Opposition to World War I

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Opposition to World War I
Part of World War I and the anti-war movement
Protests against World War I at the 1918 Women's Peace Conference in The Hague
Date	1914–1918
Location	Allied and Central Powers
Caused by	World War I
Goals	End of any participation in World War I
Methods	Opposition
Resulted in	Various mutinies Revolutions of 1917–1923

Opposition to World War I was widespread during the conflict and included

Groups opposed to the war included the Russian Bolsheviks, the Socialist Party of America, the Italian Socialist Party, and the socialist faction led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Germany (later to become the Communist Party of Germany). In Sweden, the socialist youth leader Zeth Höglund was jailed for his anti-war propaganda, even though Sweden did not participate in the war.

Women across the spectrum were much less supportive of the war^{[clarification needed]} than men.^[2][3] Women in church groups^{[clarification needed]} were especially anti-war; however, women in the suffrage movement in different countries wanted to support the war effort, asking for the vote as a reward for that support. In France, women activists from both the working-class socialist women's and the middle-class suffrage movements formed their own groups to oppose the war. They were unable to coordinate their efforts because of mutual suspicion due to class and political differences. After 1915, the groups weakened and dissolved entirely as their leading militants left to work within nonfeminist organizations opposing the war.^[4]

The women's suffrage movement in Britain split on the war issue. The main official groups supported the war but it was opposed by a number of prominent women's rights campaigners, including Helena Swanwick, Margaret Ashton, Catherine Marshall, Maude Royden, Kathleen Courtney, Chrystal Macmillan,^[5] and Sylvia Pankhurst. It was an early coalition of women's campaigning with pacifism that led to the formation of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915.

Although the onset of the

In 1915, the

In the United States, some of the many groups that protested against the war were the Woman's Peace Party (which was organized in 1915 and led by noted reformer Jane Addams), the American Union Against Militarism, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and the American Friends Service Committee.^[7] Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, was another fierce advocate of pacifism, the only person to vote no to America's entrance into both World Wars.

Pope Benedict XV, elected to the papacy less than three months into WW1, made the war and its consequences the main focus of his early pontificate. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Pope Pius X,^[8] five days after his election he spoke of his determination to do what he could to bring peace. His first encyclical, Ad beatissimi Apostolorum, given 1 November 1914, was concerned with this subject. Benedict XV found his abilities and unique position as a religious emissary of peace ignored by the belligerent powers. The 1915 Treaty of London between Italy and the Triple Entente included secret provisions whereby the Allies agreed with Italy to ignore papal peace moves towards the Central Powers. Consequently, the publication of Benedict's proposed seven-point Peace Note of August 1917 was roundly ignored by all parties except Austria-Hungary.^[9]

Many socialist groups and movements were

When the Second International, the primary international socialist organization before World War I, was founded in 1889, internationalism was one of its central tenets. "The workers have no Fatherland", Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had declared in The Communist Manifesto. Between 1889 and 1914 the Second International repeatedly declared its opposition to war and that "[the working class shall] do all they can to prevent the outbreak of war"^[10][11]

The exact means of combating the outbreak of war was a matter of conflict within the Second International. On the far-left the radical French pacifist Gustave Hervé promoted building anti-government militias and instigating mutinies in the army.^[12] The center of the party, embodied by the German August Bebel and the French Jean Jaurès, were more circumspect with their preferred means. Jaurès particularly warned of the potential for a diversionary war.

Alarmed by the growth of the socialist movement, a government might attempt to create a foreign diversion rather than directly battle Social Democracy. If a war breaks out in this way between France and Germany, would we permit the French and German proletariat to murder one another on behalf of the capitalists and for their benefit without Social Democracy attempting to exert the greatest effort to stop it? If we were not to make the attempt, we would all be dishonored.^[12]

These statements were in tension with others. For example, Bebel was determined "never to abandon a single piece of German soil to the foreigner". Jaurès criticized Marx and Engels' maxim that the "workers have no Fatherland" as "vain and obscure subtleties" and a "sarcastic negation of history itself".

After the repeal of the anti-socialist law in 1890 the SPD steadily gained support in the lower house of the Imperial German Parliament, the Reichstag. By 1914 it was the largest party in the Reichstag.^[13] Prior to 1914, the SPD had consistently voted against all imperial military spending under the slogan "Not one man, not one farthing for the current system."^[14]

During the July Crisis, it became clear that German mobilization, and therefor German war credit would be critical. A vote on war credits in the Reichstag was scheduled for 4 August, and required a simple majority to pass. This meant that a vote against war credits would only be symbolic for the SPD, unless a non-socialist party defected to their side.

On 2 August, the right faction of the German SPD met and agreed to support the upcoming war credits vote.^[15] On 3 August, the full SPD parliamentary delegation met. In the party's preparatory meeting on 3 August, there were, according to SPD representative Wolfgang Heine, "vile, noisy scenes"^[16] because of conflict between the right faction and Karl Liebknecht who believed that "the rejection of war loans was self-evident and unquestionable for the majority of the SPD Reichstag faction."^[17] In the end, the right faction successfully swayed the center of the party. On 4 August, the Reichstag, voted on war credits. Following a tradition of party discipline, the socialist delegates unanimously voted for the measures. The policy of supporting the government's war efforts became known as the Burgfrieden or civil truce.

The socialist parties of France had split and reunited several times since the founding of the republic. At the outbreak of the July Crisis the French Section of the Worker's International (

In Britain, the prominent peace activist

After the largest socialist parties of the Second International had voted in favor of war funding and shifted to support their national governments, organized international resistance by the socialist parties disintegrated. Reaction to these events would lead to the Zimmerwald Conference, and the splitting of socialist and communist movements.

Like all the armies of mainland Europe, Austria-Hungary relied on conscription to fill its ranks. Officer recruitment, however, was voluntary. The effect of this at the start of the war was that well over a quarter of the rank and file were Slavs, while more than 75% of the officers were ethnic Germans. This was much resented. The army has been described as being "run on colonial lines" and the Slav soldiers as "disaffected". Thus conscription contributed greatly to Austria's disastrous performance on the battlefield.^[21]

In 1914, the

Despite the mainstream Labour Party's support for the war effort, the

In Australia two referendums in 1916 and 1917 resulted in votes against conscription, and were seen as opposition to an all-out prosecution of the war. In retaliation, the Australian government used the War Precautions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act to arrest and prosecute anti-conscriptionists such as Tom Barker, editor of Direct Action and many other members of the Industrial Workers of the World. The young John Curtin, at the time a member of the Victorian Socialist Party, was also arrested. Anti-conscriptionist publications were seized by government censors in police raids.^[25]

Other notable opponents to Conscription included the Catholic

In Canada,

In New Zealand, the war (particularly conscription) was opposed by the

This section is an excerpt from 1917 French Army mutinies.[edit]

The

Nivelle Offensive in April 1917. The new French commander of the armies in France, General Robert Nivelle, had promised a decisive victory over the Germans

in 48 hours; morale in French armies rose to a great height and the shock of failure soured their mood overnight.

In

"Our enemies are - not the Germans, and - not Russians or Frenchmen. The common enemy of us all, no matter what nationality to which we belong - is the beast within us. Nowhere is this truth so clearly confirmed, as now, when, intoxicated, and excessively proud of their false science, their foreign culture and their civilization of the machine, people of the 20th century have suddenly realized the true stage of its development: this step is no higher than that which our ancestors were at in the days of

Imperial Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, despite its harsh conditions. They also published the secret treaties between Russia and the Western Allies

, hoping that the revelation of Allied plans for a vengeful peace would encourage international opposition to the war.

Russian forces outside Russia

In September 1917, Russian soldiers in France began questioning why they were fighting for the French at all and mutinied.^[35]

Central Asia

The Central Asian revolt started in the summer of 1916, when the Russian Empire government ended its exemption of Muslims from military service.^[36]

United States

John French Sloan

, 1914

Further information: American entry into World War I

Henry Ford

Main article: Peace Ship

Industrialist

peace activists to join him. He hoped to create enough publicity to prompt the belligerent nations to convene a peace conference and mediate an end to the war, but the mission was widely mocked by the press, which referred to the liner as the "Ship of Fools", as well as the "Peace Ship".^[38] Infighting between the activists, mockery by the press contingent aboard, and an outbreak of influenza marred the voyage.^[39] Four days after Oscar II arrived in Norway, a beleaguered and physically ill Ford abandoned the mission and returned to the United States.^[40] The peace mission was unsuccessful, which reinforced Ford's reputation as a supporter of unusual causes.^[41]

Religious groups

Leaders of most religious groups (except the

President Wilson to mediate an end of the war by bringing the belligerents to the conference table. Wilson indeed made an energetic, sustained and serious effort to do so, and kept his administration neutral, but he was repeatedly rebuffed by Britain and Germany.^[42] Finally in 1917 Wilson convinced some of them that to be truly anti-war they needed to support what Wilson promised would be "a war to end all wars".^[43] Once war was declared, the more liberal denominations, which had influenced the Social Gospel, called for a war for righteousness that would help uplift all mankind. The theme—an aspect of American exceptionalism—was that God had chosen America as his tool to bring redemption to the world.^[44]

Far-left and other groups

Leading up to 1917 and the declaration of war against Germany, the

IWW—"Wobblies"—gained strength by opposing the war.^[47]

The

Socialist Party of the USA

for giving an anti-draft speech in Ohio. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld these prosecutions in a series of decisions.

Conscientious objectors were punished as well, most of them

Just War theology. During World War I, America's Roman Catholic hierarchy denounced him and The New York Times described him as a "spy suspect." The US military (in which he was never inducted) court-martialed him for desertion and spreading propaganda, then sentenced him to death (this was later revised to 25 years hard labor).^[48]

Around 300,000 American men evaded or refused conscription in World War I. Aliens such as

race riots in the South and the Palmer Raids following two anarchist bombings. After the election of Warren G. Harding in 1920, Americans were eager to follow his campaign slogan of "Return to Normalcy." Anti-war dissidents in federal prison, such as Debs, and conscientious objectors, had their sentences commuted to time served or were pardoned on 25 December 1921. The Sedition Act was repealed in 1921, but the Espionage Act

remains in force.

In the African colonies

In many European colonies in Africa, the recruitment of the indigenous population to serve in the army or as porters met widespread opposition and resistance. In British

East Africa Campaign contributed to the Chilembwe uprising

in 1915.

See also

• Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War
• British propaganda during World War I
• Dulce et Decorum est
• Home front during World War I
• Italian propaganda during World War I
• List of anti-war organizations
• List of peace activists
• Opposition to World War II
• Spirit of 1914
• Zimmerwald Conference

References

1. ^ Prelude to Revolution: Class Consciousness and the First World War Archived 28 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine by Megan Trudell
2. ^ Anne Wiltsher, Most Dangerous Women: Feminist Peace Campaigners of the Great War. (Routledge, 1985).
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4. ^ Charles Sowerwine, "Women Against the War: A Feminine Basis for Internationalism and Pacifism? Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Western Society for French History 6#363. (1978).
5. ISBN 0863580106
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6. ^ Beaman, Jay "Pentecostal Pacifism" 2017.
7. ^ Chatfield, Charles, "Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy" 2002.
8. ISBN 978-0-86012-091-9
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9. ^ "Who's Who – Pope Benedict XV". firstworldwar.com. 22 August 2009. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
10. ISBN 978-1121956728
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11. ISBN 9781642594676
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12. ^
    ISBN 9781642599817
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13. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
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14. ^ Nettl, J.P. (1966). Rosa Luxemburg. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 127.
15. ISBN 978-3-549-07281-3
    .
16. ^ Wohlgemuth, Heinz (1973). Karl Liebknecht. Eine Biographie [Karl Liebknecht: A Biography] (in German). Berlin: Dietz Verlag. p. 242.
17. ISBN 978-3-88012-660-2
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18. ^ Albertini, Luigi. Origins. Vol. III. McMeekin. pp. 94–95.
19. ISBN 978-1-59740--565-2
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20. ISBN 0-618-75828-3
21. ISBN 978-0-00-746764-8
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22. ^ "Merely For the Record": The Memoirs of Donald Christopher Smith 1894–1980. By Donald Christopher Smith. Edited by John William Cox, Jr. Bermuda.
23. ISBN 978-0-547-75031-6
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24. ^ David Swift, For Class and Country: the Patriotic Left and the First World War (2017)
25. ISBN 0-86786-339-0
26. ^ "Opposition to World War I". World War I. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
27. ^ "The Conscription Crisis". CBC. 2001. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
28. ^ BBC – The forgotten soldiers (Article highlighting pre- and post-war attitudes to participation of Irish in Great War)
29. ^ Dave Hennessy (2004). The Hay Plan & Conscription in Ireland During WW1, p.5 [1]
30. ^ Hennessy, Dave. "The Hay Plan & Conscription in Ireland During WW1". Waterford County Museum. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
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32. ^ Ward, Alan J. (1974). Lloyd George and the 1918 Irish Conscription Crisis. The Historical Journal, Vol. XVII, no. 1.
33. ISBN 9781317801474
    . Retrieved 15 March 2018.
34. ^ М. А. Рашковская, Е. Б. Рашковский. «Милые братья и сестры…» (lib.ru)
35. ^ Cockfield 1997, pp. 171–237.
36. ^ "Soviet Union – Uzbeks". Country-data.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
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41. ^ Henry, Jim (15 June 2003). "Noble cause becomes a farce; Peace Ship cements Henry Ford's image as a well-meaning but naive do-gooder". Automotive News. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
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44. ISBN 1-932236-16-3
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46. ^ "World War 1 and the Suppression of Dissent". The Future of Freedom Foundation. April 2002. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
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48. ^ Staff of the Catholic Peace Fellowship (2007). "The Life and Witness of Ben Salmon". Sign of Peace. 6.1 (Spring 2007).

Bibliography

• Cockfield, Jamie H. (1997). With snow on their boots: The tragic odyssey of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. Palgrave Macmillan.
  ISBN 978-0-312-22082-2
  .

Further reading

• Chatfield, Charles. For peace and justice: pacifism in America, 1914-1941 (University of Tennessee Press, 1971).
• Damousi, Joy. "Socialist women and gendered space: the anti/conscription and anti/war campaigns of 1914/1918." Labour History 60 (1991): 1-15. online
• Duncan, Robert. Objectors & resisters: opposition to conscription and war in Scotland 1914-18 (2015)
  ISBN 978-09930965-1-8
• Early, Frances. A world without war: How US feminists and pacifists resisted World War I (Syracuse University Press, 1997) online.
• Grimshaw, Sabine. "The Responsibility of Women: Women’s Anti-War Writing in the Press, 1914–16." in Women’s Writing of the First World War (Routledge, 2019) pp. 78–90.
• Hostetter, Richard. "The SPD and the General Strike as an Anti‐war Weapon, 1905‐1914." The Historian 13.1 (1950): 27-51.
• Jarausch, Konrad H. "Armageddon Revisited: Peace Research Perspectives on World War One." Peace & Change 7.1‐2 (1981): 109-118.
• Jordens, Ann‐Mari. "Anti‐war organisations in a society at war, 1914–18." Journal of Australian Studies 14.26 (1990): 78-93.
• Kazin, Michael. War against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914–1918 (2017).
• Kelly, Andrew. "Film as Antiwar Propaganda: Lay Down Your Arms (1914)." Peace & Change 16.1 (1991): 97-112.
• Kennedy, Kathleen. "Declaring war on war: Gender and the American socialist attack on militarism, 1914-1918." Journal of Women's History 7.2 (1995): 27-51. excerpt
• McKillen, Elizabeth. "Pacifist Brawn and Silk‐Stocking Militarism: Labor, Gender, and Antiwar Politics, 1914–1918." Peace & Change 33.3 (2008): 388-425.
• Melancon, Michael S. The Socialist Revolutionaries and the Russian Anti-War Movement, 1914-1917 (Ohio State University Press, 1990).
• Moorehead, Caroline. Troublesome People: The Warriors of Pacifism (1987) covers Britain 1914 to 1945.
• Patterson, David S. The Search for Negotiated Peace: Women's Activism and Citizen Diplomacy in World War I (Routledge, 2008).
• Steigerwald, Alison Rebecca. "Women United Against War: American Female Peace Activists’ Work During the First World War, 1914-1917' (PhD dissertation, The University of Iowa, 2020) online
• Tylee, Claire M. "'Maleness run riot'—The great war and women's resistance to militarism." Women's Studies International Forum 11#3 (1988) online
• Wachtell, Cynthia. War No More: The Antiwar Impulse in American Literature, 1861–1914 (Louisiana State University Press, 2010).
• Weinroth, Howard. "Peace by Negotiation and the British Anti-War Movement, 1914-1918." Canadian Journal of History 10.3 (1975): 369-392.
• Wiltsher, Anne. Most Dangerous Women: Feminist Peace Campaigners of the Great War. (Routledge, 1985).
• Zeiger, Susan. "The schoolhouse vs. the armory: US teachers and the campaign against militarism in the schools, 1914-1918." Journal of Women's History 15.2 (2003): 150-179. online

External links

• Patterson, David S.: Pacifism, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
• Wilmers, Annika: Feminist Pacifism, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
• Marcobelli, Elisa: Pre-war Socialist Pacifism, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.