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WWI and America’s
Involvement
Causes of WWI
Militarism and Rivalries
Germany was formed in the late
1800s and quickly grew to become
one of the most industrial and
powerful nations in the world.
They even invaded their
neighbor, France, and forced
the French to give up territory.
The Triple Alliance
Germany knew that their actions may have
consequences. In order to protect themselves, the
Germans made a military alliance with Italy and
Austria-Hungary called the Triple Alliance.
Russia Becomes
Concerned
Russia, another German neighbor, became concerned that
Germany might attack and try to take Russian territory.
The Russians were also competing
with Austria-Hungary in South East
Europe (the Balkan Nations and
the Ottoman Empire).
Realizing that Germany and the Triple Alliance was a
common threat, the Russians and the French signed the
Franco-Russian Alliance (1894). Both nations promised to
aid each other if attacked by the Triple Alliance.
The Triple
Entente
In 1907, the United Kingdom
joined France and Russia to
form an even larger alliance
called the Triple Entente.
Other nations, such as
Portugal and Japan also
supported this alliance.
“Agreement”: Russian propaganda poster showing the
UK and France looking to Russia for help
These alliances fed feelings of intense nationalism in Europe.
The build up of military strength is referred to as militarism.
The alliance system put
Europe on a course for war.
Some agreements were made in secret.
European nations could not trust each other.
The war began on July 28th, 1914 after the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
In response, Austria-Hungary demanded that
the Kingdom of Serbia take responsibility.
This may have been a
relatively small event in
history, but the alliance
system soon brought all
of the major European
powers to war.
The Triple Alliance and their allies were called the Central Powers,
and the Triple Entente and its allies were called the Allies.
The war did not end until November 11th, 1918. Nine million soldiers
and seven million civilians were killed as a result of the fighting.
What about The United States?
The United States maintained
neutrality at first. The war was
viewed by Americans as a
European problem.
However, America had close ties with
the British and American businesses
sympathized with the United Kingdom.
The British engaged in propaganda
to encourage the U.S. to enter the
war on the side of the Allies.
The British cut the Transatlantic
telegraph cable. This allowed the
British to only allow their side of
the war story to reach America.
President Wilson won re-election in 1916 by
campaigning on the fact that he had kept America out
of the war. He was the “Peace Candidate”.
At the same time, American banks made investments by
loaning over two billion dollars to the Allies in Europe.
It was difficult for Wilson
to refrain from entering
the war. Consider the
following two incidents…
The Lusitania
The Lusitania, a British
passenger ship, that also
carried war supplies, and
briefly the largest ship in
the world, was torpedoed
by a German U-boat on its
way back from New York.
The fleet of German submarines was becoming a serious
military threat, and 128 of the dead were Americans
The Germans defended their actions
by pointing out that the Lusitania was
classified as an “auxiliary cruiser”, was
carrying munitions, and had been
warned not to enter war zones
declared by Germany.
The Sussex Incident
The Sussex was a French
ferry that was torpedoed
by the Germans in 1916.
Fifty lives were lost.
At the time, the Germans had a policy of nearly
unrestricted submarine warfare. Unlike the Lusitania, the
Sussex was a small ship designed for passengers only.
As a result of unrestricted submarine warfare, President
Wilson threatened to break diplomatic ties with Germany.
The Sussex Pledge
The Germans were fearful of the U.S. entering the war. To
prevent this, the German government made the “Sussex Pledge”.
• Passenger ships would not be targeted.
• Merchant ships would only be attacked/sunk if
weapons were found to be on board.
• Provisions would be made for the safety of the
crew if merchant ships were attacked.
The Sussex pledge allowed America to stay out of the war,
and Wilson used this fact in his reelection campaign.
1917: The U.S. Enters the War
Based on shifting public opinion, and two
major events, the U.S. finally went to war.
1. The resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
2. The Zimmermann Telegram
Resumption of Submarine Warfare
In 1917, the Germans decided that the advantages to
allowing their U-boats to become free of restriction
outweighed the possibility of the U.S. entering the war.
The Zimmermann Telegram
Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann
(Germany) sent a telegram to the German
ambassador to Mexico. The intent of the
telegram was to convince the Mexicans to
join the war and fight with Germany.
The telegram instructed
the ambassador to let the
Mexicans know that
Germany would help
Mexico regain territory
lost to the U.S. after the
war was over. This, of
course, assumed a
German victory.
Britain, and then the United States
intercepted and decoded the telegraph.
The U.S. entered the war on April 6th,
1917, with an 82-6 vote in the Senate.
American Contribution to the War
The American entry into WWI was late and the
size of the American force was relatively small.
Still, fresh troops and
artillery helped to
revitalize the war effort.
The Allies won the war
which ended on
November 11th, 1918.
Wilson Wants Lasting Peace
At the end of the war, President Wilson wished to create
a peace that would last in Europe. He felt that excessive
punishments would only lead to more fighting.
In 1918, Wilson made an
important speech in which he
outlined his “Fourteen Points”.
The most important parts of Wilson’s Fourteen Points were…
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Free trade agreements throughout Europe
Democracy and self-determination
Redrawing of boundaries along ethnic lines
The creation of the League of Nations
The Changing Map of Europe
Wilson’s idea to have borders drawn to encompass people
by ethnicity was ignored, especially in the case of
Yugoslavia where several ethnicities were forced together.
In some other cases borders
changed when nations like the
Ottoman Empire and AustriaHungary ceased to exist, and
new nations were born.
Some of these changes
were ok, but in many cases
Europe was simply set up
for future conflicts.
Although the League of Nations (a precursor to the
United Nations) was created, most of President
Wilson’s ideas were ignored by Europe in favor of
punishing the Central Powers, especially Germany.
The Treaty of Versailles
Although the allies signed peace treaties with each
of the Central powers separately, the most
significant was this treaty with Germany.
The European allies wished to punish
Germany as a wartime aggressor, and
to hinder their military and economic
advancement as a rival.
Germany was forced to…
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Accept guilt for causing all of the damage during the war
Completely disarm
Concede significant amounts of territory
Pay war reparations (over $31B in 1920 dollars)
In the United States, Congress
was split into many factions and
was unable to get the 2/3rds
majority necessary to pass the
Treaty of Versailles.
The United States ultimately
negotiated separate peace
agreements with each of the
Central Powers in 1921.
Changes at Home:
The War Industries Board
The War Industries Board was created in July of 1917.
The WIB greatly increased the size and roll of the U.S.
government. The WIB had several functions.
Promoted mass production techniques
Promoted efficiency and standardization
Set up quotas and allocated materials
Changes at Home:
Women Go to work
As men volunteered or were
conscripted into the military,
women began taking on jobs
traditionally held by men.
Although these jobs were returned to men after the
war, women gained momentum in the quest for
suffrage. They did so in 1920 with the passage of the
Nineteenth Amendment.
Changes at Home: After the War
During and after WWI, Americans became increasingly
concerned about the influence of “hyphenatedAmericans”. The loyalty of immigrants was questioned.
Also, the growth of Russia had
many people, and the government,
concerned about socialists and
anarchists in the United States
In April and June of 1919, a series of bombs were sent to
government officials through the mail. This was the work
of an Italian anarchist, Luigi Galleani, and his followers.
Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer conducted two sets of
raids in November of 1919 and
January of 1920. Leftist leaders
and others who were considered
to be anti-American or antigovernment were the targets.
Over 500 people were deported.
While many Americans supported these efforts,
the U.S. Department of Labor (responsible for
deportation) slowed the efforts of Palmer
because civil liberties were being abused.