America: The Causes of
World War One
By: Jordan Hataway, Jake Fischer, Nick Barbero,
and Devin Hill
How the Alliance System, Failure of
Diplomacy, Imperialism/Colonial
Competition, the Militarism/Arms Race
and Nationalism Caused the U.S.A. to
Join World War One
Alliances
 U.S
allies were Italy, England, and
France during WWI.
 During the war they fought Germany and
Austria.
ALLIANCES
 The
U.S was never really part of the
League of Nations because they were
isolationist.
 There were two reasons why they
joined the Allied Power.
ALLIANCES
The U.S and
Great Britain had
a mutual
relationship.
Both countries
were good
trading partners.
The U.S was just fed up with the constant
attack by German submarines, they just
wanted payback.

Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was a
passenger ship that had
U.S. citizens on board. The
Germans were attacking
cargo ships with their UBoats and sinking them.
The Lusitania was
carrying weaponry even
though it was a commercial
boat. When the Germans
sank it, the U.S. went into
an outrage and was forced
into the war with
nationalism.
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points
The idea for the 14 points was
thought of by Wilson. He
believed that there should be no
more war. The ideas were based
around 3 ideas. They were;
making countries more open with
open diplomacy, boundary
control to eliminate feuds on
land, and to make a League of
Nations. This was his eventual
plan from the beginning of the
war.
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman telegram was a
way to get the U.S out to of
the war so Germany could
destroy the British. The
British intercepted the
message and told the U.S.
Eventually when the
Ambassador who got the
telegram brought it up in a
meeting and mentioned they
could get territory but they
would have to go to war with
the U.S. the president
declined the opposition.
Imperialism and
Colonization in the
U.S.A.
The Spanish American war

The Spanish American war was a feud
between the U.S. and Latin American
countries.
 After this war, America gained many new
colonies.
The Colonies of America

The American Colonies had many profitable
ways of income.
 One way was sugar plantations. Another
was labor and taxes.
Why the United States Joined the
War, and How They Prepared
Why America Joined the
War
America had many reasons to fight with the
Allies.

One was Britain intercepting the Zimmerman
telegram.
 Two was that the Russian Revolutions sparked the
anti-communism in America.
 Another reason was that Germans were not
following the rules of war. They attacked
unarmed civilian and commerce boats with their
“U-Boats” (Submarines)
The Arms Race

Because the US
entered the war late,
they did not have an
arms race with any
country.
 The people became
more and
more“geared up” for
war with each
German Offense.

While America did
not have an arms
race, against a
certain country, they
did have to get ready
for war very quickly
in the months before
they entered. They
also had a constant
struggle over naval
power.
Americas
Contributions

The biggest thing that America did for the
Allies was to donate money and equipment.

The Germans tried to defeat the Allies before
the US brought troops as reinforcements to the
Western Front.

The German “Offensive Movement failed,
and the Germans were pushed back.
NATIONALISM
 The

German U-boat sunk the Lusitania in 1915
Over 1,260 Americans died in the attack.
Nationalism
President Wilson vowed “America was too
proud too fight”, but he began getting angry
at Germany.
 The Zimmerman Telegram angered many
Americans.

Nationalism
 Germany
offered Mexico to enter the
war at their side, which was part of the
U.S
 Wilson
declared war after German
submarine continue attacking
American merchant ships, four ships
were destroyed.
Nationalism: Zimmerman
Telegram
•The Zimmerman
telegram was
intercepted by the
British in 1917. The
Germans were enlisting
the Mexicans to help
fight the Americans. In
return, they would gain
most of the conquered
lands of America.
•The Interception of
the Zimmerman
telegram sparked the
U.S. entrance to the
war.

Zahora, Renee World War One Power Point
2007World War I Reading Packet. 2007
 Farrar, Mounir. The Human Experience. Ohio:
McGraw Hill, 1997.
 Venzon, Anne ed. The United States in the First
World War II.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWI