throne he dismissed Bismarck, so as to become in reality his own foreign minister; and after that time the chancellor was expected to carry out the Kaiser's bidding. In fact, the "will to rule" of William II was so overbearing that he would not tolerate a minister with any independence of thought or action.

The Kaiser's attitude toward the German army

The Kaiser's attitude toward the German people

Obedience to the Kaiser a religious duty

23. The Autocratic Kaiser. — The Kaiser's power was practically absolute in Prussia, and over the whole of Germany his rule was autocratic. He was the head of the German army, which he regarded as the instrument with which to carry out his will. Of this he left no doubt in the minds of his subjects. In 1891, in an address to a body of military recruits, he said: "You are my soldiers. You have given yourselves to me, body and soul. There is now but one enemy for you, and that is my enemy. In this time of Socialistic intrigue, it may happen that I may order you to fire on your brothers or fathers. God save us from it ! But in such a case you are bound to obey me without a murmur."

His attitude toward the German people was tersely expressed in a sentence he inscribed in the visitors' book in the town hall in Munich: "The will of the King is the supreme law." On another occasion he said to the people: "Only one is master in this country; that is I. Who opposes me I will crush to pieces. All of you have only one will, and that is my will; there is one law, and that is my law."

These utterances show that William II held himself to be above the law and the people as having no rights except the one right of obeying him as their Kaiser, the one chosen of God, as he thought of himself, to think for them in matters of government and to rule them as he saw fit. He had un-

WILLIAM II

" Germany a world empire," says the Kaiser limited confidence in his own wisdom, and treated the German people as if they were incapable of thinking and acting for themselves. The masses were taught that obedience to the Kaiser was a religious duty ; . and that loyalty to him was loyalty to the Fatherland.

24. Germany and World Empire. — The young emperor followed the policy of his great chancellor, Bismarck, in insisting that the prestige of Germany on the Continent should be maintained at all costs. He went even further. In one of his speeches he declared that Germany had become a world empire, and that she must shoulder the responsibilities of such an empire.

25. The Kaisers Policy of Exploiting Unclaimed Savage Lands as German Colonies. — To this end he embarked whole-heartedly upon a policy which Bismarck had disapproved as fraught with certainty of immense cost and world war, as well as, with uncertainty of result and with no likelihood of a compensating profit. This policy was the exploitation of unclaimed savage lands as German "colonies," the purpose being to control the raw materials of industry and use these lands as military and supply bases for German force.

By this means Germany's industry, her foreign trade, and her merchant marine were constantly increasing her wealth and power, until by 1895 her commercial empire was world-wide.

26. The Navy a Striking Part of the Kaiser's " Our future World Policy. — This expansion of commerce de- s || » pon the manded a powerful navy, and the Kaiser at once

set out to establish a programme of naval construction, which by a rapid growth transformed what was an insignificant nav} r in 1895 to one of the great navies of the world.

The navy, in fact, became a dominant part of the Kaiser's all-absorbing "Welt Politik," or world policy. "Our future lies upon the sea," he said. At another time he proclaimed: "As my grandfather worked for the reconstruction of this army, so will I work without allowing myself to be checked to reconstitute this navy."

27. The Relation between a Great Navy and In- An ambidustrial Expansion. — The relation between a great programme navy and a colonial empire built up by industrial expansion can be easily understood. Industries require markets, or foreign trade; extensive foreign trade calls for a large merchant marine; and

if the merchant marine is to be protected from unfriendly rivals, there must be a powerful navy. Yet while the argument that a powerful commercial nation must have a powerful fleet is readily admitted, at the heart of William's policy was something far greater than commerce. It was the dream of colonial empire. By his programme, decided upon in 1898, and largely supplemented in 1900 and again in 1906, it became evident that by 1920

Germany could venture to challenge; with good hope of success, even the long-standing naval supremacy of Great Britain.

Chapter IV Bitter Antagonism Between Germany And England

The Kaiser's 28. The Kaiser's Inordinate Longing for Teutonic SereaSof World-Power.— The words of the Kaiser, "Our the Father- future lies upon the sea/' are significant and illuminating. They reveal his inordinate longing for Teutonic world-power, which was the underlying motive in his attempt to extend German boundaries, and was the most conspicuous feature of his reign.

He dreamed of a political empire for Germany which should be co-extensive with her commercial empire, and to make real his dream he purposed to build a navy strong enough to match that of Great Britain. His idea was well expressed by one of his statesmen who said that without an irresistible navy Germany was "like an eagle with one wing."

A few 29. The German Plan for Naval Expansion Re-

derstandthe garded with Consternation by Far-Sighted Military ?h?Iate£n ger Men and Di P lomats in England.— This militant plan England for German naval expansion was regarded in England with regret, because it increased the burden of maintaining the superiority needful to safeguard their ocean-sundered commonwealth spread over the entire globe; but it caused little uneasiness and no fear of its hostile intent, up to the very declaration of war, except among a few far-sighted military men and diplomats. These few men regarded this naval rivalry with nothing short of consternation. They knew that a great nation would not pour out her wealth for long years to build up a huge war-machine without intending to use that machine. They saw, too, and tried vainly to make the nation see, that Germany's policy meant ultimately a life-and-death struggle for the independence not only of Great Britain but of the world.

Their alarm can be easily understood. So long The reason

n t_ j u i • v f° r alarm in

as Germany had been supreme merely as a mill- England tary power, while England remained supreme as a naval power, there was no reason why British leaders should be greatly disturbed over the international situation. But when Germany, whose whole nation was a trained and equipped army, ready for immediate action, and by far the strongest on the globe, began building an equally powerful navy, the situation changed. If she should become as strong on the sea as on the land, England had good reason to be deeply concerned.

Since the establishment of the Triple Alliance in ^kabS" 8 " 1883, British diplomats were aware of the possi- warning of

. . . . . coming dan-