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World War I
1860-1920
Causes of WW I - nationalism
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In Europe, countries competed for military
power and ownership of European lands.
People had strong feelings of nationalism.
Nationalism is a love of one’s country and
the desire to have that country free from
the control of others.
Nationalism made it difficult for countries
to cooperate.
Causes of WW I- imperialism
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When one country takes over another,
it is called imperialism.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries,
Britain, France, and other European
nations were seizing territory in Africa
and Asia.
Many smaller countries sought out
alliances to protect themselves from
being taken over by an imperialist
nation.
Causes of WWI - alliances
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Afraid of attacks, several European
countries formed alliances.
An alliance is an agreement among
nations to defend one another.
If one ally is attacked, the other
members promise to come to help.
The two alliances were the Allied
Powers and the Central Powers.
Two Great Alliances
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In 1914, two great alliances
(partnerships between countries)
had developed:
The Allied Powers were: Britain,
France and Russia.
The Central Powers were: AustriaHungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the
Ottoman Empire, also known as
Turkey.
Fighting Begins in Europe
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In 1914, Austria-Hungary was in control of land that
Serbia believed it owned. On June 28, 1914, a
Serbian assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir
to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary
declared war on Serbia.
Every major European country was soon involved in
the war.
Originally it was called The Great War. Later the
war became known as World War I (WWI).
Most of the fighting in WW I was on two fronts: the
Eastern Front (in Central and Eastern Europe) and
the Western Front (in Belgium and France).
New Kind of Warfare
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Soldiers on each side dug a system of
trenches.
A “no-man’s land” – the land between
trenches that neither side controlled –
spread out between the opposing armies.
Soldiers ate and slept in the trenches,
which were often flooded or filled with
rats. Some trench systems were as long
as 400 miles.
Each side shot at the other’s trenches or
sent poison gases into them.
Isolationism
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At first, the United States stayed out of the
war and did not join an alliance.
The U.S. had a policy of isolationism. This
meant that the U.S. preferred to remain
neutral and let the European countries
handle their own problems.
President Woodrow Wilson and many
Americans did not want the U.S. to choose
sides.
President Woodrow Wilson
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In 1916, President Wilson was
elected again as President of the
United States.
His campaign slogan was “He kept us
out of the war.”
The United States
enters the war
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In early 1917, German leaders said that U-boats would attack
all ships in British waters.
U-boats sank three American merchant (cargo) ships killing
many Americans.
When a German submarine sank a passenger ship called the
Lusitania, killing 1200 people including 128 Americans, people
cried out for the U.S. to get involved.
It wasn’t until a German telegram was intercepted and printed
in papers suggesting an alliance between Germany and
Mexico against the U.S. that Wilson was ready for war. The
telegram was called the “Zimmerman Note.”
On April 2, 1917 President Wilson asked Congress to declare
war on Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for
democracy.”
On April 6, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany and the
United States entered WWI.
America at War
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American forces began landing in France in
June 1917.
The arrival of American troops in Europe
dramatically increased the fighting strength
of the Allied Powers, who had already been
fighting for three years.
More than 4 million American soldiers,
sailors, and marines fought in World War I.
New Technologies
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When Americans first arrived in France to
fight the war, they lived in trenches or
ditches dug in the ground.
Airplanes were used in WWI. When
fighter planes fought each other in the air,
it was called a “dog fight.”
Soldiers faced new weapons including:
submarines, machine guns, bombs, tanks,
and mustard gas.
War’s Impact at Home
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In 1917, a poster of “Uncle Sam” was
used to encourage people to join the
United States Army.
There were fewer hands to work the
farms with the men off at war. Because
of this, less food was being produced.
People started raising vegetables in
“victory gardens”. Town squares and
parks across the U.S. were dug up and
planted with food crops to help feed
people at home and overseas.
Women
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The U.S. government did not allow women to fight
in the war.
Many women took over factory jobs left by men
who had gone to fight in the war. Women helped
to produce weapons, tanks, and ammunition.
Some women became mechanics or farm workers.
Others became police officers. Some went to
Europe as nurses or ambulance drivers.
Thousands of women joined the Army
or Navy as clerks and telegraph
operators.
War Bonds
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To pay the cost of fighting the war, the
government increased taxes.
The U.S. government also borrowed
money by selling war bonds to Americans.
The government promised to pay back the
cost of each bond plus interest.
About one in every five Americans bought
war bonds.
The War Ends
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On November 11, 1918, the Germans gave up
and the Central Powers surrendered. They signed
an agreement to end fighting called an armistice.
Today, November 11th is celebrated as Veteran’s
Day to remember the Americans who fought in
World War I and our nations other wars.
The Central powers lost more than 3 million
soldiers and nearly 3.5 million civilians.
The Allied Powers lost nearly 5 million soldiers
and more than 3 million civilians.
Civilians are people who are not soldiers.
More than 20 million soldiers were wounded.
Everyone hoped there would never be another
war like that again. They called it “The War to
End All Wars,” because no one could imagine it
happening again.
The United States
and the Peace Process
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In January 1919, President Wilson and the other
Allied leaders met in Versailles, France, to draw
up a peace treaty.
President Wilson hoped that the treaty would not
punish the Central Powers and would make sure
there would be a lasting peace.
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World
War I. Against Wilson’s wishes, the treaty did
punish the Central Powers. It demanded that
Germany pay heavy fines and Germany could not
rebuild their army.
The U.S. Senate did not approve the treaty.
They disagreed with the harsh treatment of
Germany, and many Americans did not want the
U.S. to join the League of Nations.
League of Nations
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President Wilson suggested an international
organization be formed to prevent wars. The
Treaty of Versailles created the League of
Nations.
The League of Nations was an organization that
would include all the countries of the world and
would help nations to find peaceful ways to solve
problems.
The United States did not join the League of
Nations.
Many people felt that the U.S. should return to a
policy of isolation or remaining separate from
other countries.
Peace and isolation only lasted about 20 years.