The “War to End all Wars?”/ The Ethics of World War I Technology
On April 4, 1917 United States troops marched into the First World War with President Woodrow Wilson’s message echoing in their ears; this would be a “war to end all wars” to “make the world safe for democracy” (Nolte). However, 8.5 million deaths later, the Great War proved far from ending future conflict (“World War I”). The development of lethal gases, stealthy submarines, and destructive artillery made war more gruesome, paving the way for Hitler, Stalin, and later Saddam Hussein. The militaries of the First World War defied the ethics of just war, because new weapons caused unnecessary suffering, attacked innocent civilians, and demonstrated the potential of new technology…