U.S. History / Chapter 20“The World War 1 Era”

Imperialism & Militarism - Most European countries were engaged in expansion and built up their militaries.

Immediate Cause (June,28 1914)- The assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand of Austria by the Serbian nationalists group The Black Hand sparked WW1.

(A) The Road to War- 1. Causes of WW1 (1914-1918)-

Assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand & his wife-

The official U.S. position taken by President Wilson and congress regarding WW1 was neutrality.

Neutrality- A country does not participate in any way or in economics and trade, deals equally with all sides of the conflict.

Central Powers- Austria-Hungary, Germany, Turkey.

Allied Powers- Serbia, Russia, Great Britain, France, Italy, (U.S. 1917).

Central & Allied Powers WW1-

Unrestricted Submarine warfare (1915) - Germany decided to break the stalemate that was occurring on the western front in France and issued a warning that suspected ships carrying supplies to the Allies was fair game.

Wilson responded to Germany’s warning by simply stating that he would hold Germany responsible for losses of life and commerce.

B) Germany challenges U.S. Neutrality- 1. German Submarine Warfare-

Sinking of the Lusitania (May 1915)- The British luxury liner was retuning to Britain from New York City and was sunk by a German U-boat despite an official warning from the German government to the U.S.

1,198 people including 128 Americans died in the disaster.

Wilson issued harsh words to the German government and demanded they abandon the U-boat attacks, Germany apologized but refused to stop attacks.

The Lusitania-

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/zimmermann/

1) Why did Germany send Mexico this note and who was Zimmermann?

2) Why did the British wait to inform the U.S. of this until March of 1917?

3) Explain the impact of the Zimmermann note on the U.S. neutrality policy towards WW1.

The Zimmermann Note-

Selective Service Act (May 1917)- Congress passed the draft and in general young men wanted to fight “the war to end all wars”

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)- Made up of National Guard and other volunteers who did not get drafted.

Doughboys- Nickname for American soldiers.

C) America Joins WW1- 1. Preparing for Action-

Doughboy

Liberty Bonds- Sold by the U.S. government to raise money for the war effort. Raised $20 billion for the war.

Bonds are sold for a certain $ amount then repaid back to the purchaser with interest.

The Food Administration- Headed by future president Herbert Hoover, they controlled food prices & rationing during WW1.

Meatless Tuesdays, Wheatless Wednesdays, etc…

2. On the Home Front-

Liberty Bonds-

Espionage Act (1917)- Made it illegal to tamper or interfere with the draft.

Sedition Act (1917)- Made it illegal to interfere with the sale of U.S. securities (war bonds) or discuss anything “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive” about the U.S. or the war effort.

Eugene V. Debs- Union Leader & Socialist Party member who was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison for violation of the Espionage & Sedition Acts.

Human Costs-About 8.5 million people were killed during WW1 (mostly soldiers, but some innocent civilians).

Approximately 16 million soldiers wounded.  Economic Costs- Billions of dollars of damage was

inflicted on farmland, cities, roads, bridges, etc… Political Costs- Governments in countries who made

up the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, etc…) had fallen apart as a result of the war.

People were in deep poverty and tended to be more open to new leadership and the concept of socialism grew popular.

D) Results of World War One 1. Costs of WW1-

WW1 Destruction-

Russian Revolution (1917)- As a result of WW1 Russia’s Czarist government under Nicholas 2nd grew weak.

Russia had 1.7 million soldiers killed during WW2, peasants starving, and general poverty, the Communists overthrew the Czar under V.I. Lenin.

Execution of the Romanov’s

Armistice- On November, 11th at the 11th hour of 1918 WW1 was ended by agreement to seize firing.

  Paris Peace Conference- Allied Powers

met in Paris, France after the war to make plans on how to rebuild Europe and have peace and prosperity.

2. Paris Peace Conference-

Palace of Versailles-

Big Three: U.S.A.= President Woodrow Wilson represented the

interests of the U.S. and he wanted his 14 Points peace proposal. (More peaceful approach to restoring order )

Britain = Prime Minister David Lloyd George represented Britain’s intensions to have harsh punishments and reparations especially for Germany.

France = French leader Georges Clemenceau represented France.

Clemenceau desired punishments for Germany that would permanently stop further aggressions.

The Treaty of Versailles- ( June 1919) Representatives from the new German government were called

to the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris, France to sign the famous treaty.

Reparations against Germany in the Treaty of Versailles included:

1) $ 30 billion dollars to repay allied damages, soldiers pensions, and rebuilding France and other countries.

2) Limited the German military to extremely small numbers of troops and limited the amount of tanks, guns , and other armaments needed to build a strong military.

3) Returned the regions of Alsace & Lorraine to France those were confiscated by Germany during the war.

  4) Germany stripped of many of its overseas colonies.  

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApalmerR.htm

1) Who was Mitchell Palmer? 2) Why did Palmer worry about Communists

taking over America? 3) What were the Palmer Raids? Why did

they call this the Red Scare?

The Red Scare-

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0861782.html

Using the 3rd paragraph complete the following:

Reparations- Alsace- Lorraine Region-

Rhine Region-

German Military Restrictions-

The Treaty of Versailles-

Zimmerman Note League of Nations Liberty Bonds U-Boat Treaty of Versailles Sedition Act Submarine warfare Espionage Act Armistice Selective Service Act Central Powers Allied Powers

WW1 Review-