GREEN DAY’S PERSPECTIVE
 CE 6.2.2 Explain the causes of WWI, the reasons for
American neutrality, and America’s role in shaping the
course of the war.
CAUSES OF WWI
 Nationalism*
 Imperialism—Euro powers competes with each other
for colonies
 Colonies provide raw materials and trade
 Militarism* (Example: German army and British navy)
 Allies*
 Triple Alliance/Central Powers*
AN ASSASINATION LEADS TO WAR
 The “powder keg of Europe”
 A spark to ignite the war—the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand*
 Setting off the alliance system
THE FIGHTING STARTS
 Schlieffen Plan –drive through Belgium to attack
France first and Russia second
 The Battle of Marne and the Battle of Somme used
trench warfare*
 Front line, support, and reserve trenches
 No man’s land*
AMERICANS QUESTION NEUTRALITY
 No reason—does not threaten our lives or property;
nor did we want to lose American lives; take care of us
 Immigrants favor it*
 Many Americans favor it due to close ties with Britain*
 America has close trading ties with the Allies
THE WAR HITS HOME
 British blockade of
German coast*
 German response
using U-boats
 Lusitania*
 Germany goes back and
forth with its promises to
stop U-boats
THE UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR
 Zimmerman Note/Telegram*
 April 6th, 1917 Congress and Woodrow Wilson declare
war to make the world “safe for democracy”
 CE 6.2.2 Explain the causes of America’s role in
shaping the course of WWI.
AMERICA MOBOLIZES
 America is not prepared upon entrance in war
 Selective Service Act*
 Trouble for African American soldiers
 Eight month training period with 17 hour days, worked
with fake weapons, target practice, bayonet drill, clean
the kitchen and grounds
 Women serve as nurses, secretaries, and telephone
operators
 Economy converts*
AMERICA TURNS THE
TIDE
 Convoy system*
 230 miles of mines
created between Norway
and Scotland in N. Sea
 Heavy German losses
FIGHTING OVER THERE
 European soldiers are already exhausted and
demoralized
 The American Expeditionary Force and John J.
Pershing*
 Use the machine gun, tanks (caterpillar treads and
made of steel), and planes (fire at each other with
pistols and machine guns)
 Observation balloons*
THE WAR INTRODUCES
NEW HAZARDS
 Surrounded by lice, rats,
polluted water
 Poisonous gas and dead
bodies
 Lack of sleep, shell
shock, and trench foot*
AMERICAN TROOPS GO TO THE OFFENSIVE
 1917 Russia backs out of the war; Germany focuses on
Paris, France
 We arrive in time to stop German advances; have quick
victories in which we go on the offensive (pg. 386)
 November 3, 1918 Austria-Hungary surrenders
 Germany in political upheaval*
 On the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, in the
eleventh month of 1918, Germany signs an armistice*
 Bloodiest war in history
with 22 mill. dead
 20 mill. wounded
 10 mill. refugees
 U.S. only lost 48,000;
62,000 die of diseases;
200,ooo wounded
 CE 6.2.3 Analyze the domestic impact of WWI on the
growth of the government, the expansion of the
economy, and the restrictions on civil rights.
CONGRESS GIVES POWER TO WILSON
 Govt. gives power to Woodrow Wilson to control a
war-time economy
 War Industries Board*
 Fuel Administration monitored coal supplies and
rationed gasoline, along with heating oil
 Citizen contributions when conserving fuel*
 Herbert Hoover and the Food Administration*
 “Victory gardens”
SELLING THE WAR
 Govt. spent 35.5 billion on the war
 Funded by taxes, borrowing money, and war bonds*
 George Creel, Committee on Public Information, and
propaganda*
 Creel persuades artists and advertisers to set up
posters, paintings, cartoons, and sculptures to
promote the war
ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES INCREASE
 Immigrants from Germany and Austria-Hungary are
attacked (pgs. 391 and 392)
 Espionage and Sedition Acts*
 Clearly, a violation of First Amendment rights; 2,000
prosecuted and over half convicted
THE WAR ENCOURAGES
SOCIAL CHANGE
 WWI contributed to the
Great Migration*
 Tried to escape racism,
discrimination, and
ruined cotton fields;
racial tension and
overcrowding caused
 Women move into jobs
held by men
 They were railroad workers, cooks, dockworkers, and
bricklayers
 Worked as Red Cross volunteers, grew gardens, and
encouraged the sale of bonds
JUST REMEMBER, AT ONE POINT, WE WERE ALL IN
THIS TOGETHER…
 CE 6.2.4 Explain how Wilson’s 14 Points differed from
proposals by others.
WILSON PRESENTS HIS
PLAN
 Paris: Wilson is greeted
as a hero
 Wilson’s 14 Points* pg.
399
 League of Nations*
 The “Big Four”—Wilson,
Clemenceau, Orlando,
Lloyd George*
DEBATING THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
 Treaty of Versailles*
 Germany cannot maintain an army; has to give AlsaceLorraine back to France
 War reparations*
 War-guilt clause*
 Russia lost more territory than Germany did because
of its withdrawal
 Wilson returns home to




promote the League of
Nations and the treaty
Republican disapproval*
Goes on an 8,000 mile tour,
delivers 34 speeches, and
suffers a stroke
Up for vote twice and
turned down each time
Sign a separate treaty with
Germany
THE LEGACY OF THE WAR
 Strengthened the military and the power of the govt.
 Europe experiences destruction of land and massive
loss of life
 Fascism and communism rise in Europe
 Leads to the vengeance of Adolf Hitler of Austria