World War I
Imperialistic Countries Clash..
I.
Causes of WWI
A.
Americans wanted to stay neutral, however
that would prove very difficult now they are a
world power – there were 4 major causes:
1. Nationalism – the politics of countries
were now influenced by this concept, a
devotion to the interests and culture of your
own nation.
a. Result: ethnic groups resented domination,
looked for bigger nations to protect them - for
ex. Serbia lived under rule of Austria-Hungary
- - Russia and AH were rivals over this region.
2. Imperialism – Nations were now
building empires – colonies supplied
European imperial powers, now Germany
began competing with the rest of Europe.
3. Militarism – Imperial powers obviously
followed this to strengthen armed forces –
used it as a tool of diplomacy.
Germany was the strongest by 1890 –
competed with Britain for the most
powerful naval force. Competed in building
battleships and destroyers – soon other
nations did the same. (not a good sign.)
3. Alliance System – There were 2 major defense
alliance systems at this time:
The Triple Entente – (Allies) – France,
Britain and Russia.
The Triple Alliance – Germany, AH, and
Italy – (Central Powers).
II. Assassination Leads to War.
A. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was
assassinated by a young Serbian.
1. Result was AH declared war on Serbia –
(Who was considered the (“protector” of Serbia”)
Princip was standing near Moritz Schiller's cafe, when he spotted Franz Ferdinand's car as it drove past, having taken the wrong turn. A
Sent from my iPad
III. The Fighting Starts!!!
A. Germany begins by invading Belgium – would
drive through to Paris, destroy France and then
round back and defeat Russia. Known as the
Schrieffer Plan.
1. Trench Warfare developed –
a. 3 Main kinds – Front line, Support and
Reserve.
b. “No Man’s Land” was the barren muddy land
filled with barbed wire and shells.
c. Armies basically fought for yards of ground, July 1, 1916, the British lost 60,000 casualties
ALONE. IN ONE DAY.
IV. Americans question Neutrality.
A. Divided Loyalties
1. Millions of Immigrants watched the war
closely since they had ties to these nations.
2. Socialists criticized it - why?
3. Many didn’t want their sons to experience
the horrors of warfare.
4. Americans felt close to Britain – why?
5. Economic ties with the Allies were greater
than the Central Powers
V. War Hits Home.
A. British Blockade – blockaded Germany’s coast
also extended it to neutral ports and the North
Sea.
1. Famine would reach Germany – almost 1
million German people starved to death.
2. Germany's response would be brutal.
B. German U-Boats – (Unterseeboot) Declared that
any ship in waters around Britain would be sunk.
C. Disaster came with the Lusitania on May 7, 1915.
German U-Boat sank the British Cruise liner
1. U.S. protested – Germany agreed not to sink
anymore passenger ships – but lied.
1916 Election
A.
1916 came with the presidential election.
W. Wilson ran again against Supreme Court Justice Charles
Hughes.
IV. U.S. Declares War! – Why?
A. Germans declared unrestricted sinking of any ship. –
Meant the U.S. would have to go to war.
B. Zimmerman Note – telegram from German P.M. to
German Ambassador to Mexico.
1. Germany declared support to Mexico if they wanted
to recover lost territory in the southwest.
C. Russian Monarch was overthrown – U.S. could justify
that it was a war of “democracies against brutal
monarchies”.
April 2, 1917, U.S. declares war.
America Mobilizes..
America mobilizes – but was not prepared for war.
Only 200,000 men were enlisted – few had any combat
experience.

Raising an Army – Congress passed the Selective
Service Act – (Draft)
1. About 2million finally reached overseas by the time
the truce was signed – maybe 3/4ths saw combat.
2. Women were not allowed to enlist at the time –
reluctantly let them into Army Corps of Nurses –
denied any rank, pay and benefits.
B. Mass Production – had to find a way to transport, feed
and equip these new soldiers.
I.
Did this several ways:
1. Exempted shipyard workers – deferred
their draft.
2. Congress urged public to give support to
these workers – why?
3. Began to use prefabrication techniques –
reduced time - ex. On July 4, 1918, U.S.
launched 95 ships.
II. America Turns the Tide of the War…
Convinced British to use the Convoy
System – a heavy guard of destroyers
escorted merchant ships back and forth in
groups.
a. losses were cut in half
2. U.S. Navy built a 230 mine barrier across
the North Sea – designed to bottle up the
U-boats and keep them in the Atlantic.
1.
War introduces new hazards





New weapons of WWI brought war to a new
horrific level of fighting.
Rats, lice, dysentery and polluted water were
rampant in trench warfare.
Inhaled poison gas and the fumes of decaying
bodies.
Lack of sleep
“Shell shock” – term to coin the complete
emotional and physical collapse of which one
never recovered.
“Trench foot” - disease caused by standing
in cold wet trenches for long periods of
time without changing into dry socks.
What would be the only solution?
Amputation of toes or feet.
New technology also included machine guns,
airships and airplanes, tanks, poison gas.
The War at Home…
Congress gives Power to Wilson:
Because the war was such an immerse
conflict, the entire economy had to be
refocused on the war effort.
A. Congress gives power to Wilson including the power to fix prices and to
regular certain war-related materials:
I.
A.
1.
2.
3.
War Industries Board:
The WB encouraged companies to use
mass production techniques to increase
efficiency.
Urged them to eliminate waste by
standardizing products – for ex. Making
only 5 colors of typewriter ribbons instead
of 150 colors.
Under the WB, production increased 20%.
4. Railroad Administration also regulated coal
and gas usage – people began to adopt
“gasless Sundays” and “lightless nights” to
conserve fuel.
B. War Economy:
Hourly wages rose for blue collar workers
about 20% during this time – why?
1. Stockholders saw large their large
corporations make huge profits.
2. However, the household income was
undercut by rising food prices and housing
costs.
3. BC companies were making huge yearly
profits, there was an uneven pay between
labor and management – increasing work
hours, child labor and “sped-up” conditions.
a. Resulted in a huge increase in unions to
protect workers
b. Wilson set up the War Labor Board.
C. Food Administration
To help conserve food, Wilson set up the
Food Administration.
Instead of rationing food, called on people
to set up the “gospel of the clean plate”.
2. Declared 1 day a week “meatless” and
another “sweetless”.
3. Restaurants removed sugar bowls and only
served bread after the first course.
4. Homeowners planted “Victory Gardens” –
schoolchildren spent afterschool hours
growing tomatoes and cucumbers ion
public parks.
Result was American food shipments to the
Allies TRIPLED.
1.
How do you also convince the
Public to Support the War?
Govt. set up nation’s first Propaganda
Agency”.
 1. The nation’s artists, and advertising
agencies created THOUSANDS of posters,
advertisements, radio songs, cartoons
promoting the war and the efforts people
could do..
 It was an exciting time….

War Hysteria…
Anti-immigrant hysteria: - who would be
targeted?
 1. Immigrants from Germany and Austria.
 2. Many lost their jobs..
 3. Orchestras refused to play Mozart,
Beethoven, Brahams, and Bach.
 4. Schools stopped teaching German
language.
 5. Books with German authors were
removed.

Espionage and Sedition Acts.
Remember the Alien and Sedition Acts?...
 1. In 1918, Congress passed the
Espionage and Sedition Acts.

a. A person could be fined $100,000
and sentenced to 20 yrs of interfering with
eh war effort or speaking out against it.

b. What did this violate?
 1st Amendment!!

Instead of rationing food, called on people
to set up the “gospel of the clean plate”.
2. Declared 1 day a week “meatless” and
another “sweetless”.
3. Restaurants removed sugar bowls and only
served bread after the first course.
4. Homeowners planted “Victory Gardens” –
schoolchildren spent afterschool hours
growing tomatoes and cucumbers ion
public parks.
Result was American food shipments to the
Allies TRIPLED.
1.
War encourages Social Change
African Americans and the War
1. W.E.B Dubois believed blacks should
support the war effort.
2. Believed would strengthen social
justice.
3. Others favored protest, “victims of
racism should not support a racist
government”
A.
The Great Migration
WWI accelerated the “Great Migration”
1. large scale movement of hundreds of
thousands of blacks to cities in the North –
why?
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Escape racial segregation in the south.
Boll Weevil infestation…(what's a boll
weevil?
More job opportunities in the North
(Henry Ford)
Drop of immigration increased job
opportunities for blacks.
Women in the war!
Jobs held exclusively by men now were
being filled with women – examples?
2. No equal pay for equal work – but to
encourage women to join in the war effort –
Wilson passes WHAT?
1.
The Flu Epidemic..
1. Suffered a home front crises –
international flue epidemic affected ONE
QUARTER of the American population.
 2. Effect on the Economy was devastating:
a. Mines shut down, factories and
offices staggered working hours to avoid
contagion.
b. soldiers in close barrack conditions
suffered – one quarter caught the disease 
A. An economy in Turmoil
Wilson Now Fights for Peace..
Many issues were never resolved after the
war – that still continues today.
I. Wilson Presents his Plan:
When Wilson arrives in Europe, the people
gave him a hero’s welcome.
Many Representatives from groups appealed
to him for help in setting up independent
nations for themselves.
A.
1.
2.
Fourteen Points:
Wilson presented his plan for world peace
– called the Fourteen Points,
Points were divided into 3 groups – the 1st
5 points were issues that he believed had
to be addressed to prevent another war:
1. NO secret Treaties!
 2. Freedom among the seas!
 3. Tariffs and other economic barriers
should be lowered to encourage free trade.
 4. Arms should be reduced
 5. Colonial policies should consider the
interests of the colonial peoples as well as
the interests of the imperial powers.


The next 8 points dealt with boundary
changes – in other words – groups that
claimed distant ethnic identifies were to
from their own nation-states.

How many points is that so far?
The 14th Point was the biggie:
Called for a creation of an international
organization to address diplomatic crises like
those that had sparked the war.
The organization was called the League of
Nations – would provide a forum for nations
to discuss and settle their grievances without
war.
Sounds like a great plan, right???
B. The Allies reject Wilson’s plan!
1. Wilson was very naïve when he failed to
understand the anger felt by the allied
leaders..(the good guys).
2. The French Premier – Georges
Clemenceau had lived through 2 German
invasions and wanted revenge.
3. David Lloyd Garrison had won reelection
as PM based on his campaign slogan,
“Make Germany Pay”..soo……
4. Peace conference did not include the
defeated countries – not did it include Russia
which was snow under Communist rule.
5. Instead “The Big Four”, U.S. France, G.B.
and Italy worked out the treaty’s details
among themselves
4. Also required Germany to pay reparations,
or war damages amounting to 33 million
dollars to the allies.
C. The Treaty’s Weaknesses:
Several basic flaws that wouldn’t be
addressed would contribute the WWII:
1. First, the treaty humiliate Germany –
contained a war-guilt clause forcing
Germany to admit sole responsibility for
starting the war.
II. Debating the Treaty of Versailles (where is
Versailles, anyway?)
ON June 28th, 1919, the Big Four and the
leaders of the defeated nations gathered in the
Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles to
sign the peace treaty.
A. Provisions of the Treaty:
1. Established 9 new nations.
2. Carved out 5 areas of the old Austria
Hungarian empire and gave to France and
Britain as temp. colonies.
3. Barred Germany from maintaining an army.

There was no way Germany could pay the
huge financial reparations – it was
stripped of its colonial possessions – which
would have helped it pay
3. Russia…for 3 years, fought on the Allied
side, now they were barred because they
were Communist – very determined to regain
its former territories.
4. Finally, treaty ignored claims of colonized
people for self determination.
D. Opposition to the Treaty!
1. When Wilson came home, his own country
didn’t even want the treaty – many
believed it was way too harsh – including
Herbert Hoover!
2. 2. Others considered it a “sell out” to
imperialism because it simply replaced 1 set
of rues with another.
C. Debate over the League of Nations:
1. Many opposition was centered on the last
point tie League of Nations.
2. Any feared the League would draw
America back in to foreign wars and
internal affairs.
3. One of the main proponents was Henry
Cabot Lodge -
Decision Time..
Wilson Refuses to Compromise:
1. He ignored the Republican Party would not compromise
2. Despite ill health –set out on an 8000 mile tour
explaining why the U.S. should join
3. On Oct. 2, suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed
for 2 weeks…
4. When the treaty came up for vote in the Senate , and
failed to get enough votes for ratification.
5. We would sign a separate treaty with Germany – never
joined the League of Nations.
The NEW President (Warren G. Harding)
called for America to return to “normalcy”.
 But the war had already changed
America…:
 1. Accelerated a lot of social change,
especially for African Americans and
Women – why??
 Also powerful propaganda campaigns
provoked a fear of immigrants and antiradical sentiments among mainstream
Americans.
