How did Australians respond to the outbreak of war in 1914? Use the primary sources provided to justify your view.

Australians response to the outbreak of war in 1914?

Primary source exercise (essay) Word length: 1,500 words .  The commitment to war: 1914   This essay is a primary source exercise relating to Australians’ responses to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.  For many years, Australian historians regarded the Australian response to war as enthusiastic. And also nearly unanimously in favour of a strong commitment to the conflict.  Consequently historians have questioned the strength of that commitment, while others continue to insist that there are good reasons for seeing Australians in 1914 and beyond as deeply supportive of the war.   Therefore in this essay, you are being asked to consider the differences between the historians’ arguments and then, using the primary sources provided, develop and further  justify your own argument in relation to the question below:   How did Australians respond to the outbreak of war in 1914?.

  Additionally use the primary sources provided to justify your view.   Reading:   Eric Andrews, The Anzac Illusion: Anglo-Australian relations during World War I, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press, 1993, pp. 40-6. Carl Bridge, ‘The reason why: Australia and the Great War’, Quadrant, April 1994, pp. 11-12.   Consequently the primary sources are newspaper articles from August 1914, as listed below.  Therefore you can look them up using TROVE, which features an extraordinary digitised newspaper collection, at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers.  You must also refer to the primary sources in your essay as a way of providing evidence for your argument.   ‘A fine response’, Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 27 August 1914, p. 8   ‘War and politics’, Worker (Brisbane), Thursday 6 August 1914, p. 6.   ‘Scenes in the city. Posting the messages’, Argus (Melbourne), Friday 7 August 1914, p. 6.   ‘Women to women.

Further Description

The Red Cross Society. In addition women’s Work in War’, Argus (Melbourne), Wednesday 19 August 1914, p. 13.   Further secondary sources that you may find useful to your essay are listed below.  Consequently these will help you to understand the debate between the historians.   Grant Mansfield, and also ‘“Unbounded Enthusiasm”: Australian Historians and the Outbreak of the Great War’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, vol. 53, no. 3, 2007, pp. 360-74.   Frank Bongiorno and Grant Mansfield, ‘Whose war was it anyway? Some Australian historians and the Great War’, History Compass, volume 6, issue 1, 2008, pp. 62-90.   Joan Beaumont, ‘“Unitedly we have fought”: imperial loyalty and the Australian war effort, International Affairs, Volume 90, Issue 2, March 2014, pp. 397–412.

  Your primary source exercise must be presented as an essay, be properly footnoted in the Oxford Style and include a bibliography.  Students may consult other references in writing this exercise, but there is no requirement to read beyond the items listed above.   Please use a clear font (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Verdana) in 12pt with 1.5 or double spacing.

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