World War I

1914-1920 “The War to End All Wars”

Causes of the War1. Nationalism – strong nationalistic competition developed

among France, Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany

2. Imperialism – Several nations were involved in competition for markets & colonies throughout the world

3. Alliance System – 2 groups formed in an effort to maintain a balance of power. If fighting were to break out members of either alliance were pledged to help each other.

4. Militarism – The early 1900s witnessed a continual buildup of armies and navies. Germany, for instance, tripled naval construction in order to challenge Britain’s control of the sea.

5. The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Frans Ferdinand

The Alliance System- 2 huge alliances emerge as a result of treaties• Central Powers: Triple Alliance• Germany• Austria – Hungary• Ottoman Empire (Turks)• Italy (remained neutral until

1915 & joined allies)• Allied Powers: Triple Entente• France • Russia • Great Britain

• These alliances helped maintain a balance of power, but they also meant that even a minor incident could provoke a war.

• Many thought that this would occur in the Balkans, “the powder keg of Europe”

How the Dominoes Fell

1. Austria declares war on Serbia

2. Germany supports Austria

3. Russia supports Serbia

4. France aligns with Russia

5. Germany declares war on France

• Based on previously agreed upon alliances

• US tries to remain neutral

• Eventually 30(+) nations will take sides

Trench Warfare

• Warring armies burrowed into a vast system of trenches

• Rats, lice and heat became major problems• “Over the top” orders were given and soldiers

would leave their trenches and rush toward enemy lines – thousands cut down by machine gun fire

• Separating the 2 sides was a thin strip of land strewn with land mines and barbed wire – no-man’s land

In The Trenches

The Trench System

Trench Foot – caused by flooding, cold, wet & unsanitary conditions

New Weapons

• Machine Guns

• The Tank

• Poison Gas

• Submarines – U Boat

• Airplanes

Wilson on Neutrality

• Remain neutral in thought as well as in

deed.

US Neutrality – Why?

• Reluctance to get involved in a European War• Pacifist movement – could do business with both sides• Progressives thought that there were still domestic issues

to resolve• Nation was divided over which side to support• 30% of US population were immigrants or children of

immigrants• Americans were shocked by the brutality of modern war

and were thankful for the Ocean of separation

Review Question

• At the onset of WWI, what was the US policy regarding the war? What did Wilson say? Why? Do you feel that this was the correct policy for the United States at this time? Explain.

Was the US actually Neutral?US Exports 1910-1915

Reasons for US Participation

• Cultural Links to allied powers

• Economic Ties

• Propaganda

• German Submarine Warfare - Lusitania

• The Zimmerman Note

German Submarine Warfare

• U - Boats• 1915 – Germans establish a “war zone” around

Britain, any ships entering the area would be subject to attack

• Wilson warns Germany that he will hold them responsible for loss of American lives

• May 7th, 1915 British ship Lusitania is sunk by German U – Boat

• 120 + Americans are killed

More German Attacks

• Secretary of State William Jennings Bryant resigns due to Wilson’s “abandoning neutrality”

• TR calls Wilson a “weakling” b/c of his inaction• Germany sink the British ship the Arabic and French ship

the Sussex• Wilson delivers an ultimatum to Germany, Germans

promise to stop = Sussex Pledge• During 1915 Wilson proposes “preparedness” and US

military is slowly built up• National Defense Act (June 1916) US regular army goes

from 90,000 to 175,000 (goal 223,000)

Election of 1916

• Wilson and Democrats• “He kept us out of war”• Charles Evans Hughes

and divided Progressive/Republicans

• Wilson = Red• Hughes = Blue

                                                      

The Road to War 1917

• Wilson attempts but fails to negotiate an end to the war

• January 1917 Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare – US breaks off diplomatic relations

• March 1917 US publishes Zimmerman Note• April 2, 1917, Wilson asks congress for

Declaration of war• Senate agrees 82-6, House agrees 373-50

Wilson’s War Goals

• To make the world safe for democracy

• “War to end all wars”• January 1918 – “Fourteen

Points” seen as a noble proposal to bring freedom and democracy to the world

Recruiting an Army

• Selective Service Act – May 18th 1917: required men b/w the ages of 21 and 30 to register with local draft board.

• Later changed to 18 – 45• 24 million men registered, 2.8 million were drafted• Supports thought that this would create a more

diverse armed forces• 370,000 African Americans served mostly in all-

black units

Training the Troops

• “The burden of creating an army at short notice, falls most heavily upon the recruit. The rookie is expected to learn now in three weeks, what his fellow soldiers acquired a year ago. We are drilled nearly 7 or 8 hours per day”– Private Harry s. Richmond, letter August 1st, 1917

The Doughboys

• American Infantryman• Around the waist design to

carry as much ammunition as possible

• Carried as necessary equipment in their “field kit”

• 2 days worth of rations, protected from rats, rain and insects

Over There

• 12/1917 – Russia in midst of a civil war ends involvement in the war. Bolsheviks led by Lenin sign pact with Germany. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

• Germany concentrates on western front – by spring 1918 within 50 miles of Paris

• Spring 1918 American Expeditionary Force (AEF) arrives led by General “Black Jack” Pershing, helps hold Germans

• 9/1918 – over 1 million American soldiers in France – turn tide against Germany

Government Propaganda in WWI

The War at Home

Dollars for Democracy

• “There are no armies in this struggle there are entire nations armed” – Wilson

• War cost the US $35 billion including money lent to the allies• Four drives to sell Liberty Bonds.• “Every person who refuses to subscribe….is a friend of

Germany” – William McAdoo secretary of the treasury• Celebrities appealed to audiences to buy war bonds• Wilson appeared at a Broadway show asking theatergoers to

subscribe• $23 Billion raised by the sale of bonds• Government takes greater role in the economy I.e. regulating

prices for goods crucial to war effort

Review Questions 9/30/09

1. What were US infantrymen called during WWI?

2. What major event of 12/1917 changed the course of the war? Why?

3. “There are no armies in this struggle there are entire nations armed” What did Wilson mean by this? How could “regular” Americans contribute to the war effort?

Conserving Resources

• Food Administration and Fuel administration, two most successful of federal war boards

• Herbert Hoover directed food administration• “Food will win the war”• Voluntary food rationing – wheatless Mondays

and Wednesdays, meatless Tuesdays and porkless Thursdays and Saturdays. (Hooverizing)

• Families were asked to plant backyard gardens – “victory gardens” to supplement for rationing

Organizing Resources

• War Industries Board (WIB) – Bernard Baruch established to control industrial production & set prices for government purchases of war materials

• National War Labor Board – Samuel Gompers, set up to arbitrate labor disputes & keep war effort going

• Women and African Americans filled the industrial jobs previously held by white men

• African Americans migration north (Great Migration)

Influencing Attitudes – Conquering Minds

• Committee on Public Information – George Creel, was established to control information– Advertisements, cartoons, news reels, war movies– 75,000 speakers = 1 million speeches – 4 minute men– Hired artists to design posters and professors to write pamphlets

• Anti – German propaganda was widespread• Germans nicknames “Huns”• Anti – German sentiment grew & numerous anti – German

rallies occurred in the US• “I Want You for the US Army”• Hamburger – became Salisbury Steak, sauerkraut = liberty

cabbage, German measles = liberty measles

Suppressing Opposition• Laws were passed to limit opposition to the war• Fear of immigrant groups revolting I.e. Communists in

Russia• Espionage Act – 1917 heavy fines for “obstructing” the

war effort. Used to crush criticism & dissent. • Sedition Act – 1918 provided severe penalties for

speaking or writing against the draft, bond sales, war production and for criticizing government policies.

• “It was war……but good God when did it becomes war upon the American people?” – US Senator Hiram Johnson

• Civil liberties were restricted and censorship was used• Thousands were arrested for speaking out against the war

effort including Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Party candidate) sentenced to 10 years in prison

Debs speaks out in 1918, urging resistance to the draft

The US Patriot Act

• An act passed in 2001 that gives the government extra power when fighting terrorism– The government can ignore several Individual Rights

when fighting terrorism– The Right to:

• Search Warrants

• Roving Wiretaps

• Probable Cause

• Speedy Trial

Supporting the War Video Clip

• What govt. agency took control of the economy during WWI?

• Steel was conserved by ending this popular woman’s fashion.

• What idea of B. Franklin was adopted? Why?• Who headed the committee on public information?• What did it cost to see a movie in the WWI era?• What was the best way to get US ships past

German U Boats? Explain.• How many US troops were lost in battle?

Disease?

Losing Freedoms for Security?

• Compare the Espionage and Sedition Acts of WWI to the current Patriot Act. Explain how they allow the government to take some of our individual freedoms for the “security” of the nation. Do you feel this is right?

The End of the War

• Allies save Italy from collapse

• German army is collapsing by 11/1918

• Kaiser Wilhelm flees Germany to Netherlands

• 11/11/1918 German army surrenders – armistice or cease fire

War Time Stats

• 5 Million Americans served in the military during the war• 11,000 women & 30, 000 African Americans• 50,000 American deaths• Germany 6 million deaths, Russia 7 million• 10 million soldiers & 20 million civilians died in total• Influenza epidemic of 1918 – 1919 killed 27 million

worldwide – “Spanish Influenza killed more people in twenty four weeks than

AIDS has killed in 24 years, more people than the Black Death killed in a century”

The War is Over – Review

• In the end, who wins the war? When was the “armistice” signed? What occurs when an armistice is announced? What do we celebrate on that date today?

• How many Americans died? How many were injured? Is this number high or low when compared to the other nations involved? Why?

• What other tragedy killed millions during this era?• What effect did United States involvement have

on the outcome of the war? Explain.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

• Program for world peace• Presented to congress on 1/8/1918• Self – determination or the right of people to

govern themselves• Other points considered were war causes: secret

diplomacy, arms race, violations of freedom of seas and trade barriers

• Central Idea was the establishment of League of Nations

Paris Peace Conference

• Wilson 1st President to cross the Atlantic while in office

• Wilson received as a hero in Europe

• After the war Europe was still in turmoil

• European countries refused to let Wilson run peace talks

• Britain – “Hang the Kaiser”

Peace Continued

• Big Four – France, Italy, Britain & US

• Wilson wanted peaceful resolution

• Others insisted Germany pay reparations – payment for war damages

• Clemenceau – France “God gave us his 10 commandments, and we broke them, Wilson gave us fourteen points – we shall see”

The Treaty of Versailles

• Versailles – just outside Paris

• American delegation thought the terms were harsh

• German colonies and Ottoman Empire (Turkey) were divided amongst the Allies

• Created new nations: Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia

• Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & Poland also gained independence

Versailles in Summary

• June 1919 outside Paris• Forced Germany to accept full blame for the war

– $30 billion – Returned Alsace & Lorraine to France – Removed territory from western & eastern Germany– Stripped Germany’s overseas colonies– Germany signed reluctantly – “the stab in the back”– Hitler called the signers the “November criminals”

League of Nations

• Established by the Treaty• Geneva• Assembly where each member nation had a rep.• 5 permanent members: France. England, Italy, Japan,

USA• Required peaceful resolutions• Article 10 “respect & preserve the independence &

territorial integrity of all other member nations”. Would allow the League to call US troops in foreign war w/o Congressional approval.

The Treaty in the Senate

• Irreconcilables – 14 US senators, would have nothing to do with the league & rejected the Treaty

• Reservationists – 35 senators would support the treaty if the league covenant was amended (particularly rejected article 10)– Respect the Monroe Doctrine– Require Congressional approval for entrance into foreign wars

• Wilson took his cause to the people – 9,500 mile speaking tour

• 9/25/1919 Wilson suffers a stroke• 1920 Wilson leaves office League of Nations established

with out US involvement

Global Impact

• US world’s biggest creditor, but few allied countries could repay

• Jobs were scarce for returning service men

• Women were frequently fired from industrial jobs

• Germans seethed over harsh terms

• Arab countries lived under the control of France and Britain