Date of Award
7-1971
Degree Type
Master's Essay - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Alfred D. Low
Abstract
The Second Socialist International was formed in 1889; by this time socialist internationalism had come to mean not only the common struggle of member nations against capitalism but also co-operation against war. At their congresses they passed resolutions condemning war as the end product of economic circumstances and replacing standing armies with popular militia, thereby eliminating the influence of aggressive officers by replacing them with peace- loving civilians. The members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) thought of themselves as being joined with their oppressed brethren in other lands and shared particularly in their antipathy for militarism, for they remembered well the actions of the Prussian forces in 1848. The major ideological contributors of the party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, had accepted war as an instrument of policy for a time, but by 1880 felt that due to the fact that most European states were engaged in a system of alliances and had conscript armies, any future world war would be a disaster of the greatest magnitude.
Recommended Citation
Reiser, Marilyn, "The Role of the Social Democratic Party in the German Revolution of 1918" (1971). Master's Essays (1922 - ). 2714.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/essays/2714
Comments
AN ESSAY SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.