Читать книгу Anglo-American Cultural Studies - Jody Skinner - Страница 58

a little and a big warBoth phrases refer to two ships and two wars, a little and a very big one. The little war took place at the very end of the 19^th century between the US and SpainSpain with the sinking of an American ship, the Maine, in Havana harbor. “Remember the Maine and to Hell with Spain!” became the battle cry. The US gained Puerto RicoPuerto Rico and the PhilippinesPhilippines ( 6).

A much bigger war began about a generation later: World War IWorld War I, which the US entered late. One reason for American involvement was the sinking of yet another ship, this one a passenger ship called the LusitaniaLusitania. Another reason for the US to enter the “Great War” was the publication of the ZimmermannZimmermann telegram, an attempt by the GermanGerman Foreign Secretary to persuade Mexico and Japan to attack the United States. After the US and the Allies won World War I, President Woodrow WilsonWilson, Woodrow received the NobelNobel Peace Prize for his attempts to create “a peace without victory” and “to make the world safe for democracy” although the US chose not to join the League of NationsLeague of Nations.