New world order: The origins of the Great War

Dr. Richard Elam

By the mid-19th century, Great Britain was the pre-eminent power in the world. British armies had helped defeat French aspirations and the British navy ruled the oceans with colonies established all over the world. The industrial revolution of the late 18th century placed England on the fast track toward being a superpower.

As the 19th century began to wane, however, other powers were emerging to challenge Great Britain’s supremacy. In spite of these challenges, England maintained its power position until the devastations of World War II brought other nations to the fore, especially the United States, while national wars of liberation dismembered the old empire.

What had been “these” United States prior to the American Civil War had now become “the” United States and although much devastation existed in the Southern states, an industrial powerhouse was emerging in the North that would eventually create a unified economy. Although this trend was visible for years, the Civil War placed the United States on its own fast-track toward world power status.

All of the numbers in the late 19th century pointed to an economy growing at an unprecedented rate with an expanding population to fill jobs in the expanding economy. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Great Britain were spotty, but improving.

The problem for Great Britain was that other nation-states besides the U.S. were also growing at a quick pace. Three dozen or so German states and principalities were finally united under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck after the Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871 and this new nation was intent upon rising to big-power status as quickly as possible.

By 1900, England’s hegemony on the oceans was being challenged by both the United States and Germany whose navies ranked second and third. In addition, both of these countries became aggressively imperialistic adding colonies in order to bolster their power-status. German colonies in Africa and Asia were more than matched by the United States’ acquisition of Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, Samoa, Puerto Rico and a host of smaller islands. Some of these were obtained in the “splendid little war” between Spain and the United States in which Cuba gained its independence.

Other nationalisms were also operating in late 19th century Europe. Italy, like Germany, was newly unified, setting out to restore its former glory and the gradual dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) led to the creation of several new states in the Balkans. New nations such as Italy or new powers such as the United States were inclined to flex their muscles in showing off their newly acquired manhood.

The result of these changes was an increase in militarism among the European nations. Most adopted mandatory conscription which led many young men to seek employment in the United States as a way to escape the draft. A number of new weapons were also introduced during the period leading up to the 20th century including viable submarines, machine guns, giant artillery and much more. By 1914, the airplane had been added to the arsenal.

Bismarck had helped manipulate events leading to the unification of Germany under the Prussian leader Wilhelm thus creating a German Empire led by Kaiser Wilhelm I. He did so, however, at the expense of France who felt humiliated after their short war in 1870-71. France tried to limit the growing power of Germany and seek potential revenge at the same time by courting an alliance with Russia. Great Britain, following a policy in place for several hundred years, sought any system that would keep other European states weaker, in this case Germany.

Bismarck did his best to secure Germany by keeping France diplomatically isolated. His entire system collapsed when Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power and dismissed the chancellor.

In the early 20th century, a system of alliances was formalized with the Triple Alliance including Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy balanced by the Triple Entente with France, Russia and Great Britain. This balance-of-power system did nothing to negate other developments as Europe gradually moved toward a massive conflagration. The resulting world war which began in 1914 would eventually draw in disparate powers such as the Ottoman Empire, Japan and the United States.

Lesson of history: Romantic poets and writers of the early 19th century saw nationalism in a positive light representing benign native cultures of indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, nationalism combined with imperialism, ambition and desire for markets called for more aggressive understandings.

By 1900, ethnic populations began to demand a say in their own destiny leading to wars of national liberation that still plague the world today. Like new religious converts, new converts to nationalism tend to be the most enthusiastic and aggressive in promoting their new-found faith. Intense nationalism can eventually lead to concepts of ethnic superiority such as the Teutonic theories promoted in the United States, Germany and Great Britain before 1900 and tribal ethnic genocide in some parts of the world today. National and ethnic differences plunged Europe and much of the world into chaos in 1914 and again in 1939. Will the same thing be said about the current era?

Dr. Richard Elam has been a history and government instructor for Hill College Johnson County Campus for the past two decades. He can be reached at RichardElam@hotmail.com. His column appears bimonthly.