President Wilson's Fourteen Points

II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.

This point still exists today because there is freedom for any country to navigate in international water. Although the certain countries do have control of bodies of water but for the most part ships are allowed to travel through any foreign waters.

 

IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

This point is basically non-existent. Countries have the right to regulate weapons and many countries have weapons that are unnecessary, such as nuclear weapons. A lot of nations have become over reliant on having weapons readily at hand. I do not believe that it is necessary for countries to have weapons of mass destruction.

 

XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.

Wilson asked that Poland would be its own country. This point still exists today.

 

XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

Wilson was talking about creating the League of Nations. It does not exist today, but the United Nations does and is much like the League of Nations was. The United Nations looked to keep peace between nations and help countries keep political independence.

 

 

I think that Wilson's fourteenth point would be most effective today in preventing war because, with the League of Nations in line, there is a common strive for peace among nations across the world. This keeps people from jumping rught into war and urges political leaders to negotiate first.

Political Cartoon

This cartoonist is trying to show the Treaty of Versaille and how Germany was being  forced to take what the "big four" told them to whether they liked it or not. It showed that Germany didn't really think it was fair or that they were guilty. The pill being fed to them says "peace terms" on it and this shows that all the other countries agreed that Germany was at fault for the whole war and they needed to pay the debt caused by it. The needed to suck it up.

The cartoon doesn't point out any major stereo-types of the time but it does show an exaggeration of the fist grabbing hold on Germany and forcing them to except these terms.

I personally like this comic because it gives people a sense of how other countries felt about Germany at this time. It also shows that World War I was far from wanted by the world and it allows one to become aware of the state of mind before and after the war.

Women During World War I

For women, World War I was a new beginning. Since the US declared it a "total war", women had so many more opportunities for jobs because the shoes of those fighting had to be filled. They started filling in spots in factories, offices, and shops, and, soon enough women were signing up to work overseas. Some enlisted in the Navy and Marine Corps. There were nearly 13,000 women who had acheived the same status as men; this was something that had never happened before. Physical and Occupational Therapists were able to serve in the US and overseas and organizations such as the Red Cross, Partiotic League, and WYCA also gained positions in aiding with the war efforts. But it wasn't a time to celebrate just yet. When the war ended on November 11th, 1918, men who had been fighting overseas began to return home and take their positions back in factories, offices, and shops. Women had started to be replaced by the men returning home from war. Although, the bravery of many women didn't go unnoticed. President Wilson recognized the efforts US women put into the war and, in 1918, he asked the Senate to follow the House in passing the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote.

Without World War I, women may have struggled for equality much longer than they did. Gaining the right to vote was a huge step for women in America, and without all of this happenning, women might not have the opportunities they have today.

Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide, to many, is known as the first modern genocide and also referred to as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres, and the Great Crime. This genocide started on April 14, 1915 and was led by a group of the Ottoman Empire government called the "Young Turks". On this day, Ottoman officials arrested nearly 250 Armenian community leaders. The Ottoman military was forcing Armenian people from their homes and making them walk hundreds of miles without food and water. By the end of this horrific event, nearly 1.5 million Armenians were killed out of the 2.5 million that lived in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian people could not defend themselves due to the fact that they were a Christian minority and were not allowed to bear arms.

The majority religion practiced throughout the Ottoman Empire was Muslim so the "Young Turks" began killing the Armenian people, along with Pontiac Greeks and Assyrians, as a form of ethnic cleansing. They wanted to exterminate the christian minorities in the region.

I feel that if World War I wasn't going on at the time, other countries may have intervened and the Armenian Genocide may not have lasted quite as long as it did. While researching this topic, I found myself really interested in what happened. I really wish that we studied the Armenian Genocide, along with other genocides, more in dept. I feel that learning about the terrors of our worlds past helps prevent them from repeating.