World War I
I.
II.
Be able to locate each country on a map.
Be able to identify which countries are allied or central powers.
Allies:
Central Powers:
British Empire
German Empire
France
Austro-Hungarian Empire
United States
Ottoman Empire
Russia
Bulgaria
Serbia
Belgium
III.
The United States Ended a Long Period of Avoiding Involvement in European Conflicts
Key Question: Why did the United States change from a policy of neutrality to one of direct involvement?
P
Political and economic ties to Great Britain
U U-Boats (Submarine) Warfare & Sinking of the Lusitania
S
Secret Zimmerman Telegram
H Hard to Remain Neutral
Background:
P. United States political and economic ties to Great Britain.
Americans had an elected government, as did the British.
The main Central Powers nations had empires. In addition,
the United States was a major supplier to Great Britain’s war
effort.
U. U-Boats, German submarine warfare & sinking of
Lusitania. Germany ignored international law and went on a
campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare to prevent
supplies from reaching Great Britain. Germany could not
compete with Great Britain’s Navy on the water, but it could
do so under the sea. Germany warned passengers aboard the
http://www.teachpeace.com/teachpeacemoment9_files/image007.jpg
British luxury liner, Lusitania, that it was at war with Great
Britain and that the ship was in danger. The captain and the passengers ignored the warnings and
over 1,200 passengers went down with the ship, including 128 Americans.
S. Secret Zimmerman Telegram. The German Foreign Secretary, Arthur von Zimmerman, sent a
coded telegram to the Mexican ambassador stating that if the United States entered the war on the
Allied side, then Germany would help Mexico regain its lost territory from the Mexican American
War if Mexico would join the Central Powers. Shortly after learning of the telegram’s contents,
Wilson went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war.
H. Hard to remain neutral because of increasing threats to the national interests of the United
States. American merchant ships no longer traded with Germany due to the British blockade.
However, American companies continued to trade with Great Britain. Also, many Americans could
trace their heritage to Great Britain and other European nations, and most immigrants had family
members that were left behind in warring nations.
IV.
Conclusion of the War
Key Question: How did the United States show international leadership at the end of WWI?
1. President Woodrow Wilson created a peace plan called Fourteen Points
2. This plan called for the formation of a League of Nations; a peacekeeping organization
3. The United States did not join the League of Nations because the Senate refused to ratify
the Treaty of Versailles. There were disagreements about the extent to which the United
States should participate in world affairs.
4. United States emerged as a global superpower.
United States Leadership at the Conclusion of the War:
At the end of the war, the Allied leaders met in Versailles, outside of Paris, to hammer out a peace
plan called the Treaty of Versailles. President Wilson prepared a plan he called Fourteen Points
that proposed fourteen solutions to the problems that had been plaguing Europe. The last point of
the plan called for formation of the League of Nations. The League of Nations would be an alliance
of nations whose sole purpose was to find peaceful solutions to international problems so that there
would be an end to war.
The United States did not join the League of Nations over Wilson’s objections because the Senate
failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Opposition to the alliance grew because some lawmakers
believed joining the League of Nations would force the U.S. to become too entangled in European
affairs and might reduce its ability to defend its own interests. In addition, after the war, many in
the United States wanted to retreat into isolation. Instead, the United States signed independent
peace treaties with the former Central Powers, and Germany was given harsh punishments.
http://personal.stthomas.edu/wisn0046/asmatart/colonial3.html
V.
Propaganda
Key Question: What is the definition of propaganda?
It is a form of communication that aimed at influencing the attitude toward some cause or position
by presenting only one side.
VI.
Propaganda Techniques
Recruitment of Soldiers
Financing the War (war bonds/taxes)
Nationalism
Conservation of Resources