He admired the British Empire of his grandmother, Queen Victoria, and envied the Royal Navy of Great Britain so much that he attempted to build a rival German navy and plant colonies around the globe. Wilhelm II rose to the German throne in 1888. In Germany, however, a new ambitious monarch would overshadow years of tactful diplomacy. And it laid the groundwork for a global depression, a second world war, and an entire history of national, religious, and cultural conflict around the globe.Īs the German empire rose in power and influence at the end of the nineteenth century, skilled diplomats maneuvered this disruption of traditional powers and influences into several decades of European peace. The war simultaneously stoked national pride and fueled disenchantments that burst Progressive Era hopes for the modern world. The war heralded to the world the United States’ potential as a global military power, and, domestically, it advanced but then beat back American progressivism by unleashing vicious waves of repression. The United States entered the conflict in 1917 and was never again the same. On the battlefield, gruesome modern weaponry wrecked an entire generation of young men. World War I (“The Great War”) toppled empires, created new nations, and sparked tensions that would explode across future years. The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations
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