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Transcript
World War I
The United States Enters
the War
Causes of World War I

M  Militarism
– Building up armed forces, getting ready for
war.

A  Alliances
– Agreements or promises to defend and help
another country

I  Imperialism
– A stronger nation dominants a weaker one
politically, economically, and militarily

N  Nationalism
– Extreme pride in one’s nation, a willingness to
defend it
Terrorist Attack Brings War
 June
1914  heir to the AustroHungarian throne, Archduke Franz
Ferdinand, visited Bosnia
 Gavrilo Princip shot and killed both
the Archduke and his wife
 Assassin was a member of the
Serbian nationalist group, the “Black
Hand”
 Alliances are triggered and most of
Europe is forced into war
Americans Take Sides
German Americans and
Irish Americans
sympathized with the
Central Powers
 Most Americans valued
the similarities with
Britain and respected the
friendship with France
 US remained neutral for
two years during the war

– “Preparedness”  preparing
for war was the best way to
stay out of the conflict
– Others urged the president
to stay out of the war
completely
Government Officials Back Britain



President Wilson’s cabinet was
strongly pro-British
American military leaders
believed that America must
support the British in order to
preserve the international
balance of power
Propaganda  information
designed to influence opinion
– British controlled the flow of news
to the US and cut the transatlantic
telegraph cable so that most news
had to come from Britain
Business Supports Britain



Companies in US had
strong ties to the
Allied nations
Thomas W. Lamont
stated that American
business would never
be neutral and they
must support the
Allies
American banks
invested heavily in
the Allied Powers
Moving Towards War



Britain blockaded German
ports and began to
intercept neutral merchant
ships sailing to Europe
Ships had to be inspected
for contraband, or goods
prohibited from shipment to
Germany
Germany responded with
unrestricted submarine
warfare
– 1915  Germany announced
that they would sink any ship
found in the waters around
Britain

Americans became
outraged at this response
Germans Sink the Lusitania
 May
7, 1915  the British passenger
ship entered the war zone
 A German submarine sank the ship,
killing nearly 1200 passengers,
including 128 Americans
 Sussex Pledge  promise that
Germans would not sink any more
merchant ships without warning
– Temporarily appeases the American
people
United States Declares War


Arthur Zimmermann, a German official, sent a
telegram to the German ambassador in Mexico in
January 1917
It asked if Mexico would agree to become an ally
of Germany in a war against the US
– Telegram was intercepted by the American military



February 1, 1917  Germany resumed
unrestricted submarine warfare
Germany believed that the United States would
not be able to raise an army and transport it to
Europe in time
April 4, 1917  President Wilson and Congress
officially declared war on Germany