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19
The First World War
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
INTERACT WITH HISTORY
TIME LINE
MAP
GRAPH
SECTION
1 World War I Begins
SECTION
2 American Power Tips the Balance
SECTION
3 The War at Home
SECTION
4 Wilson Fights for Peace
VISUAL SUMMARY
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19
The First World War
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
To understand the causes of World War I, the
reasons the United States entered the war in
1917, and the consequences of the war
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19
The First World War
INTERACT
WITH HISTORY
The year is 1917. A bitter war is raging in Europe—a war that
has been called a threat to civilization. At home many people
are urging America to wake up and get involved, while others
are calling for the country to isolate itself and avoid the fight.
Do you think America should enter the war?
Examine the Issues
• Is it right for America to intervene in foreign conflicts?
• When American lives are threatened, how should the
government respond?
• Should America go to war to make the world “safe for democracy”?
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The First World War
TIME LINE
The United States
The World
1914 Hollywood, California, becomes the center
of movie production in the United States.
1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are
assassinated. Germany declares war on Russia
and France. Great Britain declares war on
Germany and Austria-Hungary.
1915 German U-boats sink the Lusitania, and
1,198 people die; Alexander Graham Bell makes
first transcontinental telephone call.
1915 Albert Einstein proposes his general theory
of relativity.
1916 Woodrow Wilson is reelected president.
1916 The battles of Verdun and the Somme
claim millions of lives.
1917 The Selective Service Act sets up the draft;
The United States declares war on Germany.
1917 Russia withdraws from the war.
1918 Congress passes the Sedition Act. President
Wilson proposes the League of Nations.
1918 The Bolsheviks establish a Communist
regime in Russia. The First World War ends.
1919 Congress approves the Nineteenth
Amendment, granting women the vote.
1919 A worldwide influenza epidemic
kills over 30 million.
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MAP
1
World War I Begins
KEY IDEA
Long-term tensions erupt into a devastating
war among European nations, while the
United States tries to remain neutral.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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MAP
1
World War I Begins
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
As World War I intensified,
the United States was forced
to abandon its neutrality.
The United States remains
involved in European and
world affairs.
TERMS & NAMES
• nationalism
• Central Powers
• Lusitania
• militarism
• no man’s land
• Zimmermann note
• Allies
• trench warfare
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand
ASSESSMENT
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MAP
1
World War I Begins
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List
the causes for the outbreak of World War I.
Causes of WWI
nationalism
imperialism
militarism
alliance
system
continued . . .
MAP
1
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World War I Begins
ASSESSMENT
2. Describe some ways in which World War I threatened
the lives of civilians on both sides of the Atlantic.
ANSWER
German U-boats threatened transatlantic ships carrying
civilians.
continued . . .
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MAP
1
World War I Begins
ASSESSMENT
3. Why were America’s ties with the Allies stronger
than its ties with the Central Powers?
ANSWER
Americans felt close ties to Britain because of a common
ancestry and language, as well as similar political and
legal institutions. Before the war, American trade with
Britain and France was more than double that with
Germany. During the war, trade with the Allies increased.
continued . . .
MAP
1
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World War I Begins
ASSESSMENT
4. Why do you think Germany escalated its U-boat
attacks in 1917? Think About:
• Germany’s military buildup
• the effects of the British blockade
• Germany’s reason for using submarine warfare
ANSWER
Germany was finding it increasingly difficult to import
foodstuffs and fertilizers. Famine spread throughout the
country. Perhaps, Germany saw the United States’ refusal
to challenge the blockade as an expression of allegiance to
the Allies. Germany sent out U-boats prepared to sink any
ship found in British waters.
End of Section 1
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2
American Power Tips the Balance
KEY IDEA
American forces, though poorly equipped
at the outset, tip the balance decisively in
favor of the Allies.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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2
American Power Tips the Balance
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The United States mobilized
a large army and navy to help
the Allies achieve victory.
During World War I, the United States
military evolved into the powerful
fighting force that it remains today.
TERMS & NAMES
• Eddie Rickenbacker
• American Expeditionary Force
• conscientious objector
• Selective Service Act
• General John J. Pershing
• armistice
• convoy system
• Alvin York
ASSESSMENT
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2
American Power Tips the Balance
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts.
Provide several examples of how the Americans
responded to the war.
The government
encouraged
people to work in
the shipyards.
The government
quickly raised an
army and navy.
American Responses
to World War I
American troops
were enthusiastic
participants in the
conflict.
American troops
helped turn the tide
against the Central
Powers.
continued . . .
2
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American Power Tips the Balance
ASSESSMENT
2. In what ways did WWI represent a frightening new
kind of warfare? Think About:
• the casualty figures
• new military technology
• shell shock
ANSWER
World War I introduced mechanized warfare. This new
technology meant that more soldiers could be attacked from
a greater distance than ever before. Fire power increased
and casualty rates skyrocketed. The horrific conditions on
the battlefront led many to suffer from shell shock.
End of Section 2
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GRAPH
3
The War at Home
KEY IDEA
The war unleashes a series of disruptions
in American society as the United States
government attempts to meet the demands
of modern warfare.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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GRAPH
3
The War at Home
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
World War I spurred social,
political, and economic
change in the United States.
Such changes increased government
powers and expanded economic
opportunities.
TERMS & NAMES
• War Industries Board
• propaganda
• Espionage and Sedition Acts
• Bernard M. Baruch
• George Creel
• Great Migration
ASSESSMENT
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GRAPH
3
The War at Home
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts.
List some of the changes that the war brought about
for each group listed in the chart.
Changes Brought About by the War
African Americans
• war accelerated the Great Migration
• expanded job opportunities
Women
• hired as workers in jobs once exclusively
held by men
Immigrants
• encountered suspicion and persecution
continued . . .
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GRAPH
3
The War at Home
ASSESSMENT
2. How did the war affect government power? Think About:
• how private business worked with government
• how much control the president gained over the economy
• the Espionage and Sedition Acts
ANSWER
The war expanded government power over private business and
the economy and interfered with civil liberties and free speech.
continued . . .
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3
The War at Home
ASSESSMENT
3. Why do you think the flu spread so quickly among
the troops?
ANSWER
The flu spread so quickly among the troops because of the
cramped living conditions.
continued . . .
GRAPH
3
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The War at Home
ASSESSMENT
4. Do you think that the war had a positive or negative
effect on American society? Think About:
• how the propaganda campaign influenced people’s behavior
• the new job opportunities for African Americans and women
• how the government controlled industry
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
Positive effects of the war: expanded opportunities for
African Americans and women
Negative effects of the war: increased government control
and eroded personal liberties; encouraged persecution of
ethnic groups
End of Section 3
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4
Wilson Fights for Peace
KEY IDEA
President Wilson’s plans for peace are modified
by Allied leaders in Europe and by Americans
who are eager to remove the country from
foreign entanglements.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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4
Wilson Fights for Peace
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
European leaders opposed most of
Wilson’s peace plan, and the U.S.
Senate failed to ratify the peace treaty.
Many of the nationalist issues left
unresolved after World War I continue
to trouble the world today.
TERMS & NAMES
• Fourteen Points
• David Lloyd George
• war-guilt clause
• League of Nations
• Treaty of Versailles
• Henry Cabot Lodge
• Georges Clemenceau
• reparations
ASSESSMENT
4
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Wilson Fights for Peace
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts.
List the provisions and weaknesses of the Treaty of
Versailles, and explain the opposition to it.
The Treaty of Versailles
continued . . .
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4
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts.
List the provisions and weaknesses of the Treaty of
Versailles, and explain the opposition to it.
Established nine new countries
Shifted boundaries of many countries
Punished Germany
The Treaty of Versailles
Humiliated Germany
Ignored Russia
Ignored self-determination
Hoover and others considered
it too harsh.
Some considered it a sellout to imperialism.
Some ethnic groups objected to new boundaries.
continued . . .
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4
Wilson Fights for Peace
ASSESSMENT
2. Why didn’t the Treaty of Versailles lay the foundations
for a lasting peace?
ANSWER
The Treaty of Versailles created resentment among the
German citizens and their government officials.
continued . . .
4
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Wilson Fights for Peace
ASSESSMENT
3. Why did so many Americans oppose the Treaty of
Versailles?
ANSWER
Many Americans believed that the treaty was too harsh,
and the economic consequences would ruin Europe and
the United States.
continued . . .
4
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Wilson Fights for Peace
ASSESSMENT
4. Predict Germany’s reaction to the Treaty of Versailles.
Think About:
• what Germans thought of the war-guilt clause
• German reaction to reparations
• how Germans felt about the loss of territory
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSE:
Germans, enraged by the harsh terms set for them in the
treaty, would one day seek revenge.
End of Section 4