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World War I
Causes of World War I
• In 1914, a war erupted in Europe between the “old world”
powers.
• Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, the
Ottoman Empire.
• At first, Europeans thought it would be a short war, it would
be over by Christmas 1914.
• However, the conflict soon became a global conflict, the First
World War.
Causes of World War I
•
The Causes of World War I
1.
Nationalism: A feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their
country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other
countries.
2.
Colonial Empires: The contest between European nations for colonies in Africa
and Asia (European powers were jealous of each others’ colonial empires).
3.
The Alliance System: An alliance is a group of nations that promise to protect
one another. (i.e., In WWI, Great Britain (a powerful nation) promised to protect
Belgium (a weak nation).
4.
The Arms Race: European powers were building massive militaries to protect
their nation.
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Great Britain built the largest navy.
Germany built the largest army.
Causes of World War I
Causes of World War I
•
The “spark that ignited the war.”
• In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, the heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, visited Bosnia, a province of Austria-Hungary.
• On June 28, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by a Serbian terrorist, Gavrilo
Princip.
• Princip was part of a Serbian terrorist organization that wanted Bosnia to break away
from Austria-Hungary and become part of Serbia.
• As a result of the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia.
• However, Serbia had made an alliance with Russia, and Austria-Hungary had made
an alliance with Germany. A war that was supposed to be between two weak
European nations soon became a European conflict between all the nations of Europe.
• The two sides would be known as the Allies & the Central Powers.
Causes of World War I
Causes of World War I
Causes of World War I
The Allies
The Central Powers
Great Britain
Germany
France
Austria-Hungary
Russia
The Ottoman Empire
Causes of World War I
The First Years of WWI
• In 1914, the European powers thought they would fight a
quick war.
• The war soon became a stalemate, neither side could win the
war.
• Both sides started to dig trenches, the soldiers lived, suffered,
and died in these trenches (trench warfare).
• Between both trenches were a stretch of land called “noman’s land.” Soldiers had to climb out of their trenches and
cross “no-man’s land” in order to reach the enemy trench.
Millions of soldiers died crossing “no-man’s land.”
The First Years of WWI
The First Years of WWI
• The casualties in WWI were so high because of new
technology and weapons, including,
•
•
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The machine gun
Tanks
Poison Gas
Submarines
Airplanes
• This was also the first war in which large numbers of civilians
were killed. The fighting took place in villages and towns,
and civilians died from bombs and cannon fire. Many
civilians also suffered from starvation and disease.
The First Years of WWI
The First Years of WWI
The First Years of WWI
The First Years of WWI
Conclusion Slide
Who: ________________________________________________
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What: _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When: ______________________
Why/How: ___________________________________________
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The United States Enters the
War
The United States Enters the
War
• When the war broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
declared that America would remain neutral.
• President Woodrow Wilson believed the United States should
help end the conflict, rather then joining the Allies or Central
Powers.
• However, many Americans wanted the United States to join the
war and support the Allies, others wanted America to join the
Central Powers.
• Both the Allied Powers and Central Powers created
propaganda to convince the United States to support their
cause.
The United States Enters the
War
• The Sinking of the Lusitania
• Early in the war, Great Britain used its powerful navy to
blockade Germany. Germany did not have a navy large enough
to break the British blockade or blockade British ports.
• In 1915, Germany started to use its submarines, called U-boats,
to attack British ships, in hopes of preventing Great Britain, an
island nation, from receiving supplies that would allow it to
continue to fight the war.
• Germany also stated that it would not allow its U-boats to attack
ships from neutral nations.
The United States Enters the
War
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The Sinking of the Lusitania
• On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania, a British ocean liner.
• 1,200 passengers died when the ship was sunk, including 128 Americans.
• The Germans accused the U.S. of supplying Great Britain with weapons, which were
being transported on ocean liners.
• The U.S. denied the accusation, however, it was later discovered that the Lusitania was
carrying weapons from the U.S. for Great Britain.
• American citizens were outraged by the sinking of the Lusitania, and demanded
revenge.
• President Wilson forced Germany to agree to stop sinking merchant ships without
warning in the Sussex Pledge.
• However, President Wilson was reelected as president in in 1916. The Democratic
slogan for the election of 1916 was “He Kept Us Out of War.”
• By 1917, Germany revoked the Sussex Pledge, and was was carrying out
unrestricted U-boat warfare, sinking any merchant vessel that came near Great
Britain, thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed by the German U-boat fleet.
The United States Enters the
War
The United States Enters the
War
The United States Enters the
War
• The Zimmermann Telegraph
• In February 1917, the British secret service informed the United
States of a secret telegram they discovered from the German
Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German
ambassador in Mexico.
• The Zimmerman Telegraph instructed the German ambassador
to convince Mexico to make a secret alliance with Germany and
join the Central Powers. Germany promised Mexico that if
they joined the Central Powers, they would help Mexico regain
land lost in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
• Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
The United States Enters the
War
The United States Enters the
War
• The Zimmermann Telegraph
• Following the discovery of the Zimmermann Telegraph,
American newspapers printed the Zimmermann telegram.
• American citizens were outraged by the Zimmerman telegraph.
• In 1917, German’s unrestricted U-boat warfare resulted in the
sinking of several U.S. merchant vessels.
• On April 4th and 6th, respectively, 1917, the U.S. Congress
declared war against Germany, at the request of President
Woodrow Wilson.
Conclusion Slide
Who: ________________________________________________
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What: _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When: ______________________
Why/How: ___________________________________________
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The War on the Home Front
The War on the Home Front
• In 1917, the American Army was small and not large
enough to fight in the Great War.
• President Woodrow Wilson created the Selective Service
Act of 1917. The law stated that all American males
between the ages of 21 and 30 (later changed to 18 and 45)
had to sign up for a draft.
• The Select Service Act was successful, over three million
Americans were drafted into the U.S. Army.
The War on the Home Front
• The war for Women and minorities.
• During the war, millions of men left their factory jobs to serve in the U.S.
Army.
• However, the United States still needed people to work in factories and
build weapons and supplies for the U.S. and its allies.
• This situation allowed American women to gain job opportunities they
could never have before the war.
• 1 million jobs were opened to women during WWI.
• Women worked in factories, drove trucks, and took railroad jobs.
• The absence of the workforce also benefited African Americans. Many
African Americans from the South moved to Northern cities to work in
factories.
• 500,000 African Americans moved to Northern cities between 1914 and
1919.
• 200,000 African Americans fought in WWI, however, they served in
segregated units.
The War on the Home Front
The War on the Home Front
• The U.S. government asked American men, women, and children
to help the war effort by making several sacrifices.
• The U.S. Army needed the food grown by American farmers to
feed the troops. Therefore, the U.S. government asked American
citizens to grow their own food, in their own gardens, known as
victory gardens.
• Americans also supported the war by buying war bonds. The
bonds gave the U.S. government money to support the war effort.
• Women and children helped support the war effort by sewing and
knitting clothing for troops, writing letters to soldiers, and sending
items of comfort to the soldiers (i.e., books, newspapers, food,
etc.).
The War on the Home Front
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Although Wilson claimed America was fighting a war to preserve freedom and democracy, he
passed several laws to limit the free speech of Americans who opposed the war.
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The Espionage Act (1917): This act made it illegal for Americans to disrupt the recruiting process.
The act also made it illegal to mail materials (letters, posters, etc.) that were against America’s
involvement in WWI. A person who was convicted of aiding the enemy or disrupting the
recruitment process could be fined up to $10,000 or placed in prison for up to twenty years.
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The Sedition Act (1918): The act made it illegal for an American to say anything against the war,
(i.e., including making statements against the practice of buying war bonds, the U.S. Constitution,
or the government). Americans could not makes speeches against the war, or publish newspaper
articles or posters against America’s involvement in WWI.
• Eugene Debs, the Social Party candidate in the election of 1912, was sentenced to ten years in prison
for making an anti-war speech.
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Schenck v. United States (1919): In 1919, Charles Schenck challenged the constitutionality of the
Espionage Act, claiming that it violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (Freedom
of Speech). Schenck had violated the Espionage Act by distributing circulars encouraging
American draftees not to report to recruiting stations. However, the U.S. Supreme Court stated
that freedom of speech can be limited when it presents a “clear and present danger” to the United
States.
Conclusion Slide
Who: ________________________________________________
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What: _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When: ______________________
Why/How: ___________________________________________
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The Spring Offensive
The Spring Offensive
• The Allies were in danger of losing the war by the time the U.S.
Army arrived in Europe.
• The Russian Revolution
• Russia, one of the most powerful nations on the side of the Allies, had
dropped out of the war following the Russian Revolution.
• By 1917, Russian citizens were poor, and unhappy with the large
casualties endured by Russian soldiers in the war.
• In March 1917, a Russian Revolution started, one of the main goals of
the revolution was to sign a peace treaty with Germany and end the war
for Russians.
• In November 1917, Communists took power of the Russian government.
• On March 3, 1918, the Communist government signed a peace treaty
with the Central Powers.
• Russia was out of the war, and Germany could now focus on defeating
France and Britain, the remaining Allied Powers.
The Spring Offensive
• The first American forces, The American Expeditionary
Force (AEF), reached Paris on July 4, 1917.
• The Spring Offensive (1918):
• Germany wanted to try to defeat France and Great Britain
before all of the American forces arrived in France.
• Germany set its sights on capturing Paris, the capital of France.
However, 50 miles before reaching their goal, Germany was
stopped by French and U.S. troops.
The Spring Offensive
• The American Army helped the Allied Powers win two major victories in
France.
• The Battle of Belleau Wood:
• For 2 weeks, U.S. forces fought a constant battle against the German Army for
control of the Belleau Wood forest. The Americans won the battle, but lost
8,000 American soldiers in doing so.
• The Battle of the Argonne Forest:
• On September 26, 1918, 1.2 million American troops attacked German positions in the
Argonne Forest.
• The battle lasted for 47 days, however, the Americans were victorious.
• 120,000 Americans soldiers lost their lives in the Battle of the Argonne Forest.
• Other Allied Powers including France, Great Britain, and Belgium defeated
German Armies along the Western Front, causing a massive retreat of the
German Army from France.
• On November 11, 1918, an armistice was declared between the Allies and
Central Powers. The Great War was over.
The Spring Offensive
• Although the United States fought in the war for a short
period of time, they played a critical role in the Allied
Victory.
• The United States was an industrial superpower, with an
endless supply of Americans to fight the war.
• Germany and the other Central Powers could not stand up
to the industrial might of the U.S.
• The United States changed the course of the war for the
Allies.
The Spring Offensive
• The Cost of War for America:
• 126,000 American soldiers were killed in the war.
• 204,002 American soldiers were wounded in the war.
• The war cost the United States $33.7 billion dollars.
• The cost of the War for all soldiers and civilians involved in the
conflict.
• 13 million soldiers and civilians had died in World War I.
• Many Europeans were left starving and poor.
• Many historians claim that the filth and disease associated with trench
warfare caused the outbreak of the Spanish Flu, a virus that would kill
20 million people.
Conclusion Slide
Who: ________________________________________________
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What: _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When: ______________________
Why/How: ___________________________________________
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The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
• The Fourteen Points
• President Wilson viewed World War I as the “war to end all
wars.”
• In January 1918, Wilson created the Fourteen Points, a plan to
restore peace and stability to a world devastated by war. Wilson
wanted to create a world “fit and safe to live in.”
• One of Wilson’s Fourteen points was the creation of the League
of Nations.
• The League of Nations would be an organization in which all
nations could meet and resolve their problems without going to
war.
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
• The Treaty of Versailles was the peace agreement made between
the Allied Powers and Germany.
• In January 1919, European powers met at the Palace of Versailles
in France to discuss the surrender terms for Germany.
• The Peace Conference was dominated by the Big Four: President
Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), Prime Minister David Lloyd George (G.B.),
Premier Georges Clemenceau (France), and Prime Minister Vittorio
Orlando (Italy).
• George, Clemenceau, and Orlando wanted to punish Germany for the
war. Wilson believed the European powers should work towards
reconciliation with Germany.
• However, the European powers did not listen to Wilson.
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
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In June 1919, the Allied Powers and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles.
• The Treaty made Germany take full blame for World War I.
• Germany was also forced to pay $33 billions dollars in war reparations (damages) to the Allied
Powers.
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The treaty also included the creation of the League of Nations.
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However, the United States Senate never approved the treaty, and the United States never became
a member of the League of Nations.
• Some U.S. Senators were fearful that joining the League of Nations would pull the United States into
another foreign war.
• In September 1919, Wilson went on a train tour across America to convince citizens to support the
treaty.
• On September 25, Wilson collapsed while making a speech in Pueblo, Colorado.
• A few days later, he suffered a massive stroke in Washington, causing him to become paralyzed.
• On November 19, 1919, the U.S. Senate voted against the Treaty of Versailles, America would not
become part of the League of Nations.
• In the election of 1920, Warren G. Harding was elected the 29th President of the United States.
Harding promised America “a return to normalcy,” a return to isolationism.
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
The Fourteen Points & Treaty
of Versailles
Conclusion Slide
Who: ________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
What: _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
When: ______________________
Why/How: ___________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Conclusion Questions
• Why is World War I important?
• How did World War I affect the United States?
• What important roles did America play in World War I?
• What is your assessment of Wilson’s role in the peace negotiations?
• Was it right for American to return to a policy of isolationism after World
War I ended?