Goal 8
WORLD WAR I
FACTORS LEADING TO WWI
Rivalries created by Imperialism (need to make
country great)
 Industrialization
 Nationalism (intense loyalty to your country)
 Military Buildup
 Treaties & Alliances

THE START OF WWI

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary visits
Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28th, 1914

Archduke is heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary; he’s
in Bosnia to give them political representation


He’s assassinated by Serbian nationalists (Black Hand)
Austria-Hungary holds Serbia responsible; Germany
supports declaration of war
ALLIANCES

Alliance System: each nation had treaties with other
nations


Conflict with Serbia & Austria-Hungary causes alliances to
trigger; most of Europe to brought into the conflict
Allied Powers
 France,

Russia, Great Britain, Serbia
Central Powers
 Germany,
Bulgaria
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire,
Alliances of World War
I
WAR FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE


Most Europeans excited about war; thought it would end by
Christmas 1914
War quickly turns into a stalemate
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War becomes war of attrition (who can wear out the other side)
New technology leads to massive casualty totals
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Western front w/ trench warfare (France)
Eastern front (Russia)
Southern front (Greece & Ottoman Empire)
Machine gun
Poisonous gas
Tanks
Airplanes
Artillery guns & shells
No major shifts of power between 1914-1917
AMERICA’S PERSPECTIVE



US decides to stay neutral-Isolationism
Most Americans don’t see conflict as “our problem”
President Wilson’s foreign policy towards Europe


US had no enemies; no need to pick a side
US focus needed to be on Western Hemisphere

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
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Mexico, Latin American countries, etc.
Wilson will run for re-election in 1916, vowing to keep
US out of war
Some Americans want us to enter the war
Propaganda used against Germans/Central Powers
CLOSURE
What three countries do you think are most
responsible for starting the Great War? Why
did you choose those three?
 Do you think the war would have started had
Franz Ferdinand not been assassinated?
 How would you have felt about the United
States getting involved in the war? Would you
have wanted to fight? Why or why not?

WARM-UP
Guided Questions: Progressivism
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How does populism relate to
Progressivism?
What were the goals of
Progressivism?
What was Hull House? Who was Jane
Addams?
Who were Muckrakers? Name some
and what they did.
Who was Robert Lafollette and what
was the Wisconsin Experiment?
What was a failure of progressivism?
What amendments were added due
to progressive work?
Opinion Questions:
What do you think is the most lasting
impact of the progressive movement?
Who would you describe as a “progressive”
in today’s society?
If you were a muckraker, what issue would
you address and why?
WOODROW WILSON AND HIS IDEALISM

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
For over a century, U.S. had proud tradition of isolationism
from Europe.
Wilson needed to instill burning idealism to inspire
Americans to fight
Twin goals:

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U.S. did not fight for profit or territorial conquest.

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"Make the world safe for democracy" as a crusade
”A war to end war“
U.S. wanted to shape an international order in which democracy
could flourish without fear of autocracy and militarism.
Wilson genuine in his belief in democratic ideals and U.S. as a
world model.
Result: Persuaded Americans to embark on the crusade
US FINALLY ENTERS THE WAR
Britain blockades Europe to keep Germans
from getting supplies; Germans counter w/ “UBoats”
 Unrestricted Sub Warfare – attack all ships
going to Great Britain or France
 Lusitania – passenger ship sank in 1915
(132 Americans killed)
 Germany signs “Sussex Pledge” promising to
stop Unrestricted Sub Warfare

AMERICA IN WWI
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Zimmerman Note – letter from Germany to Mexico
trying to get them to attack US
Russian Revolution – Russia withdraws from war,
ending two-front war (forced to give up Poland to
Germany)
Germans break Sussex Pledge, continue sub warfare
Wilson asks for a declaration of war against Germany
 “make the world safe for democracy”
 Jeanette Rankin – 1st female in Congress – votes
“no”
AMERICANS IN WAR


US Military not ready to fight (only 200,000 enlisted)
Selective Service Act – May 1917
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American Expeditionary Force (AEF) led by General John J. Pershing
Training period of 8 months
Shipping becomes necessity
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Shipyard employees given draft exemption
Convoy system used to protect merchant ships
Black soldiers
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Had to register w/ government for draft
24 million register, 3 million drafted
400,000 sign up (army)
Most given non-combat duties (ie – cooks)
369th Infantry saw most frontline duty during war (most decorated)
Women volunteer as secretaries & nurses
American Convoy System used during WWI
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
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1. What was Woodrow Wilson’s goal as he pushed the U.S.
into the Great War?
2. What event do you think is most responsible for pulling
the U.S. into the war? Why?
3. How does the United States deal with a lack of troops? Do
you think this is an effective way for a country to build up an
army?
4. What roles did African Americans and women play in the
war? Do you think the roles they played help them after the
war is over?
5. What new weapons were used in this war? Which do you
think had the biggest impact?
6. How did most Americans get their “visual” of the war?
Which nations were typically portrayed as the bad guys?
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Women took over for men in factories
 War Industries Board (WIB) - created to regulate
economy & war effort

 Led

Food Administration - created to produce &
conserve food
 Led

by Bernard Baruch
by Herbert Hoover
Committee on Public Information – created
propaganda to get support for the war
 Led
by George Creel
DOMESTIC PROBLEMS
Anti-immigrant hysteria, especially against
Germans
 Espionage & Sedition Acts

Limits free speech
 Over 2000 people prosecuted
 Unions & socialists targeted & persecuted

 Eugene
V. Debs jailed for 10 years
 Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) accused of “sabotage”
b/c they urged workers to strike

Leads to Schenck v. US, 1919
 Espionage
& Sedition Acts declared constitutional
 “Clear and Present Danger”
END OF FIGHTING OVERSEAS

US troops give new life to Allies, but did minimal
fighting (compared to others)

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Central powers weaken
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Nicknamed “doughboys”
Germany tries 1 last attack in Summer of 1918
(unsuccessful)
Central powers begin to crumble
Austria-Hungary surrenders in early Nov.
German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates the throne on
Nov. 9th
Germans call for an armistice on Nov. 11th, 1918 (1111 @ 11am)
CLOSURE
Which home front organization do you think
was the most effective in helping the United
States prepare/aid the Allied powers for
victory? Why?
 Why did the United States prosper during World
War 1? Do you think that prosperity will end or
continue after the war is over? Why?

PROGRESSIVE/IMPERIALISTIC PRESIDENTS
WARM-UP
Teddy
Roosevelt
William Taft
Woodrow
Wilson
TREATY OF VERSAILLES

Treaty of Versailles, 1919



“Big Four” meet to discuss outcome of war
France & Great Britain look to punish Germany; Italy is
indifferent
President Wilson proposes “14 Points”, looks to rebuild
Europe
14 POINTS
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There should be an end to all secret diplomacy
amongst countries.
Freedom of the seas in peace and war
The reduction of trade barriers among nations
The general reduction of armaments
The adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the
inhabitants as well as of the colonial powers
The evacuation of Russian territory and a welcome for
its government to the society of nations
The restoration of Belgium
14 POINTS CONTINUED
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The evacuation of all French territory, including AlsaceLorraine
The readjustment of Italian boundaries along clearly
recognizable lines of nationality
Independence for various national groups in Austria-Hungary
The restoration of the Balkan nations and free access to the
sea for Serbia
Protection for minorities in Turkey and the free passage of
the ships of all nations through the Dardanelles
Independence for Poland, including access to the sea
A league of nations to protect "mutual guarantees of political
independence and territorial integrity to great and small
nations alike
TREATY OF VERSAILLES CONTINUED

France & Britain reject Wilson’s plan, only give him League of
Nations
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League of Nations essentially a “World Parliament” not to be
confused of the United Nations.
Russia left out of treaty process; fuels anger towards West
Heavy burden on Germany will lead to rise of Nazi party &
WWII
Wilson brings treaty home, but Congress refuses to accept it


Germany given sole blame, loses all colonies, military limited,
territory lost, must pay war debt ($33 Billion)
Separate treaties signed w/ other Central powers
Henry Cabot Lodge leads conservatives against treaty
US does not join League of Nations; begins policy of
Isolationism
AFTER EFFECTS OF THE WAR

Europe is ruined
9 million dead
 22 million casualties

Economies of several nations destroyed
 Estimated cost of war $350 Billion
 New countries created (Poland, Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia)

AFTER EFFECTS CONTINUED
U.S became world's economic & political leader
(notwithstanding its isolationism)
 Russian Revolution ultimately instituted
communism (tremendous impact until 1992)

 USSR
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
The Big Four leaders at Versailles (Britain, France, Italy, US)
ELECTION OF 1920
Warren G Harding vs. James M. Cox
 Harding will run on a platform

 Ambiguous
on the issue of the League of Nations.
 Harding spoke of returning America to "normalcy“
RESULT OF THE ELECTION
Result:
 Harding d. Cox
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First time full-suffrage for women in national election.
Results displayed public desire for change from idealism, moral
overstrain, and self-sacrifice.
Isolationists turned results into a death sentence for the League
of Nations.
Later, the U.S. would bear part of the blame for WWII as it
undercut the League of Nations by refusing to join it.
Security Treaty with France also rejected by the Senate.
France then undertook to build a powerful military in the
face of increased German power and lack of U.S. support.
ELECTION CONTINUED
Germany, fearing France’s buildup, embarked on
an even more vigorous rearmament program
under Hitler.
 U.S. thus spurred an opportunity to emerge as a
world leader and to shape world events for the
benefit of peace. Two main causes for the failure
of peace:
 The Great Depression (precipitating cause)
 War psychosis" (dubbed by Wilson and others):
hatreds raised up in Europe by a war that lasted
so long that Europe’s leaders lost all perspective
