A quick review What are the causes of W W I??? Military buildup, Nationalism,

Imperialism, Alliances, and the Assassination.

Who were the two main Central Powers? AH and Germany Who were the main Allies? France, Russia, and GB

The US stays Neutral When W W I began, the US remained

NEUTRAL – not involved Most Americans still favored one side or

the other though Central Powers – people with German

and Irish ancestry tended to favor the CP

Allies – More people tended to favor the Allies because of the language (English) and our long friendship with France.

Peace, Preparedness, and Propaganda The Preparedness Movement urged the US

to prepare now in case we entered the war. The Peace movement urged the country not

to build up the military and to stay out of the war.

Propaganda is information that one side prints about the other side. It is usually exaggerated and is designed to influence opinions.

We heard more propaganda from GB

Support for the Allies Most of President Wilson’s advisors

favored the British and hoped for an Allied victory.

Businesses and Banks in the US tended to favor GB and France over Germany

Most businesses sold supplies to the Allies and lent money to them.

Events leading to War Most Americans hoped the Allies would

win but wanted to stay out of the war – several things happened that led us into the war in the years 1915 to 1917.

Ships and Submarine warfare. GB blockaded ships going to Germany –some US ships were stopped.

Germany used submarines to sink enemy ships OR ships they thought were carrying supplies to GB or France.

The Lusitania and Sussex In May of 1915, German subs sank a British

ship, the Lusitania. 128 Americans who were aboard died.

In March, 1916, the Sussex ( a French ship) was sunk by German Subs. Several Americans were injured.

Wilson warned Germany to stop or risk war with the US.

Germany issued the Sussex pledge: they would not sink merchant ships without warning. War is avoided…for now

Events of 1917 In January, a telegram from Germany to

Mexico is made public. The “Zimmerman note” said that if Mexico helped Germany in a war against the US, then They would get Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas back.

Between Feb 3 and March 21, Germany sunk six American ships

Wilson asks Congress to declare war in April 1917 – Congress votes for war.