5/10/2021
Peace Was on the Floor in 1916-17, but Wilson Failed to Pick it Up
Historians in the Newstags: Woodrow Wilson, diplomacy, internationalism, World War 1, podcasts
So many awful 20th century roads lead back to the First World War. And despite conventional wisdom, there could have been peace two years before it came to an official (but not really) end. Through a process of detective work, author Philip Zelikow discovered a secret effort by the Germans to bring the war to an end. It required Woodrow Wilson to call a peace conference, which the president wanted to do but fumbled. The important new book is The Road Less Traveled; The Secret Battle to End the Great War 1916-1917. Unlike other speculative histories, peace was visible at the time. An unknown but true hero is German Chancellor Bethmann who sought to bring an end to the industrialized slaughter. Meanwhile Wilson’s self-serving Edward House was the opposite. Fascinating and important revelations.
comments powered by Disqus
News
- Montpelier Board Appoints 11 Members from Descendants Committee
- Zemmour Acquitted of Holocaust Denial after Crediting Nazi Collaborator with Saving Jews
- Dig Into the History of Baseball's Negro Leagues with a Quiz from the Library of Congress
- How the Government Aided and Abetted the Theft of Black-Owned Farmland
- A Neighborly Civil War in Virginia over Street Names
- Isaac Chotiner Interviews Kathleen Belew on White Power and the Buffalo Mass Shooting
- What if Mental Illness Isn't All In Your Head?
- Nursing Clio Project Connects Health, Gender and History
- Historian Leslie Reagan on the History of Abortion and Abortion Rights
- Mellon Foundation Event: Chinese American History, Asian American Experiences (May 19)