he teaches at loyola university, michael kazin,d thank you both for being with us. let me begin with you, and the travels to the battlefield of world war i. what struck you, what did you see? thehe first thing i saw was american battle, the american cemeteries are just absolutely fantastic. they are really gorgeous. cemeteries are very nice, very well maintained organize. the french cemeteries were just a total disaster, they were neglected and overrun. the battlefield sites, there is one that is totally still intact that you can go see. a lot of verdun and the argonne, if you don't mind the possibility of getting blown up by an unexploded shell. you can actually see a lot. host: how likely is that? guest: people are still getting blown up. that is because people see a rusty shell and bring it up, and of course it is a mustard gas shell. host: what surprises me is how many people died in world war i, the bloodiest war in world history. can you explain? guest: i'm not sure about the bloodiest war in world history. host: in terms of civilian and military deaths. guest

host: john mosier and michael kazin. bernie is next from new york. thank you for waiting. caller: thanks for taking my call. i have three distinct questions. first, why did germany decide not to renew the reinsurance treaty with russia? host: we will get an answer to that and come back with your follow-up. bismarck understood that as long as germany and russia in the same league, france could not cost -- cause them any trouble, and he was right. his successors in the chancellorship knew better and they did considerably worse and not only did they lose the russians, they lost the italians , who originally had been allies with the germans and the austrians. just to show you how fouled up late ashat was, as 1912, the french army was planning for a war that they would have to fight with italy, even though the french foreign ministry had already cut a deal with the italian government that in the case of a war against germany, the italians would be neutral in 1906. when you have a government where the two departments are not talking to each other, it is not surprising some of th

johner today, authors usier and michael kazin join to discuss the war and the home front. it was supposed to be the war to end all wars. this is about 90 minutes. we welcome our viewers on c-span3's american history tv. our look at world war i for the next hour and a half. joining us at the table is john mosier, the author of the book "the myth of the great war," and michael kazin, his book "war against war." gentlemen, thank you both for joining us. we appreciate it. john mosier, let me begin with you. and as you look at the genesis of the war, what happened in 1914 and why did it take three or four years before the u.s. got involved? >> well to answer the second part first, the u.s. was involved in supplying munitions, particularly to the french, as early as october 1914. the german attache in berlin used to show the american more correspondence american-made shells he had sitting on his desk in 1950. why did we get involved? that's a very cupcake question. basically -- complicated question. basically, the british did a wonderful propaganda job on the united states to pe

earlier today, others john mosier and michael kazin joined american history tv and washington journal to discuss the war's final offensive, america's home front, and the legacy of what was hoped to be the war to end all wars. this is about 90 minutes. "washington journal" continues. ist: our look at world war the myth of the great war, how the germans fought the war, how the germans fought the "war against war." other, you could take the same hig 30, and a lot of those were civilians. host: if you look at the genesis of the war, what happened in 1914, and why did it take three or four years before the u.s. got involved? guest: to answer the second part first, the u.s. was involved in supplying munitions, particularly to the french, as early as october 1914. attache inpress berlin showed american made shells that he had sitting on his desk in 1915. why did we get involved? that is a complicated question. basically, the british did a wonderful propaganda job on the united states to persuade us to get involved in the war. mark in that easy sense. he was not big on germans, and he was a r

host: john mosier is the author war,"e myth of the great and michael kazin is the author of "war against war." you said there were a lot of foreign language newspapers in the u.s. a lot of german immigrants who came to the u.s. in the 1880's and 1890's now involved in a battle with cousins and relatives and friends and former neighbors. guest: it was not easy. when the war begins, german-american associations, which were big, dr. by the money of the brewers association pushed very hard for a total embargo on all american commerce with anybody in the war, which was going to help the germans more than the allies. after the lusitania is to repeat of in the spring of 1915, that becomes very difficult for germans to talk about because most americans are siding with the british and the french and the russians. want to't necessarily get into the war, but they don't want to support the germans. the german-american associations go quiet. they try to avoid the war as much as possible. there are a few, a magazine called fatherland, which continues to support the kaiser and the german side of the wa

historian michael kazin described the antiwar movement in his recent book war against war it didn't seem like a war that was in the american national interests seem like a war that most europeans had not wanted to fight in the first place so there was a sense that if america got involved the war it would only make the eyes face more militarist country which is just the fall face saw in the european powers that had gone to war in the first place even so kazan says the impact of the war on us society was far reaching some suffragist leveraged women's performance in the workplace to convince congress they should have the right to vote black soldiers including the harlem hell fighters who fought in france discovered their service did not protect them from racism after the war and that inspired the work of civil rights activists in the decades ahead and the us started a long running debate about what it means to be a global power economically militarily and diplomatically. wilson had resisted calls to enter the war since it began in one nine hundred fourteen but after a german u. boat torpedo

historian michael kazin described the antiwar movement in his recent book war against war it did seem like a war that was in the american national interests seem like a war that most europeans had not wanted to fight in the first place so there was a sense that if america got involved the war it would only make the i.c.'s more militarist country which is just the fall face so in the european powers that had gone to war in the first place even so kazan says the impact of the war on us society was far reaching some suffragist leveraged women's performance in the workplace to convince congress they should have the right to vote black soldiers including the harlem hell fighters who fought in france discovered their service did not protect them from racism after the war and that inspired the work of civil rights activists in the decades ahead and the us started a long running debate about what it means to be a global power economically militarily and diplomatically. wilson had resisted calls to enter the war since it began in one nine hundred fourteen but after a german u. boat torpedo the

historian michael kazin described the antiwar movement in his recent book war against war it did seem like a war that was in the american national interests seem like a war that most europeans had not wanted to fight in the first place so there was a sense that if america got involved the war it would only make i say it's more militarist country which is just the fall face saw in the european powers that had gone to war in the first place even so kazan says the impact of the war on us society was far reaching some suffragist leveraged women's performance in the workplace to convince congress they should have the right to vote black soldiers including the harlem hell fighters who fought in france discovered their service did not protect them from racism after the war and that inspired the work of civil rights activists in the decades ahead and the us started a long running debate about what it means to be a global power economically militarily and diplomatically. wilson had resisted calls to enter the war since it began in one nine hundred fourteen but after a german u. boat torpedoed

--t: and michael suresnes michael kazin? thet: my book was about americans opposed to going to war. i was very surprised by how broad the coalition was comically white racist democrats from the south, black militants from the north, socialists and anarchist, republicans -- and archivistspel -- and archists, republicans and democrats. during the war man who they thought would win the mayor of new york on an antiwar platform. it shows how much antiwar feeling there was not just before hand, but once the u.s. does go to war. that is i think something that americans don't know about. we know the anti-vietnam movement and how large that was, but not how large and popular sentiment against the war was in world war i. host: minnesota, good morning. caller: good morning, gentlemen. excited to share this story with you. i will try to be brief, but i want to for -- fully informed. my father was 40 years old when i was born. he served in world war i. his mother lied for him when he was 15, going into the navy at 1914. he was on the u.s. victoria 60 07 four, aag quartermaster that got out in 19

historian michael kazin described the antiwar movement in his recent book war against war it did seem like a war that was in the american national interests seem like a war that most europeans had not wanted to fight in the first place so there was a sense that if america got involved the war it would only make the i.c.'s more militarist country which is just the fall face so in the european powers that had gone to war in the first place even so kazan says the impact of the war on us society was far reaching some suffragist leveraged women's performance in the workplace to convince congress they should have the right to vote black soldiers including the harlem hell fighters who fought in france discovered their service did not protect them from racism after the war and that inspired the work of civil rights activists in the decades ahead and the us started a long running debate about what it means to be a global power economically militarily and diplomatically. wilson had resisted calls to enter the war since it began in one nine hundred fourteen but after a german u. boat torpedo the