Download US Road to War

World War I (1914–1918)
Imperial, territorial, and economic
rivalries led to the “Great War” between
the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary,
Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey) and the
Allies (U.S., Britain, France, Russia,
Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Romania,
Montenegro, Portugal, Italy, and Japan).
About 10 million combatants killed, 20
million wounded.
TWO SIDES OF WWI
CENTRAL POWERS
Germany
AustriaHungary
Bulgaria
Turkey
ALLIES
Great Britain
France
Russia
Serbia
Belgium
U.S. (later)
Italy
•
•
German submarine sank
the British ocean liner
Lusitanian
More than 1,000
passengers were killed,
including 128 Americans.
May 17, 1915
May 7, 1915 brought the United States
into World War I. A German submarine
sank the British ocean liner Lusitania
off the coast of Ireland. More than 1,000
passengers were killed, including 128
Americans. The people of the United
States were shocked! Wilson did not declare
war, but instead asked Germany for an
apology*, for damages to be paid, and
for a promise not to attack any more
passenger ships.
US Road to War
The Last Straw
Zimmerman Note
•In March 1917, a German
official, Arthur Zimmermann,
cabled the German ambassador
in Mexico, proposing that Mexico
ally itself with Germany.
•In return, Mexico would regain
territory it had earlier lost to the
United States.
•TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND
ARIZONA
Turning Point in WW1
In September 1918, Pershing put
together the most massive attack in
American history, causing one GERMAN
position after another to fall
to the advancing American troops.
On November
11, 1918, Germany
signed an ARMISTICE, or cease-fire,
that ended the war.
RED
SCARE
After WWI, Americans associated
communism with disloyalty and unpatriotic
behavior.
Trench Warfare
The two armies dug trenches to protect
themselves from bullets and bombs. Then they
put up mazes of barbed wire around
the trenches. The
area between the
trenches was called "no man's
land." Soldiers ate and slept in the
trenches. First one side, and then the other would
try to break through at some point along the line.
It was very difficult for either side to win a battle this
way, and trench warfare claimed many
lives.
US Road to War
May 7th 1915
Sinking of the Lusitania
Trench Warfare
WHEN…
•Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand
and wife assassinated by Serbian
nationalist, A assassin from Secret
“BLACK HAND Society (June 28).
•That started a domino effect of wars in
Europe.
•Austria declares war on Serbia
•Britain declares war on Germany
Trench Warfare
“No Man’s
Land”
NEW WEAPONS OF WWI
TANKS – BRITISH
FLAME THROWER – GERMANS
U-BOATS (UNTERSEEBOOTEN)
AIRPLANES
GAS
POISON
MUSTARD
MACHINE GUNS
TANK TRAPS
NEW WAY TO FIGHT
– TRENCH WARFARE
MINES
Government Excess & Threats
to the Civil Liberties of
Americans
3. Schenck v. US – 1919
- in ordinary times the mailing of the
leaflets would have been protected by the
1st Amendment.
- BUT, every act of speech must be judged
acc. to the circumstances in which it was
spoken.
- If an act of speech posed a clear and
present danger, then Congress had
the power to restrain such speech.
To prevent strikes, the government
established the NATIONAL WAR
LABOR BOARD (NWLB) in 1918.
In exchange for wage
increases, an 8-hour
workday, and the right to
organize unions & bargain
collectively, the labor leaders
agreed not to disrupt war
production with a strike.
It was a draft to build up U.S military
forces. Passed in May 1917, the act
required all men aged 21 to 30 to
register for military duty.
1. Stripped Germany of its armed forces
2. Pay reimbursement for damages to the
Allies
3. Required Germany to acknowledge GUILT
for the outbreak and devastation caused by
World War I.
The fourteenth point, known as the
LEAGUE OF NATIONS, called for
member nations to help preserve
peace and prevent future war.
•Espionage Act: Specified of
antiwar activities that’s
demanded fines or
imprisonment
•Sedition (treason)
Amendment: Provided
punishment to anyone
using, “disloyal…,
in regard to the U.S
government, flag or
military.

The SUSSEX
PLEDGE, a promise
made by Germany
to stop sinking
merchant ships, kept
the USA out of the war
for a bit longer.