America in
World War I
America: Neutrality to War
When the war
began in 1914,
President
Woodrow Wilson
declared the U.S.
would remain
neutral and not
support either
side
Sinking of
the Lusitania
May 1915 – Lusitania sunk
by a German submarine
128 Americans among the
1200+ dead
U.S. was outraged, but not
willing to go to war
Stalemate in Europe
Map of the Western Front:
NW France and German border
The war was a
stalemate by 1916
Neither side was
capable of winning,
yet hundreds of
thousands were still
dying in the
trenches of the
“Western Front”
The U.S. as Peacemaker?
Wilson tried to act as a mediator
Wanted U.S. to be the “peacemaker”
for Europe
 Hoped to achieve a “peace without
victory”
Efforts at a diplomatic solution to
end the war failed
War Means Good Business
Although the U.S. was neutral, American
banks and companies were allowed to trade
with the belligerents (nations currently at
war)
Most of these goods and loans went to the
Allies – Great Britain and France
American ships carried goods to Europe
The U.S. economy boomed due to war
production
American Ships in Danger
German U-boats targeted American cargo ships
1916 - Germany promised to stop attacking
neutral ships if U.S. would convince Great
Britain to end its North Sea blockade of German
ports
The British refused – WHY?
Closer to Entering the War
Feb 1917 – Germany
resumed
“unrestricted
submarine warfare”,
sinking any ship that
came near England or
France
The U.S. broke off all
relations with
Germany
German U-boats
began to sink
American ships again
Fact: Few American lives were
lost to German subs, but dozens
of ships were sunk or damaged
between 1914-1917
The “Zimmermann Note”
Feb 1917 –
President Wilson
was given the
“Zimmermann Note”
by the British
This intercepted
telegram exposed a
proposed antiAmerican alliance
between Germany
and Mexico
The “Zimmermann Note”
Wilson kept it secret
for a month before it
was leaked to the
press – WHY?
Thought to be a
fraud, its
authenticity was
confirmed by
Germany in March
when it was
published
Wilson Asks for War
April 1917 – President
Wilson asked Congress
to declare war on
Germany
Wilson promised this
would be a “war to
end all wars” and
would make the world
“safe for democracy”
Senate: 82-6 for war
House: 373-50 for war
The U.S. Goes to War
April 6, 1917 – U.S.
declared war on
Germany and
entered the Great
War
U.S. is completely
unprepared
Wilson
immediately began
working on plans
for peace
Wartime Propaganda
George Creel headed the
Committee on Public
Information
Mission was to
encourage support for
the war by enlisting or
buying “liberty bonds”
Songs, movies, news
stories, posters, etc., used
General John J. Pershing
Nicknamed “Black
Jack” since he had led
African-American units
as a young officer
Commanded the A.E.F.
– “American
Expeditionary Force”
Successfully kept US
Army from being split up
by Allied command
Most influential Army
officer of the early
1900s
th
369
Infantry (NY)
The “Harlem Hellfighters” – NY National Guard unit
Fought in French Army since US Army would not
allow black troops in combat at first
First unit to have black officers
First US Army unit to enter Germany in Nov 1918
Eddie Rickenbacker
Race car driver from
Ohio
America’s top flying
“ace”
Scored 26 kills in
just 7 months of
combat
Changed spelling of
name so it wouldn’t
be “too German”
Sgt. Alvin C. York
Religious “mountain
man” from Tennessee
America’s most
decorated soldier in
WWI
Hero of the MeuseArgonne Offensive –
last major Allied attack
of war
Sgt. Alvin C. York
October 8, 1918
Killed 28 German
soldiers
Took 132 German
prisoners
Captured or eliminated
35 machine guns
Earned highest awards
for bravery from U.S.,
British, and French
armies
Other Famous Americans of World
War I
Walt Disney – Red Cross
ambulance driver
Harry
Truman –
artillery
captain
Ernest
Hemingway –
ambulance driver
American Soldiers
in the Great War
4.3 million men mobilized for war
350,000 casualties (killed, missing
and wounded)
8% casualty rate was the lowest
of any nation involved in the
fighting in Europe
Russia Quits the War
Feb 1917 – Czar
Nicholas II
overthrown
Oct 1917 – Russian
Communists
(Bolsheviks) took
over
Led by V.I. Lenin, the
new Soviet Union
(communist Russia)
signed peace treaty
with Central Powers
and left the war
The entire Romanov
family was executed
in Summer of 1918 to
prevent any return of
the monarchy
The End of the “Great War”
U.S. entry into war
made up for exit of
Russia
Allied Powers finally
pushed Germans back
by Fall 1918
Armistice signed –
Nov 11, 1918
1918-1919 – nations
met in France to
negotiate peace deal
Treaty of Versailles
 Talks held at famous
Versailles Palace
 Woodrow Wilson
represented U.S.
personally
 “Big Four” – leaders
of Great Britain,
France, Italy & U.S.
 Germany and
Soviet Union were
excluded from all
negotiations
The “Big
Four” at
Versailles
Delegates
crowded
into Hall of
Mirrors
Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”
“Fourteen Points” – Wilson’s plan for a
lasting peace after WW1
Main points:
1) Self-determination for all nations
2) Freedom of the seas & free trade
3) Prohibit secret alliances
4) Reduce armaments (weapons) for all
nations
5) Creation of new nation of Poland
6) Return to pre-war boundaries for most
Wilson’s League of Nations
Most controversial
part of Fourteen
Points was the
League of Nations
League was to be an
international
assembly that would
work to keep peace
and respond to
aggressive nations
A Harsh and Vengeful Treaty
Britain and France
wanted to punish
Germany for WW1
Terms were very
harsh
Wilson’s great desire
to get the League of
Nations led him to
agree to other terms
he did not like
The Punishment for WW1
 Treaty of Versailles:
1) Took away Germany’s armed forces
2) Took land from the Central Powers, especially
Germany and Austria-Hungary
3) Demanded Germany pay war reparations (debts)
for France and Great Britain ($33 billion)
4) France, Belgium & Great Britain took Germany’s
colonies across the globe
5) Created new nations: Poland, Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia, and split Austria-Hungary into
separate nations
6) Established Wilson’s League of Nations
The Treaty at Home
Public support originally in
favor of Treaty
Opposition grew to U.S.
involvement in League of
Nations
Feared U.S. would
become involved in
conflicts around the
world
Opposition led by Republican
Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge (Mass.)
Defeat of the Treaty in U.S.
Wilson campaigned to get
public support for Treaty
Suffered stroke in Pueblo,
CO in Sept 1919
Wilson refused to
compromise on the
League
U.S. Senate never
ratified the Treaty
U.S. never joined League
of Nations