II. War Begins:
• The American Response:
-some Americans felt personally involved –
Why? 1/3 were 1st or 2nd generation
immigrants
-most Americans wanted to Allies to win –
Why?
1) Cultural ties with England
2) Most of the news from the war came from
England
3) Kaiser Wilhelm II, German leader, was an
II. War Begins:
• The U.S. remained neutral at first and
continued to trade with both sides
-we were an isolated country at that time
III. U.S. Declares War:
• 3 Major Events led the U.S. to join the
Allies:
1) Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine
warfare – Ex:
a. Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915)
– British passenger liner sunk by a
German u-boat because it was secretly
carrying weapons for the Allies – 1,200
died (128 Americans)
III. U.S. Declares War:
b. Sinking of the Sussex (March 24,
1916) – French passenger liner sunk by
a u-boat – the Germans later agreed to the
Sussex Pledge (promised to warn ships
before attacking) – kept the U.S. out of the
war
III. U.S. Declares War:
• Election of 1916 – Pres. Wilson ran under
the slogan “He kept us out of the war” and
was re-elected
• Feb. 1, 1917: Germany resumed
unrestricted submarine warfare – thought
they could defeat the British and win the
war before the U.S. could make a
difference
III. U.S. Declares War:
• Feb. 3, 1917: Wilson ended Am. neutrality
by arming merchant ships – “armed
neutrality”
III. U.S. Declares War:
2) Zimmerman Note / Telegram – German
foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman,
made a secret offer to Mexico
-if they would attack the U.S., then they
would be given back the lost territory in
TX, AZ, and NM
-the note was intercepted by the British
-neither Wilson nor Mexico took the note
seriously
-however, the American public called for
war
Zimmerman Note
III. U.S. Declares War:
3) Revolution in Russia – March 1917, Czar
Nicholas II was overthrown and replaced
by a republican (democratic) gov’t
-since a czar was no longer in power, the
U.S. viewed Russia as an acceptable ally
-this was the last stumbling block to a full
Am. commitment to the Allies
III. U.S. Declares War:
• Pres. Wilson
asked Congress to
declare war on
Germany saying…
“The world must be
made safe for
democracy.”
• War was declared
on April 6, 1917
V. Americans on the European Front:
• American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) –
led by Gen. John J. Pershing – arrived in
Paris on June 14, 1917 – provided
reinforcements to British and French
troops
-U.S. soldiers nicknamed doughboys
V. Americans on the European Front:
• The first job of the doughboys was to help
England attack the German u-boats –
Americans thought they would only
provide naval assistance at first
• Convoy system – began in May 1917 –
group of unarmed merchant ships
surrounded by armed naval ships –
reduced number of ships sunk
V. Americans on the European Front:
• The Bolshevik Revolution (communist
revolution in Russia – Oct. 1917) changed
the involvement of Am. soldiers
-led by Vladimir Lenin
-Russia signed a treaty with Germany in
March 1918 to drop out of the war
-allowed Germany to send all troops to the
Western Front
-forced U.S. to send in more foot soldiers
to help Allies
V. Americans on the European Front:
• Battle of Chateau-Thierry (June 1918) –
major turning point in the war – U.S.
helped French save Paris and began to
push German lines back towards Germany
• Battle of Argonne Forest (Sept.-Nov.
1918) – last critical battle of the war – 47
day battle – 1.2 million Allied troops began
to push German lines back and eventually
broke through
VI. Postwar:
• An armistice (cease fire) was signed on
Nov. 11, 1918 (11th hour, 11th day, 11th
month)
• WWI Casualties:
-Russia – 9 million
-Germany – 7 million
-France – 6 million
-A-H – 7 million
-England – 4 million
-U.S. – 364,000
VI. Postwar:
• WWI’s Impact on U.S.:
-lost 116,000 young men
-created a distrust of foreigners
-created new opportunities for women and
Afr. Am’s.
-higher wages
-booming economy – richest nation in world
VI. Postwar:
• Pres. Wilson’s Plan for Peace:
-to prevent future world wars he outlined his
goals in his “Fourteen Points” speech
before Congress – included:
1) Ban on secret treaties / alliances
2) Freedom of the seas
3) Reduction of arms
VI. Postwar:
4) self-determination, or power to make
decisions about one’s own future, for all
A-H’s ethnic groups
5) League of Nations – international org.
that would help keep world peace and
maintain order
VI. Postwar:
• Paris Peace Conference (Jan. 1919) –
attended by the “Big 4” (leaders of the 4
major Allied powers):
1) Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)
2) David Lloyd George (G.B.)
3) George Clemenceau (France)
4) Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
The Big Four
VI. Postwar:
-remember: Russia had dropped out of the
war in 1917 and Italy joined Allies in 1915
-Goals – Wilson concerned about world
peace – brought 14 Points with him – the
other 3 leaders wanted to punish Germany
(esp. France)
VI. Postwar:
-Treaty of Versailles – officially ended WWI
– compromise – included:
1) War Guilt Clause – forced Germany to
take the blame for starting the war (big
mistake!)
2) Germany stripped of all colonies
3) Germany forced to pay reparations
(payment for damages) to Allies - $33
billion total
VI. Postwar:
4) League of Nations created
5) Created new countries based on selfdetermination:
-Poland
-Austria
-Finland
-Estonia
-Czechoslovakia -Latvia
-Yugoslavia
-Lithuania
-Hungary
VI. Postwar:
• Germany refused to sign treaty at first (too
hard on them) – they eventually did sign it
on June 28, 1919
• Republicans in Congress were upset that
they were not represented in Versailles
(Wilson was a Dem.), so they refused to
approve the treaty – never joined League
of Nations (very weak without U.S.)