The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America

by Michael S. Neiberg

America's entry into World War One in April 1917 marked the end of one era in the nation's history and the start of another. As acclaimed historian Michael S. Neiberg reveals in his compelling new work, the Great War erupted in the midst of lively domestic debate as to what America's role should be in the global sphere. Whereas Woodrow Wilson was re-elected in 1916 by pledging to stay out of the conflict in Europe, former president Theodore Roosevelt was convinced that the war offered a means for the U.S. to become a dominant power and ensure national security.

In The Path to War, Neiberg follows American reactions to such events as the Lusitania, German espionage, and the Zimmermann telegram, shedding light on the dilemmas and crises that the country faced in the war years. In the summer of 1916, German agents detonated the Black Tom railroad terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, leaving only fragments of piers (still visible today); it was the costliest act of domestic terrorism in American history before 9/11 and its effect was galvanizing.

Neiberg's book will revive debates around America's entry into World War One, building to Wilson's declaration while examining the forces and shifts that made it all but inevitable. Neiberg establishes beyond question that World War One was not a parenthetical exception in American history but a moment of national and international self-identification, one whose effects still resonate today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, World War I, Military Fiction, American

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2016

About the author

Michael S. Neiberg is the Stimson Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the US Army War College. He has also taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Reviews

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America' by Michael S. Neiberg is a book about how America ended up finally fighting in World War I.

When World War I broke out in Europe, the U.S. was quite far from it, both in distance and mindset. The move to war was gradual and debated. Events like the invastion of Belgium and the sinking of the Lusitania made a case for the war, but there were many who still wanted to avoid war. The book talks about the immigrant communities felt about the war, from the German-Americans to the Irish-Americans to the African-Americans. The final push into the war found a nation in more resolve to help end this war.

How it relates to modern America puzzles me a bit. Perhaps in the kind of debates we still have about the just causes for war and pacification. The book is well documented. The author is the Professor of History at the US Army War College, so his insights into this largely unknown or forgotten subject were greatly appreciated by me.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Oxford University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Joseph Spuckler]

The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America by Michael S. Neiberg is an examination of how and why the United States became involved in World War I. Neiberg earned his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently Professor of History, Department of National Security and Strategy, US Army War College.

When asking a reasonably informed American why the US became involved in WWI and why it sided with the Allies instead of the Central Powers the response would probably be the Lusitania or maybe even the Zimmerman telegram. The Lusitania, however, was attacked and sunk two years before the US declared war. The Zimmerman telegram was a plan that was still in the idea stage. Zimmerman sent it to the German ambassador in Mexico and it did not evolve much from there. Britain, however, held it like a carrot in front of the American war machine.

There were mixed feelings in the US. Irish-Americans were torn between loyalty to the US and loyalty to their kinsmen wanting home rule. German-Americans were also divided at the start of the war. Americans as a whole want to stay out of the conflict. It was barely fifty years before that America was involved in a very bloody Civil War. Not many were willing to bleed for Europe. Siding with the allies was not a sure thing either. America demanded freedom of the seas and trade for neutrals. Britain created an extensive list of contraband items including cotton, much to the dismay of the American South. More than any country involved in the conflict, Britain needed the US to intervene. First, it relied on imports for the majority of its food supply and Germany was taking a toll on its merchant fleet. Secondly, Britain was going bankrupt. It was spending itself out of the war.

In the US, the war became a political issue that few wanted to side with. Even as Wilson's "Too proud to fight" speech was mocked most wanted neutrality. The countries fighting were for the most part monarchies and most had empires. This had little in common with American ideals of democracy and independence. However, the international pressures were moving the US closer to war; it would only be a matter of time. In fact, just five months after Wilson won the presidential election with the slogan "He kept us out of war," America was at war.

Neiberg examines the internal factors that drew the US into the European war as well as the external pressures. Like WWI, itself, there is no one reason for going to war but a string of events that lead the US to fight over there. America was not militarily prepared for the fight and even its recent military efforts to track down Poncho Villa in Mexico were a failure. The navy was out of date and a long way from Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. America had become complacent in its geographical isolation. The Path to War sheds light on the real reasons the US, reluctantly, entered the conflict. Neiberg digs deep into the domestic issues of the United States and provides the answers. Some answers are expected and others are not usually mentioned in history books. World War I was a war that should not have happened on the scale it did. There were so many pieces that had to be perfectly placed or totally ignored for a regional conflict to grow into a worldwide war. America's entrance into the war was not as clear cut as many like to think, however, it was the start of America's rise as a world power.

[victor harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not so sure how well he created the connections to Modern America as indicated in the title, but it certainly is thorough in the coverage of how the U.S. got dragged into the European conflict in 1917. Very good analysis of the politics and infighting of the Wilson administration. Likewise for his treatment of hyphenated-Americans and and particularly the pressure on groups of divided loyalties living in the U.S. such as the Germans, Irish, and Jews. The bulk of whom would make their commitment to the American cause.
As with his prior works, Neiberg is competent and scholarly in his handling of sources and analysis.

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book about WWI written by my graduate school professor. Easy to read and a fascinating account of all of the interactions that led to the war, the dynamics between European countries once the war started and the position of neutrality the U.S. took during the 1st 3years while profiting from it. A detailed look at the different American soldiers that joined the fight that dovetails with the Great Migration

[Chelsee Alcantara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on World War 1!

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

a five-star recommendation from my college history nerd roommate

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Neiberg's 2016 Oxford Press book "The Path to War" describes the forces that led the US to declare war in 1917 against Germany. The book is fascinating, rich in detail, and exceptionally documented. I am amazed by how the history of WW1 continues to affect our present day global and foreign affair relationships. I had the opportunity to hear the author present his book's highlights and answer questions from many people who had grandparents and relatives who served in WW 1.

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the dawn of the 20th century, the United States was a power hiding behind oceans. In the first decades of the 21st century, it is the world’s only hyperpower, able to project its military and cultural influence to every corner of the world. This fascinating book – at least, it’s fascinating for those with an interest in the political and sociological history of America – tells how America made the decisive turn towards engagement with the outside world.

It may be hard to realise now, but through most of its history, isolationism has been the strongest strand to America’s foreign policy. Its founders and first generations of immigrants crossed the sea to escape the wars and persecutions – political and religious – of the Old World. Having found a home in the New World, they had no wish to engage in the wars of their old homes. So when the First World War broke out, America remained neutral. Not only did this keep it out of the war, neutrality brought huge profits in its wake, as American goods and products found ready markets among all the combatants.

But such blood profits sat uneasily on American consciences, bought as they were in the immolation of a continent that many Americans still thought of as home. For none was this problem more acute than for German-Americans. Where did their loyalty lie? At first, they pushed for continued American neutrality. But as the war continued and incidents such as the sinking of the Lusitania increased anti-German feeling, such a position became increasingly untenable. War was coming. And German-Americans, in common with Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans and the other national groups, came to the one, common conclusion: they were Americans before they were anything else. Thus, the First World War killed off the 19th-century American experiment in multiculturalism (played out in a multitude of national-language newspapers and societies) and ushered in a new consciousness of what it was to be American.

Neiberg tells the story of this profound change through an encyclopaedic knowledge of the time, ranging from popular songs, through speeches and newspaper articles, to the letters of people ranging from Theodore Roosevelt to ordinary mothers contemplating the possibility of their sons being called up. It’s a great piece of scholarship – but only bother with reading it if you’re interested in the subject.

[David Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating book that examines all the forces in American culture that pushed and pulled the USA towards and away from war.