US History-Mr. Rother
When did the war begin?:
WWI began in June of 1914 but
The United States didn’t enter the
WW I until April of 1917

• Allies
• Great Britain
• France
• Russia (up to 1917)
• United States (after
1917)
• Central Powers
• Germany
• Austria Hungary
• Bulgaria
• Ottoman Empire

• The primary battle fields were in Western
Europe: Belgium and France
• In Eastern Europe fighting took place on the
Russian border.
• Navel battles took place around the globe and
European armies clashed in the Mid-East as well as Africa.

• M ilitarism: Arms race in Europe between competing powers.
• A lliances: a system of military pacts , many of them secret.
• N ationalism: many groups in Europe wanted their own nations. Ethic tension.
• I mperialism: competition among powers for territory and trade. Especially Africa and Asia.
• A ssassination: Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are killed in Bosnia by Serbian nationalist.

What were the issues or reasons that caused the US to enter WW I?
• Unrestricted Submarine Warfare . German U-Boats sinking American merchant ships.
• U-Boat sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania . 128
Americans die.
• Economic concerns . American banks and companies were owed billions by the Allies.
• Zimmerman note . Germany tries to get Mexico to stir up trouble on our border.
• Russia quits the war. US hated the Czar, couldn’t fight if we would be on his side.
• Anti-German propaganda swayed US public opinion.

Why were many American’s opposed to the war?
• American boys shouldn’t die to keep European monarchs in power.
• Few of the Allies were democratic countries.
• The killing and trench war was morally wrong.
• We would only be fighting to protect the profits of big American banks and businesses.
• The war pitted workers against workers so wealthy industrialist were the only winners.

Who won and when did it end?
• The Allies won the war.
• The armistices (cease fire) was signed on the
11 th day of the 11 th month on the 11 th hour of
1918 or November 11 th 1918
• 22 million died in WW I
American Cemetery in France

American President Woodrow Wilson went to France to lead the “Versailles Peace Treaty”. These are the most important of his 14 points included in his Blueprint for Peace:
• Free Trade
• Arms Control and Reduction
• No Secret Treaties
• Freedom of the Seas
• Self-Determination of Peoples
• A League of Nations

America wins the war but Wilson loses the peace.
• Wilson traveled to Paris to lead the peace conference at
Versailles. His 14 points were the basis of a “Blueprint for
Peace”.
• Although hailed as a hero in Paris, Wilson was met with opposition from the US Senate.
• He had failed to get support from important political groups in his own country.
• The “Irreconcilables” a group of Republican senators refuse to ratify Wilson’s Versailles Treaty because they were opposed to a League of Nations.
• In 1921 the US finally signs a separate treaty with Germany.