America's Entry in the War

After maintaining two and a half years of neutrality, events forced the leadership in the US to enter the war on the side of the allies. With large Irish- and German-American communities in the voting population, it made sense for Woodrow Wilson and others to steer the course of neutrality. But events made this difficult. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania in May of 1915 was one such event. Of the 1195 lives lost, 128 were Americans.
Later, so-called "unrestricted" submarine warfare would cost lives and millions of dollars worth of cargo as it made its way to Britain. Even though he had been elected on the slogan "he kept us out of war," Wilson would go to Congress on 2 April, 1917 and ask for a declaration of war against the Empire of Germany.
The two graphs indicate that the economy of the United States made the nation that much more formidable an enemy. Although the Iron and Steel graph predates the years of the war, it indicates that the US was on a path to industrial dominance.

World War I and Alliances

In the one hundred years since the Congress of Vienna, there had been no Europe-wide conflict among the industrialized neations of the continent. Indeed, a complex system of defensive alliances (see map) created two opposing camps--the Central powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire; and the Allied powers of Britain, France, and Russia.

There were plenty of opportunities for competition and tension, however. The "Scramble for Africa," expanding industiral competition, and the emergence of an expansionistic and militaristic Germany under the leadership of the bellicose Wilhelm II (pictured), all led to the creation of a tinerbox that needed only the spark of assassination to detonate a World War.


Part of the problem in 1914 was the development of complex and intricate war/mobilization plans that called for high levels of speed and planning. Germany's famous "Schlieffen Plan" was one such mobilization scheme. Because of the realities of geography (see map), Germany would be forced to fight a two-front war: Russia on one side and Britian and France on the other.


The Shlieffen Plan assumed a slow and disorganized Russian mobilization and focused Imperial Germany's resources on France and Britain with a lightning drive through Belgium (see map).


After securing victory there, Germany would then shift its resources to the Russians in the east. But when Russia mobilized following the crisis of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Germany was boxed (as they saw it) to an even greater comitment to the speed and mobilzation of the Shlieffen Plan. Below is a link to a BBC documentary on the Battle of the Somme.

"Dutch Learning" and the Meiji Restoration

A fairly objective documentary featuring the important period at the end of the Shogunate and what would lead eventually to the Meiji "Restoration."


A bit longer series of clips with fairly high production values (though unfortunately the audio is out of synch):

Imperialism and Rebellion in China

A fairly basic but informative lecture (with images) by a high school history instructor: Clips from a (cheesey?) Hollywood film titled "55 Days in Peking." It is set in the events of the Boxer Rebellion and features an always masculine Charleton Heston.

Colonialism in Congo

A "history project" work, but pretty informative: Another work focusing on the efforts to end the Belgian outrage:

Sepoy Rebellion

An interesting blend of graphics and "commercial" film footage that a History Instructor has put together for his class. Click on the YouTube link.

Spanish-American War

Below is a History Channel documentary that focuses on the fate of the USS Maine and its legacy. Below is perhaps a broader documentary entitled "the Crucible of Empire".