Chrome360 | ENTER THE PEACE BROKER | PANEL DISCUSSION | National WWI Museum & Memorial, Kansas City

PANEL DISCUSSION | NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL, KANSAS CITY | 2.11.17 PANEL: Lora Vogt (Moderator) | Professor Jay Sexton | Professor Jennifer Keene CONTEXT Peace negotiations were conducted alongside military conflict from the outset of WW1, but it was President Wilson’s attempt to arbitrate in December 1916 that initiated the serious push for peace. By then, the fighting on the Western Front had revealed the full horror of modern industrial warfare. However, Wilson discovered that to secure peace America would have to join the fight. DISCUSSION PROFESSORS JAY SEXTON (Kinder Institute Chair in Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri) and JENNIFER KEENE (Chair, Department of History, Chapman University) on Wilson’s vision for peace and a new world order, US military preparedness in 1917, and domestic reactions to US entry into the War. HOW THE PEACE MAKER TURNED BELLIGERENT On 7 May 1915, RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. Among the dead were over 120 Americans. As news reports came in that evening, Colonel House, President Wilson’s right-hand man, was dining with US Ambassador Walter Page in London. “We shall be at war with Germany within a month”, declared House. In fact, some two years would elapse before America finally entered the War on April 6, 1917. AUDIO CLIPS from ChromeRadio’s podcast drama, ENTER THE PEACE BROKER by Martyn Wade, will illustrate the panel discussion. Based on contemporary diaries, letters and newspaper reports, the drama brings alive America’s journey into WW1, a compelling story of duplicity and diplomatic intrigue. Made with the support of the ROTHERMERE FOUNDATION, the production includes a selection of WW1 songs arranged and performed by mezzo-soprano JESSICA WALKER with JAMES HOLMES on piano. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.