World War I

Ch. 19

MAIN causes of WWI

• M- Militarism– countries build up their armies

• A- Alliances– Triple Alliance- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy– Triple Entente- Britain, France, Russia

• I- Imperialism– Competition over land

• N- Nationalism– Everyone thought their country was the greatest &

wanted to promote their country’s culture & interests

“Spark that lit the fuse for WWI”• June 1914- Archduke Franz

Ferdinand (heir to Austro-Hungarian throne) & his wife visit Sarajevo, Bosnia

• Gavrilo Princip (Serbian nationalist, member of the “Black Hand”) assassinated the Archduke and his wife– 19 yrs old – too young for death

penalty (got 20 years, died of tuberculosis in prison)

– "I am not a criminal, for I destroyed a bad man. I thought I was right."

Timeline to War!• July 28, 1914- Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia• July 30- Russia mobilizes troops (towards German

border) in defense of Serbia • Aug. 1- Germany declares war on Russia• Aug. 3- Germany declares war on France, invades

Belgium• Aug. 4- Britain declares war on Germany• Aug. 6- Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia• Aug. 12- France and Britain declare war on Austria-

Hungary

Central Powers vs. The Allies

• Central Powers- Germany & Austria-Hungary

• Allies- Britain, France, Russia

America! Where are You?

• Pres. Wilson had declared the U.S. neutral– Many immigrants sympathized with their

country of origin– Most Americans supported the Allies and

hoped for their victory, though they did not want to join the conflict

Moving Toward War

• Britain practicing a blockade (to prevent supplies getting to Germany) – Germany deployed U-boats (unterseeboot-

underwater boat)– they would sink (w/o warning) ANY ship they found in the waters around Britain

U-boat534

The Lusitania

NOTICE!– TRAVELLERS intending to embark on

the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.

• IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY,Washington, D.C. April 22, 1915

DON’T WRITE THE NOTE BELOW!

The Lusitania

• May 7, 1915- a German u-boat sunk The Lusitania– KILLED 1,200 (128 Americans)– Americans regarded the attack as an

act of terrorism, not war/ Others said that the passengers traveling on ships of foreign nations did so at their own risk

– Pres. Wilson said the U.S. was “too proud to fight”

• Sussex Pledge- Germany & U.S. meeting, Germany promised, with certain conditions, to sink no more merchant ships without warning

Zimmermann Telegram/Note

• Jan. 1917- Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to the German ambassador in Mexico (intercepted by Britain)– If Mexico attacked the U.S.

(when Germany won WWI), Germany would get Mexico back all the land they had lost to the U.S.

This Means War!

• Feb. 1, 1917- Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare

• Feb. 3-Mar. 21- GY sank 6 American merchant ships w/o warning

• Apr. 2, 1917- Pres. Wilson asks for a declaration of war against Germany

• April 6, 1917- U.S. declares war on Germany

WWI Propaganda Posters

Building up the Military

• Selective Service – Required all men b/w 21 & 30 to register for the draft (A

lottery randomly determined the order they were called before the draft board (2.8 mil. drafted/ 2 mil. volunteered)

Don’t have to write!Conflict and Number of Inductions:

WWI: (Sept. 1917-Nov. 1918)

2,810,296

WWII: (Nov. 1940-Oct. 1946)

10,110,104

Korea: (June 1950-June 1953) 

1,529,539

Vietnam: (Aug 1964- Feb 1973)

1,857,304

http://www.sss.gov/induct.htm

Building up the Military• African Americans

– 400,000 drafted (42,000 of those served in combat overseas)

– Encountered discrimination & segregation

• Women– 1st war to serve in the armed

forces (noncombat positions)• Nurses, clerical

workers, radio operators, electricians, pharmacists, photographers, chemists, torpedo assemblers

Organizing Industry

• Paying for the War– U.S. spending $44

mil. a day (by end of war)

– Raised income tax rates

– Liberty Bonds & Victory Bonds (loaning the govt. money)

Organizing Industry

• War Industries Board– Told manufacturers what they could/could not

produce

• Food Administration– Victory gardens & daylight

savings time created

You better support the

war (or else)!

• Committee on Public Information- task of “selling” the war to the American people (used songwriters, speakers, entertainers to help sway public opinion in favor of the war)

You better support the war (or else)!

• Espionage- spying to acquire secret govt. info.– Espionage Act- set

penalties/prison terms• Penalized disloyalty, giving

false reports, or interfering with the war effort

– Sedition Act- made illegal any public expression of opposition to the war

– 1,500 prosecutions & 1,000 convictions!

Don’t need to write this slide!

• 1st Amendment- “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”

• Schenck v. the United States (1919)- (decision concerning the question of whether the defendant possessed a First Amendment right to free speech against the draft during WWI). Supreme Court ruled that an individual’s freedom of speech could be curbed when the words uttered constitute a “clear and present danger” (ex. Someone yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater)

*Don’t write! Life in 1915- “The Numbers”

• $687- average income for industrial workers• $355- average income for farm laborers• $328- average income for a teacher• $11.95- cost of a bicycle• $1.15- cost of a baseball• $1.00- average cost of a hotel room• .39- cost of a dozen eggs• .05- cost of a glass of cola• .07- cost of a large roll of toilet paper

Combat in WWI

• Trench Warfare– Used the machine gun

in fighting

– “no man’s land”- area b/w the trenches

– “Going over the Top”• Troops raced over the

top to face artillery, mines, & machine gun (Fun!)

New War Technology

• Machine gun• Poison Gas (gas

masks then created)

• Tanks• Airplanes

(strapped machine guns on for “dogfights”)

United States troops & tactics

• “Doughboys”- American soldiers (inexperienced, fresh/new, boosted morale of Allied troops)

• Admiral Sims- encouraged use of convoys (merchants/troop ships surrounded by warships). Cut down on Allied ship losses.

Revolution in Russia

Mar. 1917- riots broke out over lack of food & fuel

• Mar. 15- Czar Nicholas II pressured to abdicate his throne

– Nov.- The Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrew the govt. & established communism (Czar & his family assassinated)

– Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Mar. 1918)• Russia pulled out of war (with Germany)

– lost lots of territory

Lenin

Nicholas II

The War Ends

• Germany war effort stalls & they are pushed back by Allied Forces– Revolution in Austria-Hungary (they surrender)– Revolution in Germany (Kaiser forced to step

down)– At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th

month, 1918- Germany signs an armistice (cease-fire)

Treaty of Versailles- June 28, 1919• Fourteen Points (Wilson’s Plan)-

League of Nation (14th point)– would help to preserve peace & prevent future wars– Allies didn’t accept

Wilson’s plan (except League of Nations)—U.S. refuses to be in League of Nations

• Germany– Pay $33 bil. in reparations– Stripped of its armed forces– Had to accept guilt for the

outbreak of WWI & destruction after

• The Big Four- (From left), Prime Minister David Lloyd George (UK),

Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando (Italy), Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau (France), and Pres. Woodrow Wilson (United States)

PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE