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US History
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November WWI Key Terms
1) Causes of WWI (The Great War) – Include Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism, and Alliances
with the ignition of Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated by a 19 year old member of the
Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip by firing two shots killing Francis and his wife Sophie
Ferdinand. Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia … Others include the U-boat attack of the
Lusitania (the German “barbarians”) and the military buildup (militarism) ((Germany and the
Central Powers actions pushed Congress and the President into entering the war on the side of
the Allies. June of 1917, Pershing kept independence from the allied forces in order to prepare
for offensive moves, because he feared the allies had become too accustom to defensive action
2) Sedition Act – amended the Espionage Act / sedition is speech or actions that encourage
rebellion
3) Vigilantes – citizens who take the law into their own hands
4) War Trade Board – licensed foreign trade and punished firms suspected to have been dealing
with the enemy
5) 4 minute men – Modern day Psychological Warfare special forces where an army of 75,000
“four-minute men” gave brief speeches before movies, plays, and school or union meetings to
persuade or propagandized audiences to buy Liberty Bonds to support the Allied cause
6) Vladimir Lenin – (Leninism) Believed that Communism needed to be forced forward by an elite
power, not just the common man, He led his communist Revolution according to his
interpretation of Karl Marx for his Industrialization (his followers were called the Bolsheviks who
violently overthrew Russian’s government in November of 1917. His promise for peace with
Germany if he ever gained control of Russia was arranged with the help of the German’s in April
of 1917. This armistice among the Germans and the now Russian leader Lenin drastically turned
the tables of war by strategically limiting the once 2 front war to a 1 front war with all forces
pounding the French and German lines.
7) Ben Baruch – Headed a War Industries Board by overseeing the nation’s war-related production
which had extensive powers that included the doling of raw materials, what and how much to
produce, and even fixed prices
8) Nationalism – love for one’s country (to act in their own national interest) (the longing for an
ethnic minority for independence)
9) Militarism – the act of aggressively building up a nation’s military to prepare for war / glorifying
war and the use of force (the endless planning for war) (Example: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany
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was a strong believer in this alliance system
10) Archduke Francis Ferdinand – Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne where Bosnia was recently
established as a new province within the empire. Ferdinand was assassinated by Princip, a
Bosnian nationalist who believed that Austria-Hungary had no right to rule Bosnia
11) Central Powers – Germany and Austria Hungary
12) Allies – In WWI, Russia, France, Great Britain, and later the United States (Italy chose later to be
allied with GB & France but not getting its way during the Treaty of Versailles they switched
sides; in WWII, the alliances of GB, US, the Soviet Union, and other nations
13) Autocrat – Ruler with unlimited power
14) American Neutrality – Before the US entered war the US remained neutral from picking
sides (the Allied or Central powers) until February 3, when Wilson asked Congress to arm American
merchant ships in response to the Sussex pledge until the Zimmerman note that was coded and intercepted by Great
Britain which Germany proposed alliance with Mexico then the Czar Nicholas II was forced to give up power where all
of the factors were in place and we no longer accepted Neutrality but accepted the war resolution that was signed April
6, 1917 by Wilson ending his ideal for peace
15) U-boat – short for Unterseeboot German submarine
16) Lusitania – Passenger ship that was sank May 7, 1915, when a German U-boat that helped spark
the US entrance into war
17) Sussex Pledge – Pledge by the German Government in 1916 that its submarines would warn
ships before attacking (March 24, 1916 because the German’s failed to warn)
18) Zimmerman note – (secret offer to Mexico in relation to an Alliance with Germany) the capture
and translation of the Zimmermann telegram was one of the events that ended the
neutrality position of the United States during World War I. This telegram was written by
the German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico.
It was intercepted and decoded by the British in January 1917. The British presented the
decoded message to President Woodrow Wilson on February 24, 1917, and American
newspapers published it on March 1. It revealed Germany's intention to resume
submarine warfare, suggested that Mexico ally with Germany, convince Japan to join
Germany, and promised somewhat vaguely that Mexico would regain territories lost to
the United States in return for their cooperation. American opinion was immediate
outrage, and in just over a month's time, the United States declared war on Germany and
her allies and joined World War I.
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Period __________
19) Russian Revolution – March 1917, Czar Nicholas II, Russia’s autocratic leader, was forced to give
up power. The Russian monarchy was replaced with a republican government. This helped
sway public opinion toward the alliance with the Russians.
20) Selective Service Act – (Conscription) (draft) 1917 law authorizing a draft of young men for
military service
21) American Service Act –Program of required service in the military
22) American Expeditionary Force – (AEF) Name given to American troops in Europe in WWI
23) Corporal Alvin York – (at least 3 facts) – (1787-1964) – 1st he was a member of the 82nd Infantry
Division, 2nd York took part in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive where on 10/8/1918 his patrol
attempted to destroy a German machine gun nest, 3rd ½ of his men were lost and the others
took cover while York continued the attack on his own, killing 25 machine gunners with his rifle
and pistol and capturing 132 German Soldiers, 4th was quoted as saying to a general “ General, I
would hate to think I missed any of them shots; they were all at pretty close range – 50 to 60
yards.”, 5th For his heroism above and beyond the duty he was offered two awards (The
Congressional Medal of Honor and 6th The French Croix de Guerre)
24) Armistice – Cease fire or Truce for example the Christmas Truce of WWI to stop fighting for
Christmas from the recognized song “Silent Night”
25) Genocide – Deliberate murder of an entire people (mass murder of a certain ethnicity) Example:
Ottoman forces killed Armenian civilians who they suspected disloyalty to the government
26) Liberty bonds – Special war bonds sold to support the Allied cause during World War I
27) Rationing – Distributing goods to consumers in a fixed amount
28) Daylight Savings Time – Turning clocks ahead one hour for summer
29) Espionage Act – illegal to interfere with the draft
30) Sedition Act – made it illegal to obstruct the sale of Liberty Bonds or discuss anything “disloyal,
profane, scurrilous, or abusive” about the American form of government, the Constitution, or
military.
31) Fourteen Points of (President - Woodrow Wilson) – Wilson’s vision for Peace - He wanted a
plan that would save the world from ever having another world war. In his speech, Wilson said that "the
peoples of the world are partners." He even said that Germany, our enemy in the war, should be treated
with fairness and respect. He said, "We wish her (Germany) only to accept a place of equality among the
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peoples of the world." President Wilson and his advisors decided on a speech that broke his plan down
into fourteen points. The fourteen points covered all of the problems that Wilson thought needed to be
addressed. There were several points about what to do with the lands that were claimed by more than
one country. There were points about how to deal with Germany and the other defeated countries.
There were also points aimed at avoiding future wars. Point one said that the peace
agreements should be held in the open; there should be no secret deals.
Point two said that all countries should have freedom to sail the seas.
Point three called for open trade between nations. Point four called
for arms reduction. Points five through thirteen dealt with the way in
which claims to land would be settled. They called for a breakup of the
large empires and for allowing groups of people to decide on the
futures of their own countries. Point fourteen called for the formation
of the League of Nations. This would be an international organization that would settle
disputes, so that those disputes would not escalate into wars. One thing that Wilson's plan did not call for
was punishment. His plan would not treat the defeated countries harshly. Wilson felt that this was an
important step toward peace in the future. His plan was one that he felt was fair for all of the countries
involved; it was not only what was best for the United States. As Wilson said, "Unless justice is done to
others, it will not be done to us." For now, President Wilson was only presenting his speech to the United
States Congress. Eventually, when it was time for the peace conference, he hoped to present this plan to
all of the countries that had been involved in World War I. He also hoped that all of the countries would
accept his plan. Finally, he hoped that there would never be another world war.
32) Self-determination – power to make decisions about one’s own future ( Wilson’s compromise
about ethnic
33) League of Nations –organization in which the nations of the world would join together to
ensure security and peace for all members. Article 10 “attack on one is an attack on all” sharply
opposed by the Republican Senators maybe because Wilson failed to recognize them. Wilson
said this is a moral obligation, but not a law, because it allows Congress to make interpretation
34) Reparations – payment of economic injury suffered during the war (Germans’ were forced to
pay these reparations under the Treaty of Versailles)
35)
Versailles Treaty – Treaty that made Germany pay reparations at the conclusion of WWI
(payment of $33 billion to the Allies) (the big four – USA, France, Great Britain, and Italy) France
wanted the German’s to pay for their actions… (war guilt and reparations) * Italy wanted land but,
didn’t get, switched sides during WWII