Why were people opposed to the war - Essay Example

Why were people opposed to the war? The World War also known as First World War or the Great War was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918. This war involved almost all the biggest powers of the world that’s the Allies and the Central Powers. Some of the countries of the Allies included France, Italy, British Empire, and Montenegro. Conversely, Central Power countries included Turkey, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary and Germany. This war was brought about by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie in 1914.

Nevertheless, people were opposed to the World War I because it brought a bitter experience to the civilians who were harshly treated, bullied, deprived of basic needs and rights, and imprisoned in inhumane conditions. This war would also act as an opportunity for countries like Germany to revenge and upset the status quo. According Susan R Grayzel, World War 1 brought loss of many innocent lives especially children and women. The war also disrupted learning program in schools as children were also involved in the war effort.

Their zeal was fostered by schools that introduced a variety of activities to aid the men at war. In most schools, lessons were substituted with patriotic holidays to raise money that could be spent on activities such as welcoming back soldiers home and celebrating the triumph (Grayzel, p.48).. This also introduced children to odd jobs such as digging gardens and cleaning chimneys in order to raise funds. For example, Victorian state schools raised £422 470 during the war.Many nations for instance American were opposed the war and wanted to remain neutral.

This was so due to the anticipated negative consequences of the war for the US in case they decided to get involved in. The need to remain neutral was crucial because the American population included citizens of countries engaged in the war. The France-Americans would want success for France while British-Americans and German-Americans would hope the same for their nations. The other part of the people opposed the war since it would increase tensions all over American society, leading to an outbreak of bloodshed on American soil by the American citizens themselves.

In some cases, the Germans forced families to leave which caused more pain to the victims (Grayzel, p.108).Men and women who participated in the WW1 endured some of the cruelest forms of conflict ever known. They were sent to fight far away from home for months or even years, and underwent a chain of horrible physical and disturbing experiences (Grayzel, p.48). The new technologies available to First World War armies combined with the vast number of men mobilized made the battlefields of 1914-1918 dreadful, deadly and horrifying places.

Meanwhile, this means the young boys and girls had to socialize differently now. They had to now imitate the roles of their parents though they were still young and immature for such roles.In a nutshell, many people opposed the World War 1 due to the plethora of consequences it would have repercussion. For instance, this war would work as a revenge opportunity for countries like Germany to revenge and upset the status quo. The Germans also wanted to end the aspects of the treaty that hindered them from having a serious military.

Other than this, the war was also opposed because it countries like US had citizens from the involved countries. The war also paralyzed studies in many schools bringing learning to a standstill.Work citedGrayzel, Susan R. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents. , 2013. Print.