It can be seen through clear evidence that World War I was one of the most horrific wars to ever be recorded. New technologies like grenades, planes, gases, and improved guns were being used to slaughter soldiers. First chlorine gas was being used and then mustard gas in trench warfare (33:41 The Great War). However, this wouldn’t kill soldiers immediately, it took time and trench warfare was brutal on these soldiers. Most people in the war suffered through disease, poisoning, and infection. To die immediately in this war was a blessing, those who fought in the war died a slow death as well as those who supplied the soldiers. Women, who were the largest portion of factory workers in this time period, were dying slowly of poisoning and poor …show more content…
The Zimmermann telegram is what finalized that America was declaring war. It was publicized in 1917 and a month later America declared war, because the telegram was a message from Germany asking Mexico to help attack America to get reparations from the Mexican-American War (pg 730 Give Me Liberty). The telegram was a public way that Britain showed America that they were being targeted and helped America officially choose a side to fight in the war. The president was already leaning more toward fighting with the British because of economic reasons and his own heritage. If Britain lost the war, the over $2 billion in wartime loans that America gave by 1915 could be lost (pg 729 Give Me Liberty). The American economy was dependent on those debts being paid back and helped fuel the fire to fight against Germany. Even when they entered the war in 1917, it took time for soldiers to be recruited, trained, and sent overseas. As mentioned before, there were groups opposed to fighting the war. So much so that in 1918 a Sedition Act was instated to oppose the groups against fighting in the war (pg 738 Give Me Liberty). People were criminalized for expressing their opinions about the war, that was all talk about fighting for freedom, when the government was making a law directly against their citizen’s own freedom. The government’s use of propaganda to spur patriotism and demand obedience from its citizens further proves how terrible WWI