"The war to end war" (now commonly phrased "the war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

) is a term for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–1918). Originally an

idealistic Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, spirit, or consciousness; that reality is entir ...

slogan, it is now mainly used sardonically, since not only was the First World War not history'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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1939–1945).

Origin

During August 1914, immediately after the outbreak of the war, English author and social commentator

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,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

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 ...

, a future

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and

viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 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 in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

, 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'' (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 the Cold War, coining t ...

in 1967 noted, "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 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in his "Silent Majority" speech (1969) said, "I do not tell you that the war in Vietnam is the war to end wars". Since at least the last third of the 20th century, the alternative wording "the war to end all wars" has increasingly become popular. "The War to End All Wars" has been used by 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 best known for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work '' Lincoln: A Photobiography''. ...

(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), '' Bur ...

(2011).

References

External links

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

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:War to end all wars, The H. G. Wells Political catchphrases World War I Quotations from literature 1914 quotations Quotations from military

Origin

Later use

See also

References

External links