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Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
The British used their navy to blockade the German coast. This
prevented weapons, military supplies, and food from getting to
Germany. By 1917, the German people were starving – 750,000
Germans starved to death as a result of the blockade. Meanwhile,
however, the U.S. did continue to trade with Britain. This made
Germany angry – was the United States really neutral?
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
The German response to the British blockade was the use of
submarines called U-boats. Their goal was to sink supply ships
heading to Britain and make the British suffer the type of agony
that they had endured. They
targeted any supply ships
heading to Britain, including
American ships. The Germans
torpedoed ships without
warning, killing scores of
civilians. This angered many
Americans and help push them
towards siding with the Allies in
the war.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare:
Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, a
German U-boat
sank the British
passenger ship, the
Lusitania.
Statistics:
• The ship sank in 18
minutes
• 1,195 of the 1,959
on board killed
• 123 Americans
killed
Germany’s response to the incident:
“The Government of the United States proceeds on the assumption that
the Lusitania is to be considered as an ordinary unarmed merchant vessel. The
Imperial Government [of Germany] begs in this connection to point out that
the Lusitania was one of the largest and fastest English commerce steamers,
constructed with Government funds as auxiliary cruisers, and is expressly included
in the navy list published by the British Admiralty.”
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
1. What was the goal of the German
use of U-boats? Why did Germany
have this goal?
2. How many people died when the
Lusitania was sunk? How many
were American?
3. How would the German U-boat
campaign and the sinking of the
Lusitania affect U.S. public opinion
about Germany?
4. How did Germany justify sinking the
Lusitania?
The Zimmermann Telegram
On January 19, 1917, Arthur
Zimmermann, the German
foreign minister, sent a coded
telegram to the German
ambassador in Mexico.
British intelligence agents
intercepted the telegram and
decoded it.
On February 24, the British
passed the telegram on to
President Wilson. On March
1, the telegram was published
in national newspapers. On
April 6, 1917, the United
States declared war on
Germany.
Read the telegram –
What is Germany going to propose to Mexico?
The Zimmermann Telegram
1. According to this
telegram, what did the
German government
decide to begin on
February 1, 1917?
2. What did Zimmermann
propose to the Mexicans
if the U.S. went to war
with Germany?
3. How did the U.S. respond
to this telegram?
Women at War
After the United States entered the war in 1917,
women supported the war effort in numerous ways.
In addition to continuing their pre-war reform work,
women reformers sold war bonds and conserved
food. Women sent relief supplies to suffering
Europeans. Some women’s groups sent delegations
to Europe to provide relief for American soldiers.
The government established an advisory
committee, the Women’s Committee of the Council
of National Defense, headed by suffragist Dr. Anna
Shaw, to coordinate women’s war efforts.
During the war, women also entered the workforce
in new ways. Women served in the navy and
marines, and thousands served as nurses. On the
home front, women worked in factories and in the
government.
Women at War
World War I led to several important
advances for women. Women’s war work
increased support for woman suffrage and
contributed to the passage of the 19th
Amendment in 1920.
1. In what ways did women
contribute to the war?
2. How did WWI change the lives of
women in the future?
Propaganda
Propaganda posters were very widespread during World War I,
even when the United States remained neutral. Propaganda is
the spreading of ideas that help or hurt a
cause. American propaganda posters
during WWI encouraged Americans to
conserve food and money, to buy war
bonds to help pay for the war, and, later,
to join the different branches of the
military.
1. Define propaganda in your own words
2. In what 3 ways were propaganda
posters used in the U.S. during WWI?
Propaganda
Now take a look at the computer. The
website shows you examples of
American propaganda during the war.
Scroll through 5-10 of them and
answer the following questions:
3. What is the United States asking
of its citizens? Jot down several
specific examples that you see in
the propaganda posters.
4. What strategies are used to
convince people to help the war
effort?
African Americans at War
The Selective Service Act of 1917 created the draft.
Nearly 400,000 African Americans were enlisted in the
armed services. Although they served their country like
any other soldier, racial discrimination and prejudice
continued. Segregation was even enforced in the
military, and whites and
blacks could not serve
along side each other in
the same regiment.
Members of the 369th Infantry
Division, better known as the Harlem
Hellfighters
African Americans at War
Watch the YouTube video
titled “They Came to
Fight.” Then, answer the
questions below.
1. How was racism prevalent in the military?
2. What was special about the Harlem Hellfighters? List
at least 2 facts.
3. How did black women serve their country?
The Selective Service Act
Three weeks after war was declared on
Germany in 1917, only 32,000
Americans had volunteered for service.
Wilson realized that this was not
enough military strength to win the
war, so he called for a draft. All males
aged 21-30 were required to register at
local polling stations. The age limits
were later changed to include all men
from ages 18-45. The drafts carried out
during World War I led to the
successful registration of almost 24
million American men.
The Selective Service Act
• Within a year, 24 million men
registered
• 3 million called up (drafted)
• 2 million sent to Europe
• 1 out of 5 were foreign born
• 400,000 African Americans served
in segregated units
1. Why did Wilson implement the draft?
2. Who had to register?
3. How many were drafted into the military?
Costs of a Mechanized War
World War I was a new kind of war. Nations
soon realized that a modern, mechanized war
meant that the entire nation’s resources
needed to be devoted into the war effort.
Nations on both sides implemented the draft,
raised taxes, borrowed money, and rationed
food, clothing,
gasoline, and other products. Every citizen
was encouraged to contribute to the war
effort in some way, from fighting on the
frontlines to manufacturing weapons or
growing food at home.
1. Why was a mechanized war more expensive than
previous wars?
Costs of a Mechanized War
A mechanized war was very costly. The graphs below
show the spending of the nations involved.
Spending of Allied Powers, in dollars
1914-1918
Spending of Central Powers, in dollars
1914-1918
1,430,000,000
8,757,681,000
815,200,000
12,413,998,000
22,625,253,000
United States
Great Britain
France
22,293,950,000
35,334,012,000
Russia
Italy
24,265,583,000
Other Allied
nations
Germany
20,622,960,000
Austria
Turkey
37,775,000,000
Bulgaria
Costs of a Mechanized War
• US spent $22.5 Billion on the war
• 1/3 raised through taxes
• Income Tax (progressive) – higher incomes taxed at higher rates.
• War-profits tax
• Luxury taxes on tobacco, liquor and luxury goods
• 2/3 of $ raised through Liberty Bonds - a loan the US citizens gave the Federal government
• US government borrowed money from the American people, who would be paid back
plus interest
Date
Amount Offered
Interest Rate (%)
($ Billion)
24 April 1917
5
3.5
1 October 1917
3
4
5 April 1918
3
4.5
28 September 1918
6
4.25
21 April 1919
(Victory Bond)
4.5
4.75
Costs of a Mechanized War
2. How much did the United States spend on the war?
3. Who spent the most of the
Allied Powers? The Central
Powers?
4. How did the U.S. make most
of its money to fund the war?
Define this term in your own
words.