The outbreak of the First World War is one of the great formative events of modern times. Yet during its centenary, there was surprisingly little attention to how uncertain entry into the war was in the English‐speaking world or how finely balanced the forces for and against intervention were. This article examines the role of appeals to honour in the decision for war. It begins by exploring the role of these appeals in convincing radical liberals to accept British intervention – something they had been successfully blocking just days earlier – before examining parallel appeals in the United States and Australia. It then considers why the language of honour was effective, and whether it still plays a role a century later, before concluding with some possible centennial lessons.

中文翻译：

---

荣誉呼吁与战争决定

第一次世界大战的爆发是现代重大的形成性事件之一。然而，在其百年纪念中，很少有人关注英语世界中参战的不确定性或干预力量与反对力量之间的精确平衡。本文探讨了在战争决策中呼吁荣誉的作用。首先，在研究美国和澳大利亚的平行上诉之前，探讨这些上诉在说服激进的自由主义者接受英国的干预中所起的作用（他们已经在几天前成功阻止了英国的干预）。然后，在总结一些可能的百年教训之前，它会考虑荣誉语言为何有效，以及一个世纪后它是否仍然发挥作用。