World War I
Prelude to War
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Political Unrest in Mexico, caused by a series of dictators who were
overthrown.
•
Carranza becomes Mexico’s president, which was met with much
animosity. Mexican forces opposed to Carranza conducted raids
into the U.S.
•
Led by Pancho Villa, guerrillas burned the town of Columbus,
New Mexico, killing 18 Americans. Wilson sent 6,000 troops
under General John J. Pershing who tried unsuccessfully to
caputre Villa in a nine-month pursuit that ended when Wilson’s
growing concern over the war in Europe led him to recall the
troops.
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In 1917, the U.S. expanded its naval power in the Caribbean by
purchasing the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
Long-term Causes
Nationalism- Encouraged competitiveness
between nations and encouraged various
ethnic groups to attempt to create nations of
their own.
Militarism- Involves the development of the
armed forces and their use as a tool of
diplomacy.
Imperialism- Closely linked with
industrialization and involves a contest for
colonies.
Triple Entente/ Allies
Triple Alliance/ Central Powers
The War Begins
1914- Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the thrown of AustriaHungary) is assassinated by a Slavic nationalist. Gavrilo Princip. This
causes Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, July 28, 1914.
Russia defends Serbia and begins mobilizing troops along the border
of Germany and Austria- Hungary.
Russia rejects Germany’s demands to stop mobilizing. In return,
Germany declares war on Russia (Aug. 1) and France (Aug. 3).
Germany called their plan of attack, the Schlieffen Plan and it was
effective because it would allow Germany to quickly invade France
through Belgium (friend of Great Britain). This caused Belgium and
Great Britain to declare war on Germany.
Result? The Schlieffen Plan FAILED because both sides were just as
powerful and ending up reaching a stalemate.
By August 4, all major powers in Europe are at war.
Triple Entente/ Allies
Triple Alliance/ Central Powers
U.S. “Neutrality”
Britain imposed a blockade on the Central Powers.
Exports from the U.S. to the Central Powers decreased. While exports from the
U.S. to the allies nearly quadrupled.
U.S. lent allies $2 billion
U.S. purchased $2 billion in Britain and French war.
Germans retaliated to the blockade by relying on a new weapon, the submarine.
The U-boat broke long established rules of warfare by sinking unarmed ships.
1915- British passenger liner, The Lusitania, was sunk. Nearly 1,200 passengers
drowned (including 128 Americans).
1916- U-Boat torpedoed the Sussex (French passenger ship), once again injuring
Americans on board.
Final Warning- U.S. demands that the German government abandon
submarine warfare or risk war.
U.S. “Neutrality”
Germany offers to compensate Americans injured on the Sussex and
promised not to sink anymore merchant ships without warning. This
was known as the Sussex Pledge.
Wilson wins reelection on a peace ticket, “he kept us out the war!”
Gruesome war- Use of poisonous gas, new weaponry (tanks, machine
guns) and new tactics (trench warfare). This makes Wilson want to
negotiate a peace treaty between warring nations.
Germany decides to resume unrestricted warfare. They were hoping to
starve Britain into submission with the permission to sink ships on site.
The Germans felt that even if this violated the Sussex Pledge causing the
U.S. to enter the war, we would not be able to raise an army and
transport it to Europe without the allies collapsing first.
Entering the War
February 3, 1917- we break off diplomatic relations with
Germany.
Zimmerman Telegram- The German foreign minister, Arthur
Zimmerman, wrote to the German ambassador in Mexico to
arrange an alliance between Mexico and Germany (if the U.S.
entered the war). To encourage Mexico’s cooperation, Germany
promised that Mexico would regain Texas, Arizona and New
Mexico, upon a Germany victory.
This telegram was intercepted by Britain and the U.S. published
the telegram, which caused an outrage in the U.S.
In addition to the note, FOUR American merchant ships were
sunk without warning between March 12- 19.
Raising an Army
Selective Service Act- (May 1917) Required all men between 21
and 30 to register for military service. The draft was eventually
extended to include all men between 18 and 45.
By June, nearly 10 million men were registered
Among those registered, 370,000 were African Americans who
encountered rampant discrimination and prejudice in the army.
African Americans:
Had their own units which were completely segregated.
Were not allowed to serve in the Marine Corps
In the Navy were restricted to lower ranks (10,000)
Fought valiantly despite these set-backs.
Won much praise for their efforts- 369th infantry regiment (African
American regiment that saw continuous fighting on the western front)
Opposition to the War
Pacifists- “Perceived all wars as evil.”
Socialists- Saw the war as an
“imperialistic struggle.”
Victory on Land and Sea
Germany made a last desperate effort to win the war (almost did).
The tide turned in mid-July 1918, as Marshall F. Foch, supreme
commander of the Allied armies, ordered a counteroffensive
along the Western Front close to the German border.
American troops- near Verdun (Northeast France)
550,000 doughboys won an overwhelming victory at St. Mihiel and
continued through German lines.
Germany signs an armistice (temporary stop to fighting) on Nov.
11, 1918.
The last months of the war were darkened by an influenza
epidemic that killed more people worldwide than all of the
wartime battles.
Managing the Economy
Liberty Bonds- Special war bonds sold by the government to
support the Allies during World War I.
Industry from commercial goods  war goods.
New Agencies:
War Industries Board: Headed by Bernard Baruch, oversaw the
nation’s war- related production.
War Trade Board: Licensed foreign trade and punished firms
suspected of dealing with the enemy.
National War Labor Board: Set up under Taft, worked to settle any
labor disputes that might disrupt the war effort.
War Labor Policies Board: Set standards for wages, hours, and
working conditions in the war industries.
Regulating Food and Fuel
Consumption
1917, Lever Food and Fuel Control Act- Gave the President the
power to manage the production and distribution of foods and
fuels vital to the war effort.
Created the Fuel Administration“Gasless days”
Daylight Savings Time (increased work day)
Food Administration- Worked to increase farm output and reduce
waste.
Price Controls
System of rationing (distribution goods to consumers in a fixed
amount)
Enforcing Loyalty
News and Info came under federal control.
Censorship of the press
Banned publications from the mails
1917, George Creel, a Denver journalist and former muckraker,
was appointed the head of the Committee on Public Information.
Short films, pamphlets explaining war aims, posters advertising
recruitment and Liberty Bonds.
Fear of espionage (spying) was widespread.
Hostility towards Germans
Books by German authors and German music disappeared,
Hamburger  salisbury steak, German shepards  Police dogs.
Repression of Civil Liberties
U.S. would fight for liberty and democracy and warned that
disloyalty would be dealt with.
Espionage Act- Made it illegal to interfere with the draft.
Amended in 1918 by Sedition Act.
Sedition is any speech or action that encourages rebellion.
Sedition Act- Made it illegal to obstruct the sale of Liberty Bonds, or
to discuss anything “disloyal, profane, or abusive” about the
government, the Constitution or the armed forces.
As a result of the war, about 400,000 women joined the industrial work
force for the first time.
Global Peacemaker
Fourteen Points- Proposals given by President Wilson on January
8, 1918 (prior to the end of the war). These points outlined the
post- World War I peace treaty later negotiated at the Paris Peace
Conference and were partially fulfilled in the conference’s
resulting Treaty of Versailles.
Seven of the points proposed territory adjustments, and the
fourteenth point was the basis for the League of Nations, which the
U.S. never joined.
League of Nations- An organization in which the nations of the world
would join together to ensure security and peace for all its members.
Article 10, “members of the League would regard an attack on one
country as an attack on all.”
The Peace Treaty
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The Allies accepted Wilson’s plan for the League of Nations,
opposition to the League from the Congress and many Americans
had weakened Wilson’s position at the conference.
•
France wanted harsh penalties against Germany (Wilson feared
this would lead to future wars).
•
Treaty of Versailles- Lost of territory for European nations.
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Ottoman Empire- Lost territory
Austria-Hungary- Split up
Germany- lost territory and was stripped of its colonies. They were
also required to pay for damage it had done in Europe and to repay
the Allies for the cost of the war.
Red Scare
Congress passed new restrictive immigration laws in part because of
the growing fear of socialism that was spreading through southern and
eastern Europe.
After Russia collapsed to communism in the Russian Revolution of
1917, panic swept across the United States. In the Red Scare of 1919–
1920, Americans became suspicious that they might fall victim to a
communist plot to take over the country.
The two main methods that workers’ unions used to create fair labor
agreements—striking and collective bargaining—came to be seen as
tools of socialists and anarchists.
As a result, labor unions were frowned upon and dwindled in number
and size. Several hundred Americans who affiliated with the
Communist and Socialist parties were arrested, as were labor
organizers and others who criticized the U.S. government.
Racial Tension
Accompanying the Red Scare was a wave of racism.
Racial tensions rose as white soldiers returned from
Europe and found themselves competing for jobs and
housing with African Americans.
Prohibition
By January 1919, two- thirds of the states had ratified
the Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting “the
manufacture, sale or transportation” of intoxicating
beverages.
Nineteenth Amendment- Women’s suffrage.