The War to End All Wars: Wilsonian Democracy and Resourcing World War One

Abstract

After a long period of peace following the Napoleonic Wars, Europe again engaged in a series of limited wars that helped define new political entities such as Germany. The advent of World War One completely changed this dynamic—war was no longer limited but total in nature. In this chapter, Meagher relates how political and economic considerations regarding war now became as important as military decisions; the banker, the farmer, and the factory worker were now as important as the soldier and sailor (and eventually the airman). While the United States did not become militarily involved in conflict until 1917, America was immediately impacted politically, economically, and financially upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. By the close of the war in 1918, the United States ranked as the dominant political, economic, and financial power in the world.