WORLD WAR I:EVENTS PRIOR TO US ENTRY

US History Honors

Events Prior to United States Entry

• United States Position: Neutrality• President Wilson encouraged neutrality in “thought and action”

• Neutrality Problems for the United States• US traded with both sides, but ties with Great Britain were strongest

• Common language, customs, and government• By 1917, US loans to the Allies reached $2.3 billion

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Great Britain spread anti-German propaganda to the US

• Great Britain blockaded Europe, stopping our trade with Germany (famine)

Anti German Propaganda

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Germany began submarine warfare (violated “freedom of seas”)• Attacked ships in Allied ports

• Declared a “war zone” around the British Isles

German U-Boat (Submarine)

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915)• US and German relations worsen

• Germany questioned US neutrality and ship’s cargo

• Ship was loaded with contraband purchased from the US

• President Wilson demanded in a letter of protest that Germany end submarine warfare, and apologize and pay reparations to the families

The Lusitania

Events Prior to United States Entry

• March 1916: The French ship Sussex was sunk with Americans on board. Germany agreed to the “Sussex Pledge” a promise to warn ships before sinking them.

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Election of 1916• (D) Woodrow Wilson: Dove and (R) Charles Hughes: Hawk

• Both campaigned for peace and neutrality

• TR may have hurt (R) chances for victory with pro-war speeches

• Cliff hanger: Wilson won by 20 electoral votes (CA decided the outcome)• Message: Did the citizens of the US want to go to war despite Wilson???

Events to United States Entry

• By 1916, the War in Europe became stalemated on both fronts

• Western Front = 500 miles of trenches extending from the English Channel to the Adriatic Sea (defended by France and Great Britain)

• Eastern Front = line defended by Russia

• Little progress & high casualties led to frustration on both sides

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare to break the deadlock• stopped issuing warnings; 3 US ships were sunk in one day

• Kaiser felt confident the US would not enter the war

• US responded by ending diplomatic relations with Germany

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Zimmermann Note (last straw) published on March 1, 1917• Letter from Germany to Mexico asking for an alliance against the US

• Intercepted and decoded by Great Britain

• Pro-war fever intensified in the US; TR demanded we enter in the name of self-defense. Soon after, 4 more unarmed US ships were sunk

• March 1917, Russia surrendered to Germany

Events Prior to United States Entry

• Wilson asked Congress for a Declaration of War on April 2, 1917• Enemy: German Government, not the German people

• Wilson: “America must go to war to make the world safe for Democracy”

• Congress declared war on April 6, 1917

Events Prior to United States Entry• The Allies were weakened in 1917

• March 1917: a Russian peoples’ revolt overthrew Czar Nicholas II and a provisional government was set up

• November 1917: weak Russian provisional government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks led by Nikolai Lenin, eventually resulting in a communist government

• December 1917: Russia agreed to an armistice on the Eastern Front and withdrew, leaving Germany to fight a ONE front war (all Germany’s forces could now be sent to the Western Front)

Nikolai Lenin

United States Enters World War I

• June 1917: first US troops arrive in Europe

• AEF = American Expeditionary Forces were led by General John Pershing

• By 1918, 2 million US “Doughboys” were in France

• Wilson began plans for permanent peace based on his 14 Points

General John Pershing