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APUSH
Chapter 30: The War to End War, 1917-1918
Homework Questions from Pageant
Big Question: To what extent did disillusionment cause America to retreat into her
isolationist cocoon in 1919-1920?
1. Why did the United States finally declare war on Germany in 1917? (Prioritize causes). Why
didn’t we declare war on Britain?
2. What were Wilson’s twin goals for the War? Was he sincere, or was he just propagandizing?
3. What were the most important of the “14 points?” Which points had the greatest/least chance
of success in your mind?
4. What kinds of preparations had the United States made before it entered the war? How did
we mobilize once we were in?
5. How did the Espionage and Sedition Acts violate the Constitution?
6. How was the war financed? How did these efforts contrast with previous efforts to finance
war?
7. Describe trench warfare in detail. Why did it happen? What were its results?
8. What effect did the submarine have on the course of the war? The airplane? The dirigible?
9. Explain the American military contribution to the war. Why was the Spring of 1918 such a
critical time for the Allies and the Central Powers?
10. What was the reason for the ultimate failure of Germany during World War I?
11. Although the American Expeditionary Force played a limited role in the war, Wilson was
heavily involved it the post war negotiations that led to the Treaty of Versailles. Explain the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles. What were Wilson’s 14 points? Why was Wilson unable to
convince Congress to ratify the Treaty of Versailles? How does the defeat of the Treaty
demonstrate one of Wilson’s major flaws as President? Who was more responsible for the defeat
of the treaty in the United States senate, the irreconcilables, Wilson, or Lodge?
12. A British historian, A.J.P. Taylor, has written WWI and WWII were really just phases of the
same conflict? Based on what you read in this chapter, why might that be a true statement?
NO TERMS
For Your Information- Past A.P essay questions on this area of study:
1. The United States entered the First World War not “to make the world safe for
democracy” as President Wilson claimed, but to safeguard American economic interests.
(1989)
2. It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the
ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the Senate defeat of the
Treaty of Versailles. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1917-1921,
assess the validity of this statement.
The Fight Over the Versailles Treaty (1991 DBQ)
3. Assess the relative importance of THREE of the following in the American decision to
declare war on Germany in 1917: (1995)
a. American economic interests
b. Woodrow Wilson’s idealism
c. Allied propaganda
d. American claim to world power
4. To what extent did the United States achieve the objectives that led it to enter the First
World War?