Sidney Bradshaw Fay (13 April 1876 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

– 29 August 1967 in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, whose examination of the causes of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, ''The Origins of the World War '' (1928; revised edition 1930) remains a classic study. In this book, which won him the 1928

George Louis Beer Prize The George Louis Beer Prize is an award given by the American Historical Association for the best book in European international history from 1895 to the present written by a United States citizen or permanent resident. The prize was created in 1923 ...

of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

, Fay argued that Germany was too readily blamed for the war and that a great deal of the responsibility instead rested with the Allies, especially Russia and Serbia. His stance is supported by several modern scholars, such as

Christopher Clark Sir Christopher Munro Clark (born 14 March 1960) is an Australian historian living in the United Kingdom and Germany. He is the twenty-second Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. In 2015, he was knighted for his servi ...

, but it remains controversial. Sidney Bradshaw Fay 1922

Fay left

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(Ph.D. 1900) to study at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. He taught at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

(1902–14) and

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

(1914–29) and, after the publication of his major book, at both Harvard and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Fay's conclusion was that all the European powers shared in the blame, but he blamed mostly the system of secret alliances that divided Europe after the Franco-Prussian War into two mutually suspicious camps of group solidarity: Triple Alliance against

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

(Fay's student Allan B. Calhamer, would later develop and publish the game ''Diplomacy'', based on this thesis). He considered

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

to be primarily responsible for the immediate cause of war's outbreak. Other forces besides

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 ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

were at work, as the economics of

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

and the newspaper press played roles. Fay also wrote ''The Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to 1786'' (1937). He married (17 August 1904) Sarah Eliza Proctor.Genealogical notice
/ref>

Works

''Germany: Revised and Edited from the Work of Bayard Taylor,''
H. W. Snow, c. 1910 . F. Collier & Son Corporation, c. 1939, "Memorial edition"
''The Hohenzollern Household and Administration in the Sixteenth Century,''
with John Spencer Bassett, Dept. of History of Smith College, 1916. * ''The Origins of the World War,'' 2 Vols., The Macmillan Company, 1928

d ed., 1930 D, or d, is the fourth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Le ...

br>online

H. Holt and Company, c. 1937 eprint, Malabar, Fla.: R.E. Krieger Pub. Co., 1981
''A Guide to Historical Literature,''
edited by

George Matthew Dutcher George Matthew Dutcher (1874 - 1959) was an American historian and professor at Wesleyan University. He was born on 16 September 1874, in Pleasant Valley, New York. He received a B.A. and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, where he studied under ...

Henry Robinson Shipman Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Sidney Bradshaw Fay,

Augustus Hunt Shearer Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Principate ...

William Henry Allison William Henry Allison (June 14, 1838 – December 15, 1934) was a Canadian politician and school lands commissioner. He was elected as a Conservative to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1878 election in the riding of Hants and re-elected ...

, The Macmillan Company, 1937.

Other

* Eduard Fueter (1876–1928)
''World History, 1815–1920,''
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1921, Zurich ranslated by Sidney Fay, 1922 * Friedrich Meinecke, ''The German Catastrophe,'' Harvard University Press, 1950 ranslated by Sidney Fay

Articles

''"The Roman Law and the German Peasant,"''
The American Historical Review, Vol. 16, No. 2, Jan., 1911.
''"New Light on the Origins of the World War, I. Berlin and Vienna, to July 29,"''
The American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4, Jul., 1920. * ''"Serajevo Fifteen Years After,"'' The Living Age, July 1929. * ''"June 28, 1914,"'' in Eugene Lohrke, Armageddon, 1930. * ''"Peace-Making: 1919, 1945,"'' The Forum, November 1945. * ''"Our Responsibility for German Universities,"'' The Forum, January 1946. * ''"The First U.N.O. Assembly,"'' The Forum, April 1946. * ''"The Power of the Soviet Press,"'' The Forum, August 1947. * ''"The Marshall Plan: Second Phase,"'' The Forum, February 1948. * ''"Germany's Social Structure,"'' The Forum, October 1948.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Sidney Bradshaw American historians Harvard University alumni University of Paris alumni Dartmouth College faculty Smith College faculty Harvard University faculty Yale University faculty Presidents of the American Historical Association 1876 births 1967 deaths American expatriates in France American expatriates in Germany

Works

Other

Articles

See also

References

Further reading

External links