WORLD WAR I
F R O M N E U T R A L I T Y TO WA R
TIMELINE PRACTICE
• Using the slips of paper
• Try to put the events in chronological order
• Please do not use your notes, phone or textbook
CAUSES OF WWI
• Militarism
– Glorifying ones military power and values
• Alliances
– Central Powers
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Ottoman Empire
– Allied Powers
• France
• Russia
• Britain
• Imperialism
– Conquering weaker nations/spreading ones ideas to weaker countries
• Nationalism
– Strong pride/loyalty in ones nation
POLICY OF NEUTRALITY
• President Woodrow Wilson wanted to stay neutral
• Offered loans and sold weapons/supplies
–"impartial in thought, as well as action"
• A country of immigrants
• By 1914, 32 million Americans were foreign born, or born
to foreign parents
GERMAN U-BOATS
• British had been blocking supplies to Germany
• Solution: German U-Boats
– Submarine
• Germany declared the waters around Britain a
war zone
– Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• International Law
– Search ships, sink only if passengers/crew were off
• Strict Accountability
– Wilson protested against German policy
LUSITANIA - 1917
• U-boat sinks the Lusitania, a passenger ship
– No warning
– 128 Americans killed
• Germany claimed it was carrying
weapons/supplies
– "murder on the high seas“ – T. Roosevelt
• Germany sunk two more ships
– Arabic (Britain)
– Sussex (France)
• Sussex Pledge
– Wilson threatened to break off diplomatic relations with
Germany if it did not stop surprise attacks.
– US and Britain agree to stop blockades
PREPAREDNESS MOVEMENT
• Movement led by former president Theodore
Roosevelt
– called on the government to increase U.S. military strength
– convince Americans of the need for U.S. involvement in the
war
• Advocates called for an army of a million trained men
and a navy larger than Great Britain's.
• Wilson eventually supported during re-election
• Propaganda
– information or rumor spread by a group or government to
promote its own cause or ideas or to damage an opposing
cause or idea.
ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM
• Britain intelligence broke code between
Germany and Mexico
– Zimmermann suggested that if the United States
entered the war, Mexico and Germany should
become allies
– Germany would then help Mexico regain lost
territory in
• New Mexico
• Texas
• Arizona
• U.S. enters war April 1917
U.S. @ WAR
SONGS FROM WWI
• Listen to "Over There"
– a song written during World War I
– by George M. Cohan, an American composer and entertainer.
Then answer these questions:
• What is the mood of this music? Does the mood match the lyrics? Explain.
• According to this song, why should young men fight in the war?
• What do you think Cohan's purpose was in writing this song?
SONGS FROM WWI
• Listen to "On Patrol in No-Man's Land,"
– a song written by James Reese Europe in 1919
• about his experience as a lieutenant in the 369th Regiment of the U.S. Army.
• Then answer these questions:
– What is the mood of this music? Does the mood match the lyrics?
Explain.
– According to this song, what dangers do soldiers have to look out
for?
– What do you think Europe's purpose was in writing this song?
A WAR OF FIRSTS
• Army of about 200,000
– Low pay, lacked equipment
• Selective Service Act
– National Draft
– All men ages 21 to 30 to register for military service at local
polling stations
• Doughboys
– First American troops to reach French soil
• Segregated forces
– Many were not allowed in combat
– 369th Regiment
• African American regiment
• Hell Fighters’
WWI TECHNOLOGIES
• Howitzers
– 600 bullets/min
• Flamethrower
• Heavy artillery
– 2,100-pound shell a distance of more than 9 miles.
• Rifle
– Most widely used
• Trench Warfare
• Chemical Warfare
• Airplanes
– Zeppelins
• Battleships
– Convoy system
WWI CRASH
COURSE
H T T P S : / / W W W. Y O U T U B E . C O M / W AT C H ?
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THE WAR AT
HOME
YOUR TASK
• The home front chart
THE TREAT Y OF
VERSAILLES
T O R AT I F Y O R N O T