Question

How did postwar disillusionment lead people to pacifism

Answer 1

The suffering, misery and death of million of soldiers led to several Americans developing strong anti-war sentiments, and a rejection of several Wilsonian ideals. They felt that the USA had been drawn into the war by merchants,greedy bankers and British propaganda and nobody seemed to question what would have happened had Germany won the war, beyond the quest to avoid war at all costs.

Answer 2

Pacifism is a current of thought that opposes any form of violence in the form of war or militarism. The term was coined by French peace advocate called Emile Arnaud and adopted by numerous other activists during the Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901.

After the disastrous aftermath of the second world war, people adopted a negative attitude towards any form of demonstration of violence. This way of thought was particularly popular in the young population and the term "hippie" would later be created during the decade of the 1960s.