World War 1 Essays (914 words) - Bulgaria In World War I

World War 1 W.W.I World War I was the first major war that included a country from almost every part of the world. It was the second bloodiest war second only to W.W.II. The greatest destruction that humankind had ever previously experienced began on a calm and beautiful August day. It was a senseless slaughter that no nation benefited from. It lasted from 1914-1918. America was involved from April of 1917 to November of 1918. It ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. in 1918. World War I started because of the assassination of Franz Josef Ferdinan and his wife Sophie while they were in a motorcade in the capitol city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Franz Ferdinan was next in line for the thrown of Austria-Hungry. Principe, a member of the Black Hand terrorist organization, shot them. Preceding the shot that started the war, tension was created though out Europe when Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II increased the size of his army. The Kaiser had a disturbed childhood. He was born with a bad arm that he couldn't use. Germans valued perfection in humans and it would be kind of hypocritical for the future leader of Germany to speak of perfection and not be perfect himself. His parents put him through hell and back trying to fix his arm. Nothing worked and the constant medical experiments on his body left him messed-up for life. At age 29 Kaiser Wilhelm II became the youngest emperor of Germany. The Kaiser had a personality all to himself. He knew that he had all the power, and he let everyone know about it. The British Royal Navy had long fascinated him, and he wanted one for his own. He got his wish and fulfilled his militaristic dream of having a large and powerful military. The rest of Europe became alarmed at the sudden increase of German military activity. This made every European country look more closely at Germany in fear that they would try to start something. Another source of tension in Europe was the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungry and Russia both wanted to control the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. With all of this tension already in Europe, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinan was all that was needed to spark the start of the war. Serbia firmly denied any compensation to Austria for the death of the Archduke, so Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany was an ally to Austria, and Russia was an ally to Serbia. Because of this connection those two countries, Germany and Russia entered the war. Germany quickly declared war on Russia and Russia's ally France. Germany then brutally invaded the neutral country of Belgium. The invasion of Belgium made Great Britain so mad that they too declared war on Germany. Europe was now divided into two separate powers, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The Allies would eventually consist of Great Britain, France, Japan, Russia, in 1915 Italy, and the United States in 1917. The Central Powers were made up of Germany, Austria-Hungry, Turkey, and in 1915 Bulgaria. The United States followed the Global War Policy that allowed neutral nations to trade with both sides in a war. President Wilson urged the American people to be neutral in thought and in deed. This meant that Americans were not supposed to support either side in the war. The United States was doing business with the Allies and the Central Powers. Germany felt that any ship carrying supplies for the Allies was fair game to sink. Germany started sinking US supply ships headed for Britain. Wilson cut off all ties with Germany and began viewing Germany as an outlaw after a U-boat sank the Lusitania. Wilson also found out about a plan that Germany was trying to get Mexico to enter the war and invade the United States from the south. This was too much for Wilson to ignore and he declared war. At first when war was declared men lined up at recruiting offices and volunteered to fight. To them war was a noble thing to do and they were excited to go. Over 130,000 people volunteered, but in the end over 4,000,000 Americans went. Theodore Roosevelt called the Great War The Great Adventure. The first American soldiers to arrive in Europe were young and inexperienced. The French wanted to put them in the front line

Marriage A sociaological Perspective essays

Marriage A sociaological Perspective essays The Institution of Marriage: A Sociological Perspective According to Webster, marriage is defined as the institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. That sounds simple enough however, it was not always so. During the seventeenth century arranged marriages were commonplace. The primary purpose of marriage was to bring together family and property. In the colonial period couples married for friendship. Not until the 1800s did love and romance become central to marriage. Now marriage is seen as the merging of individuals instead of families. Since then the words love and marriage have gone hand in hand. Christianity defines marriage as a holy union under god. Couples accept one another for better or for worse until death do they part. The church frowns upon the mere mention of divorce and although the values surrounding marriage have evolved, forsaking the sacrament of marriage is a sin in the eyes of a Christian god. Values such as activity and work, humanitarianism, religiosity and romantic love define the ideal Christian model although, real culture differs somewhat. External influences create variables that affect change in how individuals prioritize their values creating the real culture that more closely resembles modern society. Americans place high value on achievement and success, an area that is augmented through education and gauged by the accumulation of material wealth. Individualism is a symptom of the economics of capitalism. The individuals goals and chances for success are enhanced by efficiency and practicality, which is in turn enhanced by technological progress. As the costs of living increase marriage has become a convenient solution to affording better quality of life. Herein lies a paradox. A pair ...

The Current Ukraine Situation and IR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Current Ukraine Situation and IR - Essay Example This paper bases on the current situation in Ukraine to show that power and self-interest are characteristic of International Relations today. The current situation in Ukraine shows the pursuit of Russia of its unification with Crimea. Russia takes advantage of its powerful nature to continue breaching set laws and treaties and further the Ukrainian conflict. In the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in part, as it was assured of the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council, including Russia, through diplomatic notes and memorandum. The ongoing Ukrainian conflict therefore, displays cynicism on the side of Russia and other permanent members of the UN Security Council. Russia and other four permanent members of the UN Security Council, being powerful, continue to witness breaching of the Budapest Memorandum, and this is unfair to the currently less powerful Ukraine. This paper has analyzed how the aspects of power and self-interest manifest in current international relations, basing on the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has been seen to capitalize on its higher power status to control the less powerful Ukraine. On the other hand, both Russia and Ukraine exhibit self-interest in the different ways they have acted in this conflict. Similarly, the UN and the US are considered to have greater authority to resolve various problems in international relations. Nevertheless, basing on the Ukrainian conflict, it is evident that power and self-interest major characteristics of IR.