Download World War I

World War I
5-3.6 Why did the United States get involved
in the war? What role did the United States
play in fighting in the war?
Why did the U.S. enter the War?
At first, the United States
tried to maintain a neutral
role in World War I.
Woodrow Wilson
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28th President of the U.S.
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Played a significant role in World War I
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Famous Quote - “Make the world safe
for democracy.”
Why did the U.S. enter the War?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Wartime propaganda (very similar to
yellow journalism)
Traditional sympathies and ties to with
Great Britain.
Unrestricted submarine warfare by
Germany on neutral trading ships (these
ships were going to Britain and France)
The Lusitania was one of the ships sunk
by Germany.
The interception of the Zimmerman
telegram by the British was shared with
American and published in newspapers.
Why did the U.S. enter the War?
The sinking of the Lusitania by
German submarines.
Wartime Propaganda
Sinking of the Lusitania
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The sinking of the Lusitania (1915) was not the direct cause of the United
States’ declaration of war (1917)
Zimmerman Telegram
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The Zimmerman telegram was a coded
message from Germany to Mexico.
Germany promised Mexico if they
helped in the war, they would help get
land Mexico lost to the United States in
the Mexican-American War.
Publication by the press in the United
States led the American public to
support going to war
Entering the War
What is an alliance?
●
An alliance is an agreement to help each other out when in need
Major Countries in the War
Central Powers
● Germany
● Austria- Hungary
● Ottoman Empire
Allied Powers
● Great Britain
● France
● United States
*Note: there were more countries than this involved, but these were the main ones
Trench Warfare: where troops fought in trenches
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American troops were known as
“doughboys”.
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They helped in the final assaults
of German troops.
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They helped break the deadlock
of trench warfare.
Armistice Day
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Both the Central Powers & the Allied Powers agreed to an Armistice on
the condition that peace negotiations would be based on Woodrow
Wilson’s 14 Points.
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Many of his 14 Points were ignored by the other nations.
Wilson helped to redraw state borders in Europe so that they better
reflected nations, groups of people with the same language, religion and
ethnic heritage.
The Treaty of Versailles (a part of the Fourteen Points)
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The treaty included an international peace-keeping organization called
the League of Nations
The United States did not sign the treaty or join the League of Nations
because they worried it would make them join in future wars and they
wanted to be neutral again
Congress limited American involvement in world affairs in a series of laws
called the Neutrality Acts.
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These acts attempted to keep the United States out of future wars in Europe.