World War I

CausesTotal War

Trench Warfare Peace of Paris

Causes HOME

Account (explain how the forces converged) for the outbreak of WWI in 1914?

Imm

ediat

e Long term

Primary Sources

Immediate CausesHOME CAUSES

HOME CAUSES

Long Term Causes

NationalismAlliance

Syste

m

Imperia

lism

Militaris

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Alliance System HOME CAUSES LONG TERM CAUSES

ImperialismHOME CAUSES LONG TERM CAUSES

MilitarismHOME CAUSES LONG TERM CAUSES

Nationalism HOME CAUSES LONG TERM CAUSES

Primary Sources

1Germany’s High Sea Fleet in

the World War

2

HOME CAUSES

Primary Source 1 HOME CAUSES PRIMARY SOURCES

http://www.richthofen.com/scheer/

This is an on-line publication of a book written by Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who assumed command of the “German High Seas Fleet in 1916. Admiral Scheer favored an aggressive surface fleet and complete submarine warfare. On May 31, 1916, he led the German fleet into the battle of Jutland, one of the great naval battles of this century. In the battle, the German fleet did well against the English “Royal Navy.” However, the fleet was unable to change the strategic realities of the British naval blockade. This blockade continued to strangle Germany and take charge of them. The Germans refer to this battle as “The Battle of the Skagerrak.” This book provides an overview on various parts of the war and shows a Germans opinion to specific events. The first two years of World War 1 are covered, along with coverage from the time between the Battle of the Skagerrak to the Unrestricted U-boat Warfare. Finally, there is great coverage on the German u-boat campaign. This book shows tremendous bias as it is written from a German perspective. Their views and takes on certain events are clearly expressed. These views many be different if you asked a British or Russia soldier. Admiral Scheer may also provide false reasoning as to why they lost so badly which is a clear example of bias in this writing.

Primary Source 2 HOME CAUSES PRIMARY SOURCES

This political cartoon illustrates the power that imperialism had at the time, and how imperialist motives and conquests were often rather violent and or not obtained in a peaceful way; there was always dispute between the major powers over colonies. These major powers were always trying to one up the other in universal influence or power, and often times imperial motives lead to other nations feeling threatened; thus, things became violent, which is why this cartoon shows a huge man squashing a bunch of papers, and holding a what appears to be, bloody sword. It was a cruel and bloody competition as the rival nations were fighting for natural resources in order to advance themselves forward. That is why the cartoon has the word “oil” on the large mans boot; the major powers needed an abundant supply of these resources due to the industrial revolution. The largeness of the man in the cartoon symbolizes how imperialist ideals were rapidly spreading and becoming largely popular in many nations in the world.

Total War HOME

How did World War I embody the characteristics of Total War?

Primary Sources

Domestic

Military

HOME TOTAL WAR

Domestic PropagandaRa

tionin

g

Wom

en’s

role

Military

Fronts

HOME TOTAL WAR

Weaponry

The Draft

FrontsHOME TOTAL WAR MILITARY

Women’s RoleHOME TOTAL WAR DOMESTIC

PropagandaHOME TOTAL WAR DOMESTIC

WeaponryHOME TOTAL WAR MILITARY

The DraftHOME TOTAL WAR MILITARY

RationingHOME TOTAL WAR DOMESTIC

Primary Sources

1President Wilson's

Proclamation Establishing Conscription, 28 May 1917

2

HOME TOTAL WAR

3

Primary Source 1HOME TOTAL WAR PRIMARY SOURCES

http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/usconscription_wilson.htm

This source is text of the proclamation made by Woodrow Wilson to implement the draft in the United States. The U.S. Congress approved conscription on 18 May 1917. Although many anticipated that implementing conscription would result in civil disturbance in practice it was received calmly and indeed with widespread approval. This “conscription” stated that all men between the ages of 21 to 30 (including 30) must register for the draft. It states that men must do this honor to this country and join “the regular army, the navy, and the National Guard and Naval Militia while in the service of the United States.” Anyone who failed to sign up for the draft would be convicted of a misdemeanor and spend no longer than a year in jail. They must then sign up. This conscription then goes on about specifics of the draft and requirements for registration. There is not much bias in this writing as it is a written law regarding the draft. It simply states requirements for the draft and punishments for those who fail to sign up.

Primary Source 2HOME TOTAL WAR PRIMARY SOURCES

This is an example of the propaganda that was spread widely throughout World War 1. This specific piece was meant to draw up the forces of women to help make a difference for their country in the war. It states “Women Awake! Your country needs you.” Before this time, men were the main factory workers; however, at the start of the war, many of the workers were drafted to the war, leaving women to work in the factories. Also, new factories were created which created new jobs. These new factories were for the creation of war products. These would then be shipped over to combat. These jobs called for women as many men were over fighting in the war. In this propaganda, at the bottom, it says “Learn to be of National Service- Join the Navy League. Help the Navy.” This shows that there were calls for women to help in the creation of products for the various branches of the armed forces. In this specific piece, this woman is calling for women to aid in the creation of products for the Navy. Women used to just stay at home with the kids, so this time marked a remarkable advancement for women overall. These advancements were meant to show that women were equal to men.

Primary Source 3HOME TOTAL WAR PRIMARY SOURCES

This example of propaganda has to do with the rationing which took place all over Europe throughout World War 1. This example of propaganda helps promote the idea that if everyone follows the rations, there will be enough food and sources for everyone else who needs them. The concept of rationing occurred so that “soldiers could also get enough food” wherever they were fighting. Many people may not have wanted to ration; however, they knew why they really needed to follow it so that the soldiers could continue to fight. The message is “Rationing safeguards your share.” This message really promotes the idea of conserving the amount of food and goods you use so that everyone else can have some. The lady in the picture seems very intrigued by this message which is meant to really reach out to the public. Many examples of propaganda for rationing led the public to think that if they did ration, they would help soldiers win the war. Even if this is not true, this is the message that the government attempted to get out to the public. This can be an example of biased opinion because every country had thought that they would win the war. Therefore, every country used this expression, which proved to be false for many. However, the public was led to believe that it was true the whole time.

Trench WarfareHOME

Describe and reflect on the experiences of soldiers in World War I?

Primary Sources

Daily Life

Elements

Battles and Weaponry

ElementsHOME TRENCH WARFARE

Battles and WeaponsHOME TRENCH WARFARE

Daily LifeHOME TRENCH WARFARE

Primary SourcesHOME TRENCH WARFARE

1 2

Primary Source 1HOME TRENCH WARFARE PRIMARY SOURCES

This is a very powerful image which reflects what “trench warfare” was really all about. As you can see, there is a man in the background who is using a machine gun to shoot at the enemy. The enemy is often unseen and really far away which is why such a powerful weapon is being used. This image represents numerous aspects of the developing innovations in the war such as machine gun, hand grenades, and poison gas. The men are using all three of these new innovations while being in a trench, which was used by most sides during this war. The man in the front is using both hand grenades and poison gas to attack the enemy lines that would be coming towards him. This image helps to display how powerful this war really was. It makes it seem that the relationships between the nations were so poor that both sides resulted to such detrimental war efforts. By seeing the wretched conditions in the trench displayed, we can understand better how the diseases were spread rapidly and how unsanitary the living environments were. We can also see, from this image, why the area between trenches was known as “no man’s land.”

Primary Source 2HOME TRENCH WARFARE PRIMARY SOURCES

This picture gives us a snapshot of what soldiers had to go through in trench warfare. They had to protect themselves with gas masks because at any moment they could be attacked using a new chemical weapon. An early machine gun is shown here and how it took multiple men to work one gun. World War 1 introduced many new weapons and it is said that the machine gun was the deadliest weapons, killing hundreds of thousands of men. Machine guns were tricky to use and at first could only work on a flat surface. This image really shows the advancement in weapons during this time period and why World War 1 was so deadly.

HOMEIdentify and evaluate the terms of the Peace of Paris?

Fourteen Points

Treaties

Peace of Paris Revenge and Consequence

Primary Sources

Revenge and ConsequencesHOME PEACE OF PARIS

Fourteen PointsHOME PEACE OF PARIS

TreatiesHOME PEACE OF PARIS

Treaty of Versailles

Other Treaties

Treaty of VersaillesHOME PEACE OF PARIS TREATIES

Other TreatiesHOME PEACE OF PARIS TREATIES

Primary SourcesHOME

21

PEACE OF PARIS

Primary Source 1HOME PEACE OF PARIS PRIMARY SOURCES

This political cartoon signifies the Peace of Paris negotiations to end World War I. At the table of negotiations, Britain, U.S, France, Italy, and Belgium are displayed passing around a “peace pipe”. Under the table, Germany sits, awaiting a “spark” from the pipe to fall, and fuel the fire that will cause another massive outbreak. The cartoon exemplified the fact that Germany was left out of the negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles, which created resentment towards many European countries, among the German people. Germany waiting under the table, resembles the time elapsed between the end of World War I, to the start of World War II, and the main causes that led to the second world war. There may be some bias, since this is a German-Swiss cartoon. It’s painting the Allied powers in a ignorant perspective, because they are establishing peace talks, without the awareness of how Germany is being effected, or the consequences that exist, with their peace conference.

Primary Source 2HOME PEACE OF PARIS PRIMARY SOURCES

This political cartoon is about the treatment of Germany, during the peace discussions at Paris. In this picture, the United States, portrayed as a sailor, believes he know how to clean up the “Germ” that is polluting the water. This is referring to U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, and his 14 Points, and his push for the League of Nations. He hoped with this league, the world would be able to avoid another world war, by discussing international problems. This cartoon portrays U.S. bias because Germany is viewed as the problem, while the U.S. sees itself as the solution. Germany is the reason for the war, and therefore, it is essential that it is resolved quickly, to prevent continuous war and further damage.