"The war to end war" (also "The war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by H. G. Wells) is a term for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

of 1914–1918. Originally an

idealistic In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality ...

slogan, it is now mainly used

sardonically To be sardonic is to be disdainfully or cynically humorous, or scornfully mocking. A form of wit or humour, being sardonic often involves expressing an uncomfortable truth in a clever and not necessarily malicious way, often with a degree of ...

, since not only was the First World War not

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

's final war, but its aftermath also indirectly contributed to the outbreak of the even more devastating

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Origin

During August 1914, immediately after the outbreak of the war, English author and social commentator H. G. Wells published a number of articles in London newspapers that subsequently appeared as a book entitled ''The War That Will End War''. He blamed the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...

for starting the war and argued that only the defeat of German

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

could bring about an end. He used the shorter form, "the war to end war", for ''In the Fourth Year'' (1918), in which he noted that the phrase "got into circulation" in the second half of 1914. It became one of the most common

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s of the First World War.

Later use

During the First World War, the phrase met with some degree of skepticism. As it became apparent that the war had not succeeded in ending war, the phrase took on a more cynical tone. The British staff officer

Archibald Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded i ...

, a future

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and

viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, said despondently of the Paris Peace Conference, "After the 'war to end war', they seem to have been pretty successful in Paris at making the 'Peace to end Peace'." Wells himself used the phrase in an ironic way in the novel ''

The Bulpington of Blup ''The Bulpington of Blup'' is a 1932 novel by H. G. Wells. It is a character study analyzing the psychological sources of resistance to Wellsian ideology, and was influenced by Wells's acquaintance with Carl Gustav Jung and his ideas. The inner ...

'' (1932).

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...

1967, "The delusion is that whatever war we are fighting is the war to end war", while U.S. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, in his "Silent Majority" speech (1969), said, "I do not tell you that the war in Vietnam is the war to end wars". The 1976

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...

song "

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

" ("The Green Fields of France"), addressed to the grave of a 19-year-old soldier in a First World War Cemetery, contains the lyric "Did you really believe that this war would end wars?". Since at least the last third of the 20th century, the alternative wording "the war to end all wars" has become more popular. ''The War to End War'' was the title of

Laurence Stallings Laurence Tucker Stallings (November 25, 1894 – February 28, 1968) was an American playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, literary critic, journalist, novelist, and photographer. Best known for his collaboration with Maxwell Anderson on the 1924 pl ...

's 1959 book on the war. It was also a title of a chapter of the American high school history textbook ''

The American Pageant ''The American Pageant'', initially published by Thomas A. Bailey in 1956, is an American high school history textbook often used for AP United States History, AICE American History as well as IB History of the Americas courses. Since Bailey's d ...

'' (first published 1956), and remained so up to its 15th edition in 2013. However, "The War to End All Wars" was used by later authors such as Edward M. Coffman (1968),

Russell Freedman Russell A. Freedman (October 11, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work '' Lincoln: A Photobiography''. B ...

(2010) and

Adam Hochschild Adam Hochschild (; born October 5, 1942) is an American author, journalist, historian and lecturer. His best-known works include '' King Leopold's Ghost'' (1998), '' To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918'' (2011), ''Bu ...

(2011).

References

External links

* H. G. Wells
The War That Will End War
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:War to end all wars, The H. G. Wells Political catchphrases World War I

Origin

Later use

See also

References

External links