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The Road to War
The Big Idea
In 1914 tensions in Europe exploded into the deadliest war
the world had ever seen.
Main Ideas
• Many factors contributed to the outbreak of World War I.
• European nations suffered massive casualties in the war’s
early battles.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
Many factors contributed to the outbreak of
World War I.
Nationalism
Imperialism
• Nationalism, a
strong sense of pride
and loyalty to one’s
nation or culture,
created tension
between nations.
• Nations competed
for control of
territories both in
Europe and
overseas.
• Austria-Hungary
included people from
many cultural groups.
• Germany took the
Alsace-Lorraine
region from
France in 1871,
and France
wanted it back.
• Slavic nationalists
wanted to break
away from AustriaHungary and join the
independent Slavic
country of Serbia.
Holt McDougal,
Militarism
• Nations focused
resources on
militarism, the
aggressive
strengthening of
armed forces.
• Raced to build
armies and navies
• Made alliances to
protect
themselves
The Spark
• Feelings of fear and distrust grew among European powers
in the early 1900s.
• In 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
– Slavic nationalists resisted violently; wanted to be a part of
Serbia
• June 28, 1914: Archduke Francis Ferdinand of AustriaHungary was assassinated in Sarajevo.
– Killed by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
• Nations began to mobilize, or prepare their militaries, for
war.
Holt McDougal,
Pulled into the Fighting
Allied Powers
• Russia, an ally of Serbia
• France, an ally of Russia
• Belgium, brought into the fighting because Germany marched
through it to get to France
• Great Britain, an ally of Belgium
Central Powers
• Austria-Hungary
• Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
European nations suffered massive casualties
in the war’s early battles.
• The French army blocked the German advance at the
Marne River, east of Paris, in September 1914.
– The First Battle of Marne marked the first major battle of the
war.
– French and German forces faced each other along a long
battle line known as the western front.
• Russian and German armies struggled back and forth on
the eastern front.
• The war became a stalemate– a situation in which
neither side can win a decisive victory.
• Clear that this war would be longer than expected.
Holt McDougal,
Technology of War
•
Trench warfare, defending a position by fighting from the
protection of deep ditches, helped make the war long and
deadly.
– Cold, wet, and muddy
– Disease ran rampant
Land
•
New technologies made land warfare even more deadly
– Machine guns
– Poison gases
– Tanks
•
– Fired down on soldiers in the trenches
– Gathered information on enemy locations
– Battled each other in the air in “dogfights”
Air
Sea
Airplanes used in large-scale battle for the first time
•
•
•
Fighting in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea
Used Naval blockades and mines to block supply lines
U-boats, German submarines, launched torpedoes against
Allied supply ships.
Holt McDougal,
Americans Prepare for War
The Big Idea
After entering World War I in 1917, Americans began the
massive effort of preparing for war.
Main Ideas
• The United States entered the war after repeated crises
with Germany.
• The United States mobilized for war by training troops and
stepping up production of supplies.
• Labor shortages created new wartime opportunities for
women and other Americans.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
The United States entered the war after
repeated crises with Germany.
• The United States was initially a neutral country.
– Americans viewed World War I as a European conflict.
• America continued to trade with European nations during
the war.
– Carried supplies and war materials to the Allies.
• Germany used U-boats to try and stop supply lines.
– Often attacked ships without warning
– Sometimes shot civilian targets, such as the British
passenger liner, Lusitania
Holt McDougal,
Congress Declares War
March 1916– a U-boat attacks a French passenger ship, the
Sussex, with several American passengers on board. German
leaders agree not to attack merchant ships without warning.
February 1917– President Wilson breaks diplomatic relations
with Germany after they again begin attacks on non-military
ships.
March 1917– Zimmermann Note is decoded revealing German
and Mexican plot to ally against the United States.
April 1917– Congress declared war on Germany.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
The United States mobilized for war by
training troops and stepping up production of
supplies.
• Committee on Public Information formed by President Wilson to
help persuade the public to support the war effort.
• Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 limited
freedoms in the United States.
• Selective Service Act was enacted in 1917 to prepare the U.S.
military for war.
– Required men between ages 21-30 to register for draft.
– Almost 3 million Americans were drafted into service in World War I.
• Liberty bonds were issued by the government to help finance
Allied war efforts.
• War Industries Board and Food Administration worked to supply
the troops with materials and food supplies.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 3:
Labor shortages created new wartime
opportunities for women and other
Americans.
Factors that led to a labor shortage in the United States
during the war:
1. American factories needed new workers to meet huge
production demands.
2. The war almost completely closed immigration, thus
cutting-off the main source of labor to American industry.
3. Many of the young men who would normally take factory
jobs were serving in the military.
Holt McDougal,
Women’s War Efforts
• Many American women took on new roles to help the war
effort.
– 1 million women joined the workforce.
– About 25,000 women volunteered to serve in noncombat positions in Europe.
• Other women protested America’s participation in the war.
Holt McDougal,
Labor and the War
• New job opportunities encouraged Mexican Americans and
African Americans to move to northern industrial cities.
• Union membership increased.
– Workers in a better position to demand higher wages
– More than 4 million unionized workers went on strike during
the war.
• National War Labor Board was established to help
management and workers reach agreements.
– Settled more than 1,000 labor disputes
– Worked to prevent strikes
Holt McDougal,
Americans in World War I
The Big Idea
American troops helped the Allies achieve victory
in World War I.
Main Ideas
• American soldiers started to arrive in Europe in 1917.
• The Americans helped the Allies win the war.
• Germany agreed to an armistice after suffering heavy
losses.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
American soldiers started to arrive in Europe
in 1917.
• Americans joined the fight in Europe in 1917 as a force
separate from the other Allied units.
• U.S. troops were known as the American Expeditionary
Force
– Led by General John J. Pershing
– Thoroughly trained for combat before reaching front lines
– Included regular army and National Guard troops, volunteers,
and draftees
Holt McDougal,
Russia Leaves the War
Revolution in Russia
• November 1917: a group of Russians known as the
Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government.
• Bolsheviks were Communists– people who favor the equal
distribution of wealth and the end of all forms of private
property.
New Government
• Led by Vladimir Lenin
• Knew the war had reached a desperate point
– Around 8 million Russians had already been killed.
– Soldiers were deserting.
– Food riots raged in cities.
• March 1918: Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with
the Central Powers, taking itself out of World War I.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
The Americans helped the Allies win the war.
• With Russia gone, Germany planned to smash the
stalemate.
• American soldiers arrived on the front.
• Germans made an advance, but were unprepared for the
fresh, well-trained American forces and were driven back.
• July 1918– German forces launch final offensive
– Attempted to cross the Marne River
– Terrible losses forced them to stop.
• American troops helped force a major turning point in the
war.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 3:
Germany agreed to an armistice after
suffering heavy losses.
• Allies drove toward victory after the failed German
advance.
– More than 1 million U.S. troops in France
– Began winning victories against German forces
• By November 1918, American soldiers were making rapid
advance toward Germany.
Holt McDougal,
Germany Defeated
• At home and on the battlefield, Germans were tired of
war.
– Food shortages
– Riots and strikes
– Shortage of soldiers
• Germany’s allies were also eager to end the war.
– Austria-Hungary reached a peace accord with the Allies on
November 3, 1918.
• Seeing his country was beaten, German leader Kaiser
Wilhelm II fled.
• Germany agreed to an armistice, or truce, on November
11, 1918.
Holt McDougal,
Establishing Peace
The Big Idea
The United States and the victorious Allied Powers clashed
over postwar plans.
Main Ideas
• The costs of war included millions of human lives as well
as financial burdens.
• President Woodrow Wilson and European leaders met to
work out a peace agreement.
• The U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
The costs of war included millions of human
lives as well as financial burdens.
Casualties
Financial Losses
• Allied: 5 million soldiers
dead
• $30 billion in property
destroyed
– American: 116,000
soldiers dead; 200,000
soldiers wounded
– Factories and farms
throughout Europe in
ruins
• Central Powers: 3.5
million soldiers dead
• Russia and Germany had
the highest death tolls.
Holt McDougal,
• Allies: $145 billion spent
• Central Powers: $63
billion spent
• European nations deeply
in debt
Influenza Epidemic
• In 1918, a worldwide epidemic of influenza, or flu, broke out.
– Extremely contagious
– Deadly
– Spread by air
– No known cure
• Spread by American soldiers to civilians and then to Europe and
beyond.
– 30 million people died from the virus worldwide.
– 800,000 Americans died
• Changed life in the United States
– In Chicago, the flu more than doubled the death rate.
– Quarantines were implemented in some states.
– Many cities banned public gatherings, including school classes.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
President Woodrow Wilson and European
leaders met to work out a peace agreement.
• President Woodrow Wilson developed plans for a postwar
peace agreement.
– Known as the Fourteen Points
– Called for the creation of League of Nations, an
international assembly of nations.
• European leaders disagreed with Wilson’s vision.
– Wanted to punish Germany for its role in the war
– Wanted to prevent Germany from ever again becoming a
world power
Holt McDougal,
Key Goals of the Fourteen Points
• End secret alliances
• Resolve colonial claims
• Encourage free shipping
• Support the right of
people to choose their
own government
• Remove barriers to
trade
• Reduce armies and
navies
Holt McDougal,
• Settle border disputes
• Establish the League of
Nations
Paris Peace Conference
American and European leaders met at the Paris Peace
Conference, held at the palace of Versailles, near Paris
No representatives from Russia or the Central Powers attended.
Allied leaders demanded that Germany
–
Accept complete blame for the war
–
Make reparations, or payments for war damages
–
Give up large parts of its territory
Wilson reluctantly agreed to this peace agreement, the Treaty
of Versailles.
Holt McDougal,
The Treaty of Versailles
• German reparations of $33 billion
• Established the League of Nations
• Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, and
Yugoslavia became independent nations.
• Poland was restored as a nation
• Central Powers turned over their colonies to the League of
Nations.
• Central Powers nations broken up
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 3:
The U.S. Senate rejected the
Treaty of Versailles.
• U.S. Constitution states that treaties must be ratified by at
least two-thirds of the Senate.
• Wilson presented the treaty to the Senate.
– Senator Henry Cabot Lodge wanted the winners to set the
terms of the peace and demanded changes.
– Republicans were worried about the League of Nations’ power
to use military force.
• On November 19, 1919, the Senate voted and the Treaty
of Versailles was defeated.
• The United States signed separate peace treaties with
Germany, Austria, and Hungary.
Holt McDougal,