WWI (The Great War)

1914-1918

4 MAIN Causes of WWI• Militarism- arms races of the previous

decades. • Alliances- complicated system of

• Imperialism- unresolved previous disputes, quest for land and control

• Nationalism- pride in culture of own country

• Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria.

Allies vs. Central Powers

• Allies– Russia, France, Britain (“Triple Entente”)– U.S. (After April, 1917)

• Central Powers– Germany– Austria-Hungary– Ottoman Empire– Italy

Green: Allies Orange: Central Powers

2 Front War• Western front

–Western Europe

–Trench warfare- • stalemate with many soldiers and

civilians dead

• Eastern Front–Some fighting Russia

The Fighting Starts

• Germany’s Schlieffen Plan:

- hold Russia, defeat France, then Russia

• By spring 1915, 2 parallel systems of trenches cross France

• “No man’s land”—barren expanse of mud between opposing trenches

• Scale of killing horrific, fighting inconclusive

• Armies fight to gain only yards of ground in bloody trench warfare

No Man’s Land

Trench Foot

New Technologies• Tank Warfare

• Gases

• Machine Guns

• U-Boats

• Airplane Warfare

British Mark II

Poison gas • Yellow-green chlorine fog that sickened,

suffocated, burned , and blinded.

• Gas masks became standard issue.

German U -boat

German Fokker Triplane

British Sopwith Camel

SSUSH15-A:Describe the movement from U.S. Neutrality to engagement in World

War I, with reference to unrestricted submarine warfare.

• Socialists:– Criticized the war as a capitalist/imperialist

struggle between Germany and England to control markets and colonies in different regions.

• Pacifists:– War was evil and that the U.S should set an

example of peace

SSUSH15-A:Describe the movement from U.S. Neutrality to engagement in World

War I, with reference to unrestricted submarine warfare.

• Many people had just come from Europe

• German tactics and atrocities circulated in newspapers. (“Bully of Europe”)

• Many feel ties to British ancestry, language, democracy, legal system

• U.S. had economic ties to Allies– War in Europe= Need for supplies from U.S.– U.S. had a labor shortage in 1915!

The British Blockade

• British blockade, mine North Sea, stop war supplies reaching Germany

- also stop food, fertilizer

• U. S. merchant ships seldom reach destinations

• Germany has difficulty importing food, fertilizer; by 1917, famine

German U-Boat Response

• Germany sets up U-boat counterblockade of Britain

• U-boat sinks British liner Lusitania; 128 Americans among the dead

-U.S. public opinion turns against Germany• President Wilson protests, but Germany

continues to sink ships• Germany asks U.S. to get Britain to end food

blockade- otherwise will renew unrestricted submarine war

U-Boat Political Cartoon

1. What does the sinking ship represent?

2. How is the U-boat represented in this cartoon?

3. What does the artist think is going to happen in the near future?

Who is the Menace of the Seas?

How could Americans help?

U.S. Gets Involved

• Wilson tries to mediate, calls for “a peace between equals”

• Kaiser announces U-boats will sink all ships in British waters

• Zimmerman note—proposes alliance of Germany, Mexico against U.S.

• Four unarmed American merchant ships sunk

• Wilson calls for war to make world “safe for democracy” April 6, 1917.

U.S. Gets Involved Cont.

• Selective Service Act—men register, randomly chosen for service

• Women in army, navy, marines as nurses, secretaries, phone operators

• Mass Production begins to expand fleet to transport men, food, equipment to Europe

• Convoy system—destroyers escort merchant ships across Atlantic- losses drop dramatically

• Navy helps lay mines across North Sea, keep U-boats out of Atlantic

• 1918, Germans have difficulty replacing boats, trained submariners

• American troops bring numbers, freshness, enthusiasm

Allies Stop German Advance

• Russia pulls out of war 1917; Germans shift armies to western front

•Americans help stop German advance, turn tide against Central Powers

• November 3, 1918, Austria-Hungary surrenders to Allies

• German sailors, soldiers rebel; socialists establish German republic Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates

• Germans exhausted; armistice, or truce, signed November 11, 1918

Effects• Europe scarred by trenches, spent

resources, and littered with the bodies of the millions who died in battle

• 22 million dead• $338 billion dollars spent• Four empires were shattered: The

German, the Austro-Hungarian, the Ottoman and the Russian

Effects - Continued• New roles for Women

• U.S. becomes player on world stage

• U.S. economy boom

• Globalization of ideas

• League of Nations

The Domestic Impact of WWI

SSUSH15B- Explain the domestic impact of World War I, as reflected by the origins of the Great

Migration, the Espionage Act, and socialist Eugene Debs.

SSUSH15B- Explain the domestic impact of World War I, as reflected by the origins of the Great Migration, the Espionage Act, and socialist Eugene Debs.

• Great Migration—large-scale movement of Southern blacks to North

- escape racial discrimination

- take up new job opportunities

• Press of new migrants intensifies racial tensions in North

Attacks on Civil Liberties

• Attacks against immigrants, especially from Germany, Austria-Hungary

• Suppression of German culture—music, language, literature

• Espionage and Sedition Acts—person can be fined, imprisoned for:

- interfering with war effort, speaking against government

• Violate 1st amendment; prosecute loosely defined antiwar activities

- target socialists, labor leaders

Eugene Debs• Socialist and Labor

leader jailed in 1918 under Espionage Acts (interfering with draft and war recruiting effort)

• Believed that capitalism should be replaced by a new cooperative system.

The Flu Epidemic

• International flu epidemic of 1918 has devastating effect on economy

• As many as 30 million people die worldwide

Wilson Presents His Plan

• Wilson’s plan for world peace known as Fourteen Points

• Points 1–5 propose measures to prevent another war

• 6–13 address how ethnic groups can form own nations or join others

• 14 calls for League of Nations• League to enable nations to discuss, settle

problems without war

The Allies Reject Wilson’s Plan

• Wilson fails to grasp anger of Allied leaders against Germany

• French premier Georges Clemenceau wants to prevent German invasion

• British Prime Minister David Lloyd George wants to “Make Germany Pay”

• Italian Vittorio Orlando wants Austrian-held territory• Conference excludes Central Powers, Russia, small Allied

nations• Wilson gives up most of his points in return for League of

Nations

Treaty of Versailles

• Germany cannot have an army- Alsace-Lorraine returned to France- pay reparations, or war damages- $33 billion - War-guilt clause- Germany must accept sole

responsibility for warProblems:• Germany cannot pay reparations that Allies want• Russia loses more land than Germany; territorial

claims ignored• Colonized people’s claims for self-determination

ignored

Opposition to the Treaty in U.S.

• Some think / feel: treaty too harsh, fear economic effects

- ethnic groups not satisfied with new national borders

- League of Nations threatens U.S. foreign policy of isolation

- Senators like Henry Cabot Lodge mistrust provision for joint action

Opposition Continued

•Wilson goes on speaking tour to convince nation to support League (has stroke, is temporarily disabled)

•Congress never ratifies the treaty- U.S., Germany sign separate treaty; U.S. never joins League

• Fears provoked by propaganda remain• In Europe, destruction, loss of life damage social, political systems

- Communist, fascist governments form• Treaty of Versailles does not settle conflicts in Europe

The Effects of Peace on the Public

• War leaves Americans exhausted; debate over League divides them

• Economy adjusting: cost of living doubles; farm, factory orders down

- soldiers take jobs from women, minorities- farmers, factory workers suffer• Nativism—prejudice against foreign-born people

—sweeps nation• Isolationism—pulling away from world affairs—

becomes popular

The Red Scare

•Communism—economic, political system, single-party government

- ruled by dictator- no private property• 1919 Vladimir I. Lenin, Bolsheviks, set up Communist state in Russia

• U.S. Communist Party forms; some Industrial Workers of the World join

• Bombs mailed to government, businesses; people fear Red conspiracy

• Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer takes action

The Palmer Raids

• Palmer, J. Edgar Hoover hunt down Communists, socialists, anarchists (political radicals)

• Anarchists oppose any form of government

• Raids trample civil rights, fail to find evidence of conspiracy

• Nativists: fewer unskilled jobs available, fewer immigrants needed

- Think immigrant anarchists and socialists are Communist

The Klan Rises Again

• Bigots use anti-communism to harass groups unlike themselves

• KKK opposes blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, unions, saloons

- 1924, 4.5 million members

• Klan controls many states’ politics; violence leads to less power

The Quota System

• 1919–1921, number of immigrants grows almost 600%

• Quota system sets maximum number can enter U.S. from each country

- sharply reduces European immigration• 1924, European arrivals cut to 2% of number of

residents in 1890• Discriminates against southern, eastern

Europeans• Prohibits Japanese immigration; causes ill will

between U.S., Japan

High Tariffs and Reparations

• Fordney-McCumber Tariff raises taxes on U.S. imports to 60%

- Britain, France cannot repay U.S.

• Germany defaults; Dawes Plan—U.S. investors lend reparations money

- Britain, France repay; resentment on all sides

Producing Great Quantities of Goods

• Most Americans believe prosperity will last forever

• Productivity increasing, businesses expanding• Mergers in auto industry, steel, electrical

equipment, utilities• Chain stores develop; national banks allowed to

create branches• Income gap between workers, managers grows• Iron, railroad industries not prosperous; farms

suffer losses

Buying Goods on Credit

• Installment plan—pay for goods over extended period with interest

• Banks provide money at low interest rates

• Some economists, business owners think installment buying excessive

• Think is sign of fundamental weakness behind superficial prosperity