CHAPTER 19
WORLD WAR I
(1914-1918)
U.S. (1917-1918)
What were the major causes of
World War I?
• Nationalism- devotion to
one’s interests and culture
of one’s nation.
• Imperialism
• Militarism- arms race
• Alliance System- Allies v.
Central Powers
• Assassination of
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria by a
Serbian
What was fighting like in World
War I?
• Soldiers spent most of
their time in trenches.
(Trench warfare)
• Horrible conditions
• No man’s landterritory in between
trenches where many
soldiers were killed.
What caused America to break
from the position of neutrality?
• Unrestricted submarine
warfare from the
Germans.
• Sinking of the British
passenger ship the
Lusitania.
• Zimmerman NoteGermans encouraged
Mexico to invade the U.S.
• April 2, 1917- U.S.
declares war (the world
must be safe for
democracy.)
Who was Eddie Rickenbacker?
• Famous American
fighter pilot of World
War I.
• Defeated the German
fighter pilot the Red
Baron.
• Downed 26 enemy
aircraft.
What was the Selective Service
Act?
• Required men to register
with the government to
be randomly selected for
military service.
• African Americans served
in segregated units.
• Women were in non
combat positions: nurses,
secretaries, phone
operators.
What was the convoy system?
• British navy used this
system to guard
merchant ships from
German submarines in
the Atlantic.
Who was General John J.
Pershing?
• Led American
Expeditionary Force in
World War I.
• U.S. troops called
doughboys.
• Aggressive combat
• Nicknames was Black
Jack.
What were the new weapons in
World War I?
•
•
•
•
•
Machine guns
Airships and airplanes
Anti-aircraft gun
Poison Gas
Tanks
Who was Alvin York?
• American World War
I veteran
• Conscientious
objector- opposed
warfare on moral
grounds
• Killed 25 Germans in
battle.
When did World War I end?
• Armistice DayNovember 11, 1918.
• 22 million dead
• 20 million wounded
• 10 million refugees
• American lost 48,000
men in battle and 62,000
from disease. More than
200,000 were wounded
in only 1 year of fighting.
What was the War Industries
Board?
• Established in 1917
under the leadership of
Bernard Baruch.
• Encouraged
companies to
produce products for
the war effort.
• Price controls
• War economy boomed
What was the Food
Administration?
• Help produce and
conserve food for the
war effort.
• Declared one day a
week to be meatless.
• Conserved sugar
• Victory gardens
• Led by Herbert
Hoover
What was the Committee on
Public Information (CPI)?
• Created by George
Creel.
• Created propaganda
for Americans to
support the war effort.
• Made the enemy look
evil.
• Encourage sacrifice
for America.
What were the Espionage and
Sedition Acts?
• Passed in 1917 and 1918.
• Jailed thousands for
speaking out against war
and immigrants.
• Jailed socialist like
Eugene V. Debs because
of fear of a socialist
revolution.
• Violated First Amendment
rights.
What was the Great Migration?
• Large scale movement
of thousands of blacks
to Northern cities from
the South.
• Worked in factories
during World War I.
• Escaped Jim Crow
South and faced
discrimination in the
North.
What were women doing during
World War I?
• Holding down the home
front.
• Working in factories.
• Working in noncombat
military positions.
• For their sacrifice, given
the right to vote in 1920
with the 19th
Amendment.
What disease became an
epidemic in 1918?
• Fall of 1918- the flu
impacted 25% of
Americans.
• Killed about 500,000
Americans.
What was the court case Schenck
V. U.S. (1919)?
• Free speech is not
protected during
wartime.
• Must pass the clear and
present danger test.
• Can’t yell fire in a
crowded theater because it
can result in injury.
• Decided by Oliver
Wendall Holmes
What was Woodrow Wilson’s
Peace Plan for World War I?
• Fourteen Points
• Some of the 14 Points
were:
No Secret Treaties
Freedom of the seas
Arms reduction
14th Point: Establishing a
League of Nations
(MOST
IMPORTANT!!!)
What was the Treaty of
Versailles?
• The Treaty that was
signed at the end of
World War I. (Treaty of
Revenge!)
• U.S. DID NOT sign
treaty and DID NOT
join League of Nations!
(Sen.Henry Cabot
Lodge)
• Germany is punished
with war reparations
(payments) leads to
economic hardship and
World War II