The United States’ involvement in WorldWar I ended a long tradition of avoidingconflicts and set the stage for the UnitedStates to emerge as a global superpowerlater in the 20th century.

The World Goes to War

What would you do if someone kept picking on your bestfriend? In 1914 bullying, greed, and revenge pushed thenations of Europe into war—a war that soon involved 35 nations and, eventually, the United States.

Words to Know� Alliances

(uh-lie-in-sez)Pacts or treaties thatpromise financial or military support betweennations.

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The issues that led to World War I were very complicated. Some had to dowith a lust for bigger empires and greater power, and others with a desire forrevenge for past defeats. What started as a feud between a handful of nationssoon spread to involve soldiers from six continents. Why? Many governmentshad made promises to help other countries. These alliances promised aidwith money or military support should the need ever arise.

Two shots were the perfectexcuse to start a war.

“I’M MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU ARE”Every bonfire needs a match to ignite the wood. World War I’s spark was

the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir to thethrone of Austria-Hungary—one of Europe’s biggest empires at that time.After a terrorist killed the archduke while on a state visit to a newly annexedprovince on June 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbs and madeimpossible political and financial demands as punishment. When thosedemands went unmet after a month, Austria-Hungary declared war onSerbia. Two weeks later, Germany, which had a treaty with Austria-Hungary,began marching its troops through neighboring Belgium, demanding short-term transit rights. When Belgium refused, Germany attacked.

Belgium had signed a treaty of protection with Great Britain and soonmany countries in Europe were drawn into the conflict. As with all wars, thedeaths of innocent women and children further fanned the flames. Postersurging people to “RememberBelgium” stirred anger againstGermany’s violent acts. Sideswere chosen by othercountries: the Allied Powersversus the Central Powers.For the next four years, deathand destruction devastatedEurope and spread to otherparts of the world. The U.S.refused to get involved, but in1915 something terriblehappened that began tochange our leaders’ minds.

The map of Europe looked verydifferent in 1914 than it does now.Today Austria and Hungary aretwo separate nations, but backthen they were parts of an empire.

RUSS IAGERMAN YY

AUSTR IA -HUNGARY

GREAT BR ITA INGREAT

BR ITA IN

OTTOMANEMPIRE

AtlanticOcean

FRANCE

SPAIN

RUMANIA

BULGARIA

ITALY

SW

ED

EN

F IN

LAN

D

NO

RW

AY

PO

RT

UG

AL S

ER

BIA

GREECE

SWITZERLAND

DENMARK

A F R I C A

EUROPE IN1914

ALLIED POWERS

CENTRAL POWERS

NEUTRAL

BELGIUM

HOLLAND

MONTE -NEGRO

ALBANIA

FIVE MAJOR ALLIED POWERS

FOUR CENTRALPOWERS

GREATBRITAIN

Great Britain andFrance had becomeallies after centuriesof hating eachother. Britain hadpledged to supportFrance.

FRANCE France wantedrevenge againstGermany because ithad lost land toGermany in awar in 1871.

RUSSIARussia needed

to restore itsnational pride aftera loss to Japan in awar over control ofChinese ports.Russia also had atreaty with Serbiato protect it if itcame under attack.

GERMANYGermany wanted anempire as big andpowerful as GreatBritain’s, which at thetime extended all aroundthe world.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

The third mostpopulous nation inEurope at the timewanted to takecontrol of Serbia anduse the assassination of ArchdukeFerdinand as an excuse.

SERBIAThe first battles of

the war began here whenAustria-Hungary sent troops in toavenge Archduke Ferdinand’sassassination.

BELGIUMWhen German troops invadedBelgium, they killed innocent civilians.“Remember Belgium” became arallying cry for Allied forces.

“YourFatherland isin Danger!”

“Give to the8th WarLoan!”

Soldiers from theCentral Powersstorm into action.

“Loans forliberty. Waruntil victory.”

“French soldiersare in thebattle.”

ThisAustraliansoldier foughtas part ofGreatBritain’sarmy.

A Germansoldier

THE OTTOMAN EMPIREThis vast but crumbling empire,based in what is modern-day Turkey,sided with Germany in the belief thatthe Germans had the best army andwould definitely win the war.

BULGARIAThis next-door neighbor of Serbiawanted revenge for a recent borderdispute that had been won bySerbia.

ChoosingSides

WORLD WAR I BEGINS

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There were disagreements about the extent to whichthe United States should participate in world affairs.

America in World War I

The United States looked on as Europe went up inflames, but how long could we remain neutral?America’s citizens were being threatened!

Many posters used thesinking of the Lusitaniato stir up anger againstthe Germans and tourge people to enlist inthe armed forces.

When war first broke out in Europe in 1914,America vowed to remain neutral. Why getinvolved in border disputes and shows of nationalpride that did not affect us? U.S. trade withEuropean nations continued until a blockade byBritish ships made it impossible for Americanships to reach German harbors. To end theblockade, German submarines began attacking allmerchant ships, even those flying the flags ofneutral nations, and accused the Allied forces offlying such flags to avoid attack.

The coded telegramconsisted of blocks ofnumbers.

DEATH ON THE LUSITANIA! The Germans had greatly improved the

submarine. They called them Unterseeboots—undersea boats—which the British dubbed

U-boats. By 1915 the Atlantic Ocean swarmed with U-boats targetingmerchant ships. On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania,which carried 1,959 passengers. There were 139 U.S. citizens aboard and128 perished. President Wilson angrily demanded that the Germans endtheir submarine warfare against commercial vessels, whatever flag theysailed under . At first the Germans agreed, but their promise of a cease-firewould not last long.

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THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAMA new blow to peace came on January

16, 1917, when a secret coded telegram fromthe German foreign minister, ArthurZimmermann, was sent to Mexico, urgingMexico to join the Central Powers. In

exchange, he promised to help Mexico reclaimterritories in the American Southwest that hadbeen lost in the Mexican-American War of 1846.Luckily, the telegram was intercepted and decodedby the British. Mexico chose not to get involved, butthe American public grew fearful. When German U-boats began attacking merchant ships once more, itwas time for action.

Words to Know� Neutral

(new-trull)Not choosing sides in a

dispute or a war.

THE “YANKS” ARE COMINGOn April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress to declare

war on Germany to aid the Allied Powers. The U.S. had builtstrong economic and political ties with Great Britain, so it wasonly natural that it should have our nation’s support.

With President Wilson’s war declaration, the “Yanks,” as theywere affectionately known, were finally on their way to Europe.Weary Allied forces—battered and worn after three years ofbrutal, bloody fighting—were filled with hope. But as Americansenlisted or were drafted into the armed forces, joined the RedCross, or raised money for the war effort with Victory Bonds andfood drives, they soon learned how deadly the fight would be.This was a war unlike any before it.

NEW WAYS TO FIGHT, NEW HORRORS TO ENDURE

World War I was a battle of technology. Telephones and wirelesscommunications made a huge difference in the way the war was fought. Silent submarines with torpedos at the ready sank hundreds of ships. But there were other weapons of destruction too.

AIRPLANES Aircraft were first used to spy on enemytroop movements, but when fightingspread to the skies, canvas and woodplanes began dropping bombs orshooting at one another in fiery“dogfights.”

The Harlem Hell-Fighters, an AfricanAmerican regiment,fought heroicallyalongside Frenchforces. Treated withrespect by the French,their experienceshelped spark newfights for civil rights upon their returnhome. Here they wear their French medals of valor.

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TANKS Vehicles with heavy armorplating could withstand gunfire, cover rough terrain, andflatten a small house in minutes.

POISON GAS A variety of gases could blind aman in minutes, burn skin, orlead to a painful death bysuffocation. Almost every soldiercarried a gas mask.

IN HIS OWN WORDSIn “Journey to the Edge of Night” Louis-Ferdinand Celine, a French doctor who servedin World War I, describes trench warfare: “Could it be that I was the only coward onearth, I wondered. The thought wasterrifying. Lost in the midst of two millionmadmen, all of them heroes, at large andarmed to the teeth! …whistling, sniping,plotting, flying, kneeling, digging, takingcover, wheeling, detonating, shut in on earthas in an asylum cell; intending to wreckeverything in it, Germany, France, the wholeworld, every breathing thing; destroying,more ferocious than a pack of mad dogs… athousand times fiercer than a thousand dogsand so infinitely more vicious! What a messwe were in!”

TRENCH WARFAREMiles of barbed wire divided the land andprotected hundreds of narrow trenchescut into the earth. These partiallyunderground tunnels provided the onlyshelter for many soldiers who lived andslept in their muddy protection.

“OVER THERE”By the summer of 1918, over

four million Americans hadjoined the armed forces and10,000 fresh troops werearriving in Europe almost everyday. As Americans sang apopular George M. Cohan songcalled “Over There,” the AlliedPowers were beginning to hopethat it might soon be over,“Over There.”

There were disagreementsabout the extent to whichthe United States shouldparticipate in world affairs.

The End of the War

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of1918, orders were given for the guns to cease firing. Slowly,exhausted soldiers climbed out of their trenches and stared at theblackened, scarred earth. Was the “Great War”really over?

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America’s presence in Europe finally helped turn the war’s tide. By October of1918, the Central Powers had begun to fail. Troops from the Ottoman Empireagreed to an armistice and Austria-Hungary followed soon after. The Germansknew they could not last alone. Their leader, the once-feared Kaiser Wilhelm II,snuck out of his country and went into exile in the Netherlands.

THE GUNS GROW SILENTAs news of the armistice spread, there was great celebration in the Allied

countries. But at the front lines of battle, the soldiers were silent. An eyewitnessdescribed the scene: “…there was no celebration…As night came, the quietness,unearthly in its penetration, began to eat into their souls. The men sat around logfires, the first they had ever had at the front. They were trying to reassure themselvesthat there were no enemy batteries spying on them from the next hill and noGerman bombing planes approaching to blast them out of existence. They talked inlow tones. They were nervous.” For the men who fought and the women who hadtended to their wounds, the war would leave lasting scars.

“THE WAR TO END ALL WARS”At the time, World War I was the most destructive war ever. Over 70 million

soldiers fought; 60 million were from Europe. More than 10 million people werekilled and 21 million wounded. Fighting took place on three continents and muchof Europe was devastated. As an eerie quiet settled over the battlefields, manybelieved, or at least hoped, that this had been “the war to end all wars.”

They were wrong.

The war’s tragicaftermath would hauntthe world for years tocome. This painting byJohn Singer Sargentcaptured some of thehorror.

Words to Know� Armistice

(ar-miss-tiss)An agreement to stop

fighting. This does not

officially end a war, but

allows time to discuss a

peace treaty.

� Reparations(rep-uh-ray-shuns)

Financial penalties that

must be paid by a

defeated nation to a

victorious one.

� Isolationism(eye-su-lay-shun-ism)

A belief that a nation

should steer clear of

overseas political and

military involvement—

and especially stay out of

foreign wars.

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U.S. LEADERSHIP AS THE WAR ENDED: WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS

President Wilson’s peace plan was called the Fourteen Points—asimple, short list of things to do to bring lasting peace. Wilson proposedthat there be no more secret treaties, that the seas be open to all, andthat nations reduce their weapons stockpiles. He also wantedpermanently drawn borders and all seized territories returned.

His 14th point called for the formation of a League of Nations,a new world peacekeeping organization. The League’s membernations would settle all future international disputes by talking,not fighting. As the world’s leaders met to sign the Treaty ofVersailles, Wilson knew his 14th point was the most important.

The League was a brilliant idea, but there were severalproblems. There was never enough money for a peacekeepingforce. Some called it the “League of Winners,” and Germany wasnot allowed to join. An even bigger setback was that the U.S.Senate failed to ratify the treaty and America did not join. Why?

By the war’s end, many Americans had become isolationistsand wanted no part of the world’s problems. They believed thatthe U.S. should stay out of the affairs of other nations. WithoutAmerica’s support, the League was too weak to succeed in thelong run. Twenty years after it started, it had failed miserably.

IN HIS OWN WORDSWoodrow Wilson shared his hopes for peace

in a speech to Congress: “What we demand in this war…is nothingpeculiar to ourselves. It is that the world bemade fit and safe to live in; and particularlythat it be made safe for every peace-lovingnation which, like our own, wishes to liveits own life, determine its own institutions,be assured of justice and fair dealing by theother peoples of the world as against forceand selfish aggression. All the peoples of theworld are in effect partners in thisinterest… unless justice be done to others itwill not be done to us. ”

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLESPresident Wilson had proposed a peace plan ten months before the

armistice. Now at war’s end, he hoped the world’s nations would accept it.On January 18, 1919, representatives from the victorious nations gatheredin France to write a formal peace treaty, but the European leaders chose toignore most of Wilson’s ideas. Wilson believed it was possible to achievelasting peace without pointing fingers of blame or making secret pacts,but some prime ministers from the winning nations had already writtensecret treaties, and each cared only about protecting his own country.All wanted to punish Germany by making it pay huge reparations—much more than the Germans could possibly ever afford. There wasonly one part of Wilson’s plan that appealed to them.

WHAT LAY AHEAD?World War I affected hundreds of millions of people. The

peace treaty that ended the “Great War” set the world on acollision course that would lead to an even more destructivewar—World War II. But as the ink dried on the Treaty ofVersailles (a treaty Germany felt was terribly unfair) a brandnew decade was arriving. In the 1920s many folks just wanted

to put the terrible war years behind them and live a lifefilled with fun, music, and free-spirited good times. Thatdecade would become known as the “Roaring 20s.”

There were joyousreunions as thetroops returned totheir families.

A New World Power Timeline

1898 The Spanish-AmericanWar leads to new U.S. territories,including Puerto Rico and Guam.

1900 McKinley is reelectedpresident with Theodore Rooseveltas his vice president.

1904 American engineers startwork on the Panama Canal to linkthe Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

1901 McKinley is assassinated.Roosevelt becomes president andputs “Big Stick” policies to work.

1918 President Wilson delivershis Fourteen Points speech andcalls for a League of Nations.

1917 President Wilson asksCongress to declare war onGermany. U.S. troops go to Europe.

1914 The Panama Canal opensahead of schedule, under budget,and just in time for war.

1914 World War I begins inEurope between the Allied Powersand the Central Powers.

1917 Germany sends theZimmermann Telegram to Mexicooffering an alliance and a return of Texas and the Southwest.

1919 The Treaty of Versailles issigned and the League of Nationsbegins. The U.S. does not join.

1918 The fighting ends onNovember 11. Much of Europe isin ruins.

1915 The British ship Lusitaniais sunk by a German U-boat andmany innocent people are killed.

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Explore and Review Use pages 116–117 to answer question 1.1. Copy and complete the chart by sorting the list below as either reasons for or results of the Spanish-American War.• Yellow journalism • Cuba gains independence from Spain • Protection of American business interests in Cuba • U.S. emerges as a world power• America supports Cuba’s desire for independence • Sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor• U.S. gains possession of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico

Apply Your Learning• Do you agree or disagree with the Roosevelt Corollary? Why? Do you think other nations in the Americasshould have the right to interfere in economic matters in the United States? Why or why not? Should othernations in the Americas have the right to exercise international police power in the United States? Why orwhy not?

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Reasons for the Spanish-American War

•

•

•

•

Results of the Spanish-American War

•

•

•

Use pages 120–121 to answer questions 2–4.2. Why did Theodore Roosevelt feel the need to expand the Monroe Doctrine?3. Copy and complete the graphic organizer by using your own words to explain each point of theRoosevelt Corollary.

POINT 2It is the right of the UnitedStates to exercise internationalpolice power.

POINT 1It is the right of the UnitedStates to interfere in economicmatters of the nations in theAmericas.

4. How did Theodore Roosevelt use Big Stick Diplomacy in the building of the Panama Canal?

Use pages 122–123 to answer question 5.5. Make a two column list of the countries aligned with the Allied Powers and the Central Powers duringWorld War I.

Use pages 124–125 to answer question 6.6. Explain how each reason listed below contributed to the United States’ becoming involved in World War I.• The United States’ inability to remain neutral • German submarine warfare—Sinking of the Lusitania• United States economic and political ties to Great Britain • The Zimmermann Telegram

Use pages 126–127 to answer question 7 in complete sentences.7. At the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson prepared a peace plan known as the FourteenPoints. What was his 14th point and what role did the United States play in it?

What does this mean?

What does this mean?