Teaching World War I in the 21st Century 1 | Page 22

THE WAR TO TEACH
ALL WARS
Jeffrey G. Hawks, Education Director, Army Heritage Center Foundation

Change is the essence of history. Wars have a

mechanisms of history in an environment that clarifies

Students benefit from studying warfare because wars

valuable lessons about the historical process even

significant place in history classrooms because they

tend to bring about rapid social change, in everything
from politics to the technology of everyday life.

are critical to the story of humanity, and also because
conflicts provide excellent opportunities to teach
about the process of history.

War is a microcosm of human interaction. In battle,

the intricate web of society is simplified, sometimes to
the bare necessities, and focused on a single task. War
provides a window through which one can study the

basic cause and effect. This is not to say that war is

simple—just more transparent in ways that are useful
for students and teachers. Military history delivers

when available time and student ability allow for only
macro-level investigation.

World War I is a case in point. Its origins are buried
in a legacy of militarism, imperialism, nationalism,
and balance of power politics that a student could
spend a lifetime investigating. At the same time,
however, the start of the war provides a perfect

African-American soldiers attend a class in a Post School in Meuse, France. (Image courtesy of the National World War I Museum)

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Essays & Resources