Download The United States and World War I

The United States and World War I
1914-1918
Major causes of World War I
1. Military Alliances
2. Nationalism
3. Rivalry over colonies
4. Arms Race
Nationalism
 Defined as: belief in the superiority in one’s own nation or country
Colonialism
 Rivalries over colonies led to bitterness in Europe.
Arms Race
 Each country in Europe had a desire to better its army and navy.
 Great Britain traditionally had the most powerful navy in Europe. Germany began
to expand her navy, which created tension between the two nations.
Alliances
 Intricate and sometimes secret alliances in Europe led to obligations but also
divided loyalties if attacked.
World War I Began in 1914
June 28th Archduke Ferdinand assassinated
July 28th Austira-Hungary declared war on Serbia
August 1st Germany declared war on Russia
August 3rd Germany declared war on France
August 4th Germany invaded neutral Belgium which prompted Britain to declare war the
same day
August 4th President Wilson declared policy of neutrality for the United States
August 6th Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia
August 23rd Japan declared war on Germany
October 29th Ottoman Empire joined the war on the side of the Central Powers
The war began with Allies versus the Central Powers and six neutral countries.
The Allies:
1. France
2. United Kingdom
3. Italy
4. Serbia
5. Russia
6. Romania
7. Greece
8. Portugal
9. Japan
The Neutral
1. Spain
2. Norway
3. Belgium
4. Switzerland
5. Sweden
6. Denmark
The Central Powers
1. Austria-Hungary
2. Germany
3. Bulgaria
4. Turkey
New weapons created a new way of fighting
 Railways played a key role in supplying and transporting troops.
 Ships were vital to supply troops and control ports.
 First war to use airplanes.
 Zepplins had been used for passenger travel prior to the war and during the war
became fighter aircraft.
 Germans called submarines U-Boats.
 Technology improved canons and machine guns.
 Tanks were also introduced.
Trench Warfare
 Most of the time in the trenches was spent waiting for fighting to begin.
 Sleeping took place in shifts so someone was always watching the enemy.
 “No Man’s Land” the area between the trenches was the most dangerous place to
be.
Treating the wounded
 Red Cross and the YMCA helped to care for the wounded soldiers and delivered
items from home.

Salvation Army volunteers writing a letter home for the wounded soldiers.
Most people in the U.S. want to remain neutral because:
 They felt it was not their fight

Europe was far away

War was expensive

Divided loyalties since we traded with both Great Britain and Germany
What groups wanted the U.S. to join the war on the side of the Central Powers?

German-Americans

Irish-Americans
Why did the U.S. join the war on the side of the Allies?
1. The U.S. had more money invested in Great Britain than Germany.
2. Part of the motivation was racial: the preference for British Anglo-Saxons
over German teutonics.
3. The elite in the east had never severed ties with England.
4. Uncertainty of U.S. interest in a German dominated Europe.
5. France was a friend since the U.S. war for independence.
6. The U.S. wanted to help Britain because the government was closes to a
democracy.
7. Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy Policy.
8. British propaganda.
9. Lusitania
10. Zimmerman Note.
Lusitania

British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat 1n 1915. More than 1,000 people
killed including 128 Americans.
Zimmerman Note
 Germany sent Mexico a note asking to ally with Germany. If Mexico allied with
Germany, they would help them fight the U.S. and take back the territories of
New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
U.S. going to war
 Congress declared war on April 6, 1917.
 Army Selection Act
o The Selective Service Act of May 18, 1917 required all males between the
ages of 21-30 (later changed to 18-45) to register for the draft.
o About 24 million men registered, 23% of total population. About 11,000
women volunteered as nurses, clerical workers and telephone operators.
 Women took the jobs left behind by men.
 Influenza was the worst epidemic in American history, killing over 600,000, five
times the deaths of American soldiers in the war.
End of war
 Armistice signed “at the 11th hour, of the 11th month, on the 11th day”.
 November 11, 1918 World War I ends.