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The United Sates and World War I
On October 25, 1918, in a street in Dampierre, France, soldiers of the 321st
Infantry Regiment stand at attention with “eyes right.” The 321st Infantry
Regiment was part of the 81st Division, also known as the “Wildcat Division.”
This photograph is part of the online exhibit, “Wildcats Never Quit: North
Carolina in World War I” and is published courtesy of the North Carolina State
Archives.
Key Vocabulary
engulf
prosper
propaganda
contraband
ultimatum
War Begins in Europe
Click the link below and view the video clip to gain a better
understanding of how war broke out in Europe.
War Begins In Europe
The war that engulfed Europe between 1914 and 1918 was so massive, widespread, and
deadly, that it became known simply as the Great War — and, when an even greater war
followed a few decades later, World War I.
Although the United States was only involved in the fighting for a year and a half, North
Carolina sent 86,457 soldiers overseas. Three military training camps were built in the state
— Camp Greene near Charlotte, Camp Bragg near Fayetteville, and Camp Polk near
Raleigh. In Wilmington, shipyards built warships for the Navy, while furniture workers in High
Point made airplane propellers, and artillery shells were made in Raleigh. The state’s textile
mills made blankets, tents, and socks for soldiers.
What does this information above tell you about the attitudes of North Carolinians
during this period?
Consider the response to the question above. What may be some other
attitudes some NC citizen may have had? Explain?
The United States and World War I
War and Neutral Rights
To the American public of 1914, the outbreak of war in Europe – with Germany and
Austria-Hungary fighting Britain, France, and Russia – came as a shock. At first, the
encounter seemed remote, but its economic and political effects were swift and deep.
By 1915 U.S. industry, which had been mildly depressed, was prospering again with
munitions orders from the Western Allies. Both sides used propaganda to stimulate the
public passions of Americans – a third of whom were either foreign-born or had one or
two foreign-born parents. Moreover, Britain and Germany both acted against U.S.
shipping on the high seas, bringing sharp protests from President Woodrow Wilson.
By 1915, The US still had not entered the war. Explain how the war affecting the US
economy
Britain, which controlled the seas, stopped and searched American carriers, confiscating
“contraband” bound for Germany. Germany employed its major naval weapon, the
submarine, to sink shipping bound for Britain or France.
President Wilson warned that the United States would not abandon its traditional right as
a neutral to trade with belligerent nations. He also declared that the nation would hold
Germany to “strict accountability” for the loss of American vessels or lives.
Anxious to avoid war with the United States, Germany agreed to give warning to
commercial vessels – even if they flew the enemy flag – before firing on them.
However, on May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British liner Lusitania, killing
1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. Wilson, reflecting American outrage, demanded an
immediate halt to attacks on liners and merchant ships.
But after two more attacks – the sinking of the British steamer Arabic in August 1915, and
the torpedoing of the French liner Sussex in March 1916 – Wilson issued an ultimatum
threatening to break diplomatic relations unless Germany abandoned submarine warfare.
Germany agreed and refrained from further attacks through the end of the year.
Click this link to learn more about the sinking of the Lusitania and The
Zimmerman Telegram
In your opinion, how did the sinking of the Lusitanina help bring the United States
into WWI?
What was the Zimmerman Telegram and what did it promise?
In your opinion, why did Mexico not accept the terms of the Zimmerman Telegram?
Wilson won re-election in 1916, partly on the slogan: “He kept us out of war.” Feeling he
had a mandate to act as a peacemaker, he delivered a speech to the Senate, January 22,
1917, urging the warring nations to accept a “peace without victory.”
Although President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation of strict and impartial
neutrality at the beginning of the war, the United States eventually entered World War I
in April 1917, after nearly three years of neutrality. American involvement in World War I
helped change the course of the war.
In your opinion, was President Wilson correct in trying to remain neutral for the first 3
years of the war?