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

When war broke out in Europe in August of 1914, it seemed, to observers in the United States, the height of madness. The Old World and its empires were tearing each other apart, and while most Americans blamed the Germans, pitied the Belgians, and felt kinship with the Allies, they wanted no part in the carnage. Two years into war President Woodrow Wilson won re-election by pledging to keep out of the conflict. Yet by the spring of 1917-by which point millions had been killed for little apparent gain or purpose-the fervor to head "Over There" swept the country. America wanted in.The Path to War shows us how that happened. Entry into the war resulted from lengthy debate and soul-searching about national identity, as so-called "hyphenated citizens" of Irish and German heritage wrestled with what it meant to be American. Many hoped to keep to the moral high ground, condemning German aggression while withholding from the Allies active support, offering to mediate between the belligerents while keeping clear. Others, including the immensely popular former president Theodore Roosevelt, were convinced that war offered the country the only way to assume its rightful place in world affairs. Neiberg follows American reaction to such events as the sinking of the Lusitania, German terrorism, and the incriminating Zimmermann telegram, shedding light on the dilemmas and crises the country faced as it moved from ambivalence to belligerence. As we approach the centenary of the war, the effects of the pivot from peace to war still resonate, as Michael Neiberg's compelling book makes clear. The war transformed the United States into a financial powerhouse and global player, despite the reassertion of isolationism in the years that followed. Examining the social, political, and financial forces at work as well as the role of public opinion and popular culture, The Path to War offers both a compelling narrative and the inescapable conclusion that World War One was no parenthetical exception in the American story but a moment of national self-determination.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Over There Chapter One: A Game of Kings Chapter Two: Images of the Warring Countries Chapter Three: Americans Respond to the War Chapter Four: The Lusitania Chapter Five: Rising Tensions and Spy Scandals Chapter Six: Mexico, Germany, and the Global Threat Chapter Seven: The Sussex Pledge and the Continental Plan Chapter Eight: Submarine Warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram Conclusion: To War

About the Author :
Michael S. Neiberg is the inaugural Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College. His published work specializes on the First and Second World Wars, notably the American and French experiences. He is the author of many books, including Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I and Potsdam: The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe. He is currently based in Pennsylvania.

Review :
"Considering the importance of America's response to the challenges presented by the First World War, there is-not surprisingly-an extensive body of literature on the American experience in the years leading up to the declaration of war in April 1917. Rarely, if ever, has this story been told as well as in Michael S. Neiberg's The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America [A] study that is eminently readable, impressively researched, and remarkably thorough in its treatment of the various issues and challenges Americans wrestled with as they found it increasingly difficult, and then finally impossible, to believe the nation's interests would be best served by remaining out of the war."--Ethan S. Rafuse, Army History "Michael Neiberg's The Path to War traces the U.S.'s journey from detached observer to fully-committed participant in the First World War. Neiberg does this with great skill and clarity. The Path to War will become essential reading for those interested in the First World War and how it shaped the USA. It makes an invaluable contribution to a pivotal event in U.S. history."--Glyn Harper, Professor of War Studies, Massey University, New Zealand "Michael Neiberg has established a deserved reputation as one of the premier US-based historians of World War I, and his latest book does not disappoint. Following on from The Dance of the Furies, his magisterial book on European peoples in 1914, The Path to War gives a challenging and intellectually exciting account of how and why America and its people went to war three years later."--Gary Sheffield PhD, University of Wolverhampton, UK