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World War I

C. Corning – U.S. History(Photo – German line – Battle of Verdun, 1916)

Essential Questions:

1. Should the U.S. intervene in foreign conflicts? Why or why not?

2. When the U.S. interests are threatened, how should the government respond?

3. Should the U.S. go to war to make the world “safe for democracy”?

Choose two questions and discuss in groups of three.

MWH Review – How much do you remember about

WWI?

Causes?

Central Powers:

Allied Powers:

Two Front War

Why does the U.S. stay neutral?

• Wilson’s administration (and many Americans) felt that the war was an European issue and had nothing to do with the U.S.• Socialists who felt this war was a capitalist/imperialist struggle

between England and Germany to control markets in Asia agreed.• So did pacifists who believed that war was evil

• Not all Americans agreed with the policy of neutrality.• Many people felt close to Britain b/c of common ancestry and

democratic traditions

• Another issue – many recently naturalized citizens still had ties to their “home” nations

• However U.S. businesses were making great profits from selling weapons to the Allies and the U.S. gov’t made over 2 million dollars in war loans

Why does the U.S. join the war?

• Philosophically the U.S. was already supporting the Allies (war loans, weapons, etc.)

• Germans resumed attacking U.S. ships in the Atlantic• Lusitania in 1915 – increased anti-German feeling and brought the

threat of war with the U.S. so Germans reduced the U-boat attacks• By 1917 Germany desperate for a quick victory, needed to starve

Britain and France out of supplies, unrestricted submarine warfare within British waters (8 weeks – 8 ships)

• Zimmerman Telegram – Germany’s foreign minister, sent to Mexico encouraging it to join Germany and declare war on U.S.

• April 2, 1917 – Wilson delivers war resolution “make the world safe for democracy”, passed in Congress within days.

U.S. Role in WWI

• The U.S. military was not prepared for war – needed to mobolize to build a large and efficient army.• Selective Service Act in May 1917 – required men to register

with the gov’t in order to be randomly selected for military service, 28 million registered, 3 million were “called up”, 2 million reached Europe before armistice was signed, ¾ of these saw combat.

• 400,000 African Americans served, most in France, in segregated units and excluded from the Navy and the Marines, most to non-combat units.

• Eight month training period – in U.S. and Europe• Women accepted in Army Corps of Nurses but were denied

rank, pay and benefits equitable to men. “Hello Girls” recruited to help connect the HQ with the frontlines for the first time.• Women were accepted in Navy and Marines in non-combat roles

with rank!

U.S. Role in WWI

• U.S. needed to quickly build a fleet to transport men, food and equipment

1. Shipyard workers received a deferment classification or full exemption.

2. Public was encouraged to support shipyard workers.

3. Shipyards used fabrication techniques to build ships quickly.

4. Fed gov’t took over commercial and private ships and converted them for transatlantic war use.

U.S. Role in WWI

• Convoy system – heavy guard of destroyers protected merchant ships who were supplying the war effort

• Navy laid bombs designed to keep Germany out of Atlantic Ocean.

• Fresh boots hit the battlefield and brought a renewed enthusiasm to the Allied troops• Infantrymen called “doughboys” b/c of the white belts they wore• American Expeditionary Force led by General John J. Pershing

who called for a more aggressive combat – AFE stopped German advance, captured important enemy positions (see map page 592)

WWI – On The Home Front• Congress gave increased powers to President Wilson, setting a precedent.

• War funded via “Victory Bonds”, progressive income tax and excise tax on luxury items – total spent $35.5 billions

• Women worked in factories and in positions traditionally held by men: factories, coal mines, railroad workers, dockworkers, nurses, teachers and clerks.• Increased public’s support for suffrage– “I can work like a man, why can’t vote like

one too?”

• Great Migration(1910-30) – blacks move from the south to the northern cities. Why?• Looking for jobs in the war industries – drop in European immigrants (why?)• Escape racial discrimination/segregation in the South – not successful! First race riots

in the North.

• Attack on Civil Liberties: anti-immigrant hysteria and the Espionage and Sedition Act (1st Amendment issues)

• Committee on Public Information – use of propaganda to increase support of the war.

End of the War

• Austro-Hungary surrendered to Allies on Nov 3, 1918. The same day German sailors mutinied and a revolution broke out in Germany.

• Armistice signed by French General Foch and two representatives of the new German Republic on November 11, 1918• Revolution in Germany had overthrown the monarch – Kaiser Wilhelm II• Terms of the armistice were harsh

• Paris Peace Conference – Jan 1919 – what was the U.S.’s role?• 32 nations were represented at the conference but three dominated the

proceedings: Britain, France and the U.S.• Unfortunately these “Big Three” had very different ideas/expectations

Paris Peace

Conference

• France (Clemenceau) – Germany must pay for damages to France, be made weak enough that she could never attack France again – only possible by taking away her land/colonial possessions, industry and armed forces.

• Britain (Lloyd George) – agreed with Wilson’s 14 Points, understood that if the defeating nations were treated too harshly that they would become angry and resentful (and possibly cause future trouble)• However British public wanted Lloyd George to be tough on Germany,

wanted revenge for the deaths, injuries, economic depravations, etc.

• U.S.A. (Wilson) - wanted to make future wars impossible by creating a fair peace. He disagreed that Germany should pay cost of war – he felt many countries also were to blame.

Wilson’s 14 Points –

Four Main Ideas

1. There must be no more secret agreements between countries. If countries dealt openly with each other, there would be less suspicion and misunderstanding in the world.

2. Countries must reduce their armed forces and their weapons.

3. People living under the rule of foreign empires – ex: Czechs in Austrian territory or Poles in Russian – must be allowed to form their own nations and choose their own governments (national self-determination).

4. All countries should belong to a new organization for keeping peace in the world – League of Nations.

Treaty of Versailles – June 1919

• Treaty between Germany and the Allied Powers – very harsh and the German government were not consulted about the specific terms until a few weeks before signing it• German people and military were upset – so why sign? Threat of

Allied invasion!

• Established League of Nations, Germany to give up land to neighbors, overseas colonies taken away and put under rule of LofN, Germany’s armed forces were reduced, Germany forbidden to unite with Austria, creation of demilitarized zone on western front, Germany – war guilt clause, Germany to pay reparations (mainly France)

New Europe

• Europe prior WWI: http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/map01eu.htm

• Europe after WWI: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/maps/Europe1922.jpg

• What differences do you see?

• How does this affect the U.S. in the short term? Long term?

League of Nations

• Objective was to keep the peace – how?1. If any member of the League quarreled with another member,

they would talk about their differences rather than going to war.

2. If this didn’t work, and a League member was attacked, all other members would to to its help – collective security.

• Problems – two major issues:1. The U.S. refused to join because they were not interested in

getting involved in the problems of other countries (see page 607). Communist Russia and Germany were not allowed to join.

2. League did not have an army to back up its decisions – it did have economic sanctions but couldn’t force countries to stop fighting.

Legacy of the War –

U.S.• Consequences of WWI:

1. Accelerated America’s emergence as the world’s greatest industrial power.

2. Strengthened the U.S. military and the power of the federal government.

3. Contributed to the movement of African Americans to Northern cities

4. Intensified anti-immigrant and anti-radical sentiments among mainstream Americans

5. Brought over one million women into the workforce

Related Websites

Guide to European Battlefields - http://www.greatwar.co.uk/

War Monuments in France - http://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/warmonuments-pietas/index.html

Medical Issues - http://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/medical-aspects/index.html

Black and White Photos - http://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/warpictures/index.html