I.
Introduction
A. Internationalists
1. Realists – balance of power (Theodore Roosevelt)
2. Idealists – justice and peace would bring democracy (Woodrow Wilson)
B. Isolationists – foreign involvement would hurt social progress at home
II.
Causes of World War I
A. Nationalism
1. Devotion to the interests and culture of your nation
2. Belief that your country is better than the rest
B. Imperialism
1. When a nation extends its economic and political control over various
peoples
2. Example – British Empire (India, Canada, etc.)
C. Militarism
1. Development of armed forces and used as a tool of diplomacy
2. Bigger your military, more political power
D. Alliance system
1. I’ve got your back, if you’ve got mine
2. 2 main alliances
a) Triple Entente – Britain, France, Russia
b) Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
III.
What event started the war?
A. Balkan Peninsula (“powder keg of Europe”)
1. Bosnia – controlled by Austria-Hungary
2. Many Serbians lived in nearby Bosnia
3. Archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo, Bosnia
a) Assassinated by Serbian
b) Member of the Black Hand
B. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
1. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary
2. Germany declared war on Russia, then France
3. Britain declares war on Germany & Austria-Hungary
IV.
War begins . . .
A. Germany invades Belgium (August 3, 1914)
1. Schlieffen Plan
a) hold the line against Russia, while push through Belgium to France
b) Once France is defeated, Germany would defeat Russia
B. Alliances change
1. Triple Alliance  Central Powers
a) Adds Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire
2. Triple Entente  Allied Powers
a) Eventually adds U.S.A., Italy, Japan and 58 other countries
V.
Trench Warfare
A. Marne River in France
1. Front Line Trench
2. Support Trench
3. Reserve Trench
4. No Man’s Land
st
B. 1 Battle of the Somme
1. July – November 1916
2. 1.2 million soldiers died
VI.
Causes of U.S. entry into the war
A. Traded more with Allies (Britain & France)
B. Propaganda
1. War of words to get support of the people
2. Bryce Report – claimed Germans did horrible things
a) Raped women and children
b) Destroyed churches and museums
c) Burned books
d) Stole priceless art
C. Blockades
1. British naval blockade against Germany
a) American food couldn’t get through
b) 750,000 Germans died of starvation
2. German blockade of Britain
a) U-boats (submarines)
b) Sunk British ships, including Lusitania in which Americans died
c) Germans sunk French liner called the Sussex
3. Sussex Pledge
a) Agreed to stop targeting unarmed ships
b) U.S. protested, Germany backed down, but kept doing it
c) Wilson re-elected because he kept U.S. out of war
D. Zimmerman Note
1. Telegram from German foreign minister to German ambassador in
Mexico; intercepted by British agents
2. If Mexico attacked U.S., Germany would help them get back Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona
E. Russian Revolution
1. Oppressive Czar Nicolas II was overthrown and replaced with
representative government
2. War of democracies vs. brutal monarchies
VII.
America Mobilizes for war
A. Raise an army – only had 200,000 men in armed forces
1. Selective Service Act
a) Required men to register for military draft
b) 24 million men registered; 3 million selected
c) 400,000 African Americans served
d) women worked as nurses, secretaries, & telephone operators
e) soldiers called doughboys—wore white belts which they cleaned
with pipe clay or dough
B. Propaganda
1. Committee on Public Information
2. commissioned thousands of paintings, cartoons, sculptures & posters to
win public support for the war
3. Hollywood actors spoke at rallies across the country
C. Conservation of resources
1. Food Administration
a) Wheat-less Mondays, meat-less Tuesdays
b) Liberty gardens—vegetables and fruits can go to troops
2. 18th Amendment
a) Prohibition of alcohol—Germans were drinkers
b) Moral issue
3. Fuel Administration
a) Gas-less, heat-less, and light-less days
D. Raise money
1. Raised taxes
2. War bonds – citizens loaned money to the government
VIII.
IX.
The War at Home
A. War Industries Board
1. Government, labor, and industry – produced war materials
2. Regulated the economy
3. Encouraged mass-production and efficiency
B. Censorship and Conformity
1. Espionage & Sedition Acts
a) Censored the press
b) Censored speech
c) Permitted the gov’t to open private citizen’s mail
2. Schenck v. U.S.
a) Man sent to prison for distributing anti-draft leaflets
b) Any speech that presents a “clear and present danger” could be
prosecuted
Social Change
A. Women
1. Jobs
a) Factories
b) Coal mines
c) Traditional jobs—nurses
2. 19th Amendment – right to vote
B. African-Americans
1. Jobs in the North
2. Great Migration
C. War Labor Policies Board
1. Equal pay for women
2. No racial discrimination in workplace
D. Spanish flu
1. Killed 30 million people world-wide, 500,000 in the U.S.
2. WWI killed 22 million people
X.
XI.
XII.
Modern Warfare
A. Convoy system – get supplies and troops to Europe
1. Merchant ships escorted by destroyers
2. Shipping losses cut in half
B. New and improved weapons
1. Airplanes
a) Scouting
b) Germans – dogfights
c) British – bombing factories and army bases
2. Tanks
a) Clear barbed wire defenses
b) Clear way for infantry
3. Machine guns
4. Poisonous gas and gas-masks
C. American Expeditionary Force (Army)
1. Led by Gen. John J. Pershing
2. Pushed back the Germans, who got within 50 miles of Paris
3. Won battles
a) Ypres
b) Chateau-Thierry
c) 2nd Battle of Marne
4. Alvin York
a) Objected to the war, refused to fight
b) Changed his mind, thought the cause was just
Peace
A. Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies
B. German sailors mutinied against the gov’t
1. Kaiser overthrown
2. German republic formed
C. Germany agreed to cease-fire & armistice ending the war
1. 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month of 1918
2. Armistice Day, now called Veterans’ day
Fourteen Points
A. 1st set – preventing another world war
1. no secret treaties
2. freedom of the seas
3. reduction in arms
nd
B. 2 set – boundary changes
1. self determination – people should decide for themselves if they want to
be a separate nation
2. Serbia and Bosnia in Austria-Hungary fought over boundaries
C. Last point – League of Nations
1. International organization to address crises that started WWI
2. Discuss and settle problems without war
XIII.
Treaty of Versailles
A. Big 4 – U.S.A., Britain, France, & Italy
1. No one else invited
2. Central Powers, and Russia not present
B. Carving up Europe
1. New Nations created –Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
2. Split up Austria and Hungary
C. Weaknesses of the treaty
1. humiliated Germany
a) war guilt clause – admit sole responsibility for war
b) pay reparations—war damages ($33 billion) to Allies
2. excluded the Soviet Union (formerly Russia)
a) didn’t invite them to peace talks
b) took land from them; formed 9 new countries
3. U.S. doesn’t ratify the treaty
a) Republican Senators – League would keep us from pursuing our own
foreign policy; don’t want to ask permission to declare war
b) Wilson campaigned for his treaty
1. 8,000 tour
2. suffered a stroke and died 2 months later
Quick Start Questions
1. Rank the four causes of WWI from most important to least.
2. Which of the 4 causes was the single biggest factor in starting World War I? Why?
3. Are you an internationalist or an isolationist? Why?
4. When would you have declared war on the Central Powers? (Choose one reason)
5. Why?
6. . Imagine that you are 18 years old. The Arab Spring Revolutions across Africa and the
Middle East have put in Islamic extremist regimes who declare war on the USA & Europe.
We need more troops. The selective services starts the draft again. What do you do?
7. Why should the Espionage & Sedition Acts be considered illegal?
8. How much do you know about The Great War? Explain how the war got started; what
happened during the war; and how it ended.