U.S. HISTORY
CHAPTER 11
WORLD WAR 1
4 Causes
•
•
•
•
Militarism
Alliance System
Imperialism
Nationalism
• MAIN
NATIONALISM
MILITARISM
• A devotion to the interests
and culture of one’s
nation
• Development of armed
forces and their use as a
tool of diplomacy
• Led to competitive and
antagonistic competition
• By 1890 Germany was
the strongest nation in
Europe, and a draft
• Kaiser Wilhem decided
Germany should become
a major sea power
Imperialism
• Germany, now a strong, unified nation, wanted
an empire
• Major players that include: Great Britain,
Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium
and Italy exploited and extracted valuable
resources out of the African countries.
• This attitude and quest by these countries
created an atmosphere of hostility between the
European conquerors.
• Many wars were fought for control of these
countries. (The Boer War 1899-1902)
Alliance System
• Having existing alliances is a very scaring
thing before a war breaks out.
• Central Powers – Germany, AustriaHungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman
Empire
• Allied Powers – Great Britain, France,
Portugal, Italy, Russia, Serbia
• United States will enter the war with the
Allied Powers in 1917.
An Assassination leads to War
• The Balkan Penninsula was known as
“The Powder Keg of Europe”.
• Ethnic Rivalries, European interests
• Austria-Hungary- “Sick man of Europe”
• Franz Ferdinand visits Sarajevo, a Serbian
nationalist shoots him
• Austria-Hungary uses this to declare war
on Serbia, setting off a chain of events
Gavrilo Princip
• Killed Franz
Ferdinand and his
wife
• Member of Serbian
nationalist group: The
Black Hand
• Upset at Austria
-Hungary for
colonizing
Serbia
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
ORDER OF EVENTS
• Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
(Germany Gives a “blank check”
• Russia (Serbia’s Ally, declares war on AustriaHungary
• Austria-Hungary Mobilizes against Russia,
Germany mobilizes her armed forces and
declares war on Russia
• Germany knew this would cause France
(Russia’s ally) to enter the war
• Germany invades Belgium to get to France,
pushing Britain and France into the war
The Famous “Schlieffen Plan”
• Required an attack on France
before the Russians were
ready to act
• The Pressure of getting this
attack started early put
German mobilization on a path
of no return
• Attack Straight for Paris Unable to save Belgium, the
allies retreat into France where
a long siege is set
TRENCH WARFARE
• By 1915
each side
had
entrenched
itself in two
parallel
systems of
deep, ratinfested
trenches
Scale of Slaughter Horrific
• During the Battle of Somme the British
suffered 60,000 casualties in the first day
alone
• Final Casualties totaled 1.2 million
• Trench Warfare led to no territorial gains
and a back and forth. “Over the Top”
America Questions Neutrality
• Socialists criticized the war as capitalist
and Imperialist struggle between US and
Germany
• Many Americans didn’t want their sons to
experience the horrors of true warfare
• Many US ethnic ties -- 1/3 of the
population were tied to Germany,
England, France or Ireland (who
favored Germany).
AMERICANS MAKE A PROFIT
• The U.S. shipped a lot of goods to the
Allies
• The U.S. lent a lot of money to the allies
• Because of a British Blockade, Germany
uses U-boats to attack ships supplying
Britain and to break the Blockade
Germans Sink the Lusitania
• Germans declare any
British or U.S. ship
found in British waters
will be sunk
• Lusitania sunk, 1198
persons lost, 128
Americans
U.S. Enters the War
• Wilson called for peace after winning reelection
• Zimmerman Note – A telegram from the
German foreign minister to Mexico
intercepted by the British
• The Note promised that if war with the
U.S. broke out Germany would support
Mexico in Reclaiming lost territory in
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
U.S. Enters the War - Reasons
• More cultural ties with Allies
• Business interests
• Democracy vs Dictatorships
• Zimmerman Telegram
Section 2
American Power Tips the Balance
• The United States was not prepared for the war
• Only 200,000 men were in service when war
was declared and few officers had combat
experience
• Selective Service Act – required men to register
for the government in order to be randomly
selected for military service. Almost 3 million
called up.
Raising an Army
Mass Production in 4 steps
• Exempted Shipyard workers from the Draft
• Camber of Commerce started a public
relations campaign to emphasize the
importance of work
• Shipyards manufactured parts individually
for assembly elsewhere
• The Govt. took over commercial and
private ships and converted them for war
America Turns the Tide
• Convoy system
• American Expeditionary
force AEF – brought fresh
troops and enthusiasm
• Pershing thought the
entrenched allies were
too defensive
New Inventions
• Tank invented, new
tanks made out of
John Deer Tractors.
Bullets useless
• Airplane – At first
used only for
flying/scouting
The Collapse of Germany
• Russia drops out of the War
• Austria-Hungary Surrenders, the same day
German soldiers started Mutinying.
• German Republic Established
• Germans surrender, even though no allied
soldiers were on German territory and no
decisive battle had been fought
• Germans were on the Verge of Economic
Collapse
Effects of the First World War
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•
•
•
•
•
Death of four empires
Enormous debt on Germany
Massive death
Rise in global socialism
Spread of Fascism in Europe
Unresolved anger
Section 11.3
The War at Home
• Congress gives power to Wilson
• The entire economy had to be focused on
the War effort
• Congress gave Wilson power over the
economy, including the power to fix prices,
regulate and even nationalize industries
• War Industries Board – Help conservation
• Wages rose, but household income
remained stagnant because of inflation
• US spent about 35.5 Billion on the war
effort, 1/3rd raised by taxes
What is Propaganda?
• Ideas, facts, or allegations spread
deliberately to further one's cause or to
damage an opposing cause
• The goal of modern propaganda is no
longer to transform opinion but to
arouse an active and mythical belief
--Jacques Ellul, French Philosopher
Attacks on Civil Liberties
• Committee on Public information –CPI
• Created thousands of paintings, posters,
cartoons and sculptures promoting the war
• Conformity-The Process by which beliefs
or behaviors are influenced by a group
Attacks on Civil Liberties
• Orchestras refused to play Mozard, Bach
and Beethoven
• People resorted to violence with German
Americans, flogging or using Tar and
Feathers.
• The Hamburger changed to Salisbury
Steak, Sauerkraut to Liberty Cabbage
• Espionage and Sedition acts – A person
could be fined up to 10,000 and jailed for
20 years for speaking out against the war
(Eugene Debs)
• The Great Migration – Large Scale
movement of Hundreds of thousands of
Southern Blacks to escape Jim Crow
South
• The Flu Epidemic kills 500,000 Americans,
and over 30 million worldwide
Section 11.4
Wilson Fights for Peace
• Woodrow Wilson
traveled to Europe to
personally set terms
for peace
• Greeted as Hero
• England, France
wanted to Punish
Germany
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points
• The First 5 points were issues Wilson felt
had to be addressed in order to avoid
another war
• No secret treaties
• Freedom of the Seas maintained for all
• Tariffs should be lowered or abolished
• Arms reduction
• Colonial Policies should consider the
locals as well as the imperialist powers
League of Nations established
• The only major point of the 14 points
adopted
• Precursor to the United Nations
• Not adopted by the U.S. – Isolationism
• League could not enforce its decisions
Results of World War 1
• Reparations – Crippled economy Punish,
rather than heal
• No military
• German war guilt clause
• Russia stripped of territory became
determined to get it back