Fourteen Points

The second of Wilson's fourteen points declares absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters.  In todays world, ships are permitted to go where they wish in international waters, but not in territorial waters.  The third point declared the removal of all economic barriers and the establishment of equality of trade.  Today, countries trade with several other countries at a time.  The fifth point declared a free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims. Today, most of the colonies claimed at the turn of the century of since gained their independence.  I believe the most important point is the fourteenth point, which declares that a general association of nations must be formed.  This organization, known today as the U.N., has worked towards the goal of keeping peace among the nations of the world.

Political Cartoon

In this political cartoon, I believe that the cartoonist is trying to say that trench warfare, a major tactic used on the battlefields of the western front, was a lot like submarine warfare.  While in the trenches, one was isolated from the surface world, like a submarine underwater.  The only safe view of the surface would be through a periscope.  I also believe the cartoonist is saying that trench warfare was the deadliest of all.  There was no safe place to be found, and as a result, the western front saw the most loss of life.

Women in America

With the outbreak of total war, the government turned to help from women like never before.  Women replaced men in factories, offices, and shops by the thousands.  Women built tanks and munitions, plowed fields, paved streets, and rean hospitals.  They kept troops supplied with food clothing and weapons.  When the war ended, most women left the work force.  But they changed many people's views of what women were capable of doing.

Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.  It was done via wholesale massacres and deportations consisting of forced marches.  By the 1880's, the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire had begun to demand their freedom, and as a result, relations between the Armenians and their Turkish rulers grew strained.  Thoughout the 1890's, Turkish troops killed tens of thousands of Armenians, before WWI broke out.  Once WWI had erupted, the Armenians pledged their support to the Turks' enemies.  In the end, the Turks killed between one and one and a half million Armenians.
The Armenian Genocide was the first modern genocide, and a horrifying one.  Armenians were literally marched to death by their superiors.  The idea that a culture can be nearly wiped out in an attempt at freedom is simply unthinkable.