Chapter 11, Section 1 –
World War I Begins
Objectives:
• 1. Identify the long-term causes and the immediate circumstances that led to WWI.
• 2. Describe the first two years of the war.
• 3. Summarize U.S. public opinion about the war.
• 4. Explain why the U.S. entered the war.

Bellringer

M ilitarism…Weapons
A lliances…Secret
N ationalism…Pride
I mperialism…Economic
A
– Assasination

Europe was a “powder keg” waiting for a spark to ignite
• Assassination of the
Archduke Ferdinand - heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne - and his wife
• A chain of events follows leading Europe to war

The assassin…
• A Serbian nationalist trained in Serbia
• The “Black
Hand”…

• AFF assassinated in Bosnia
• AH blames Serbia
• AH makes harsh demands of Serbia
• AH asks Germany for support continued >>>

• Germany responds with the
“blank check” …
• Russia is allied with Serbia and mobilizes
• Fearing a two front war
Germany launches a plan

The Schlieffen Plan
• Germany’s plan to win the war early
• Germany needed a quick strike against France and then a quick strike against Russia
• Needed to go through Belgium first to do this
• Belgian army resisted and slowed the German advance

First Battle of the Marne
• French and British armies moved into northern France and stopped the German advance near the Marne River
• Germany lost its opportunity for a quick victory
• The western front led to a stalemate - 600 miles of trenches
• Costly - in one battle British suffered 60,000 casualties in a single day of combat

Fragile Alliances
• 1871 last great European conflict
• 1907 two camps evolve:
– Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
• Germany, A-H, Italy
– Triple Entente (Allies)
• GB, France, Russia

Allies
Great Britain
France
Italy
Serbia
Russia
Japan
Belgium
New Alliances
Central Powers
Germany
Austria – Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria

European Imperialism
• broadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence
• Africa
• Asia
• Middle East

How did the standards of warfare change?
• Distinction between soldier and civilian erased
• Fields were burned and wells poisoned
• British naval blockade starved the German people
• Germany submarines struck at any ship believed to carry armaments

Stalemate
• Earlier wars were fought with a cavalry
• Modern weapons made the cavalry useless
• New weapons - guns, grenades, artillery shells, poison gas, mustard gas led to trench warfare
• No Man’s Land

Modern weapons made the trenches a grim reality

British prepare to go “over the top” at the
Battle of the Somme

Australians resting in dug-out during the
Battle of the Somme

Diagram of an Australian dug-out

German Trench near the Hindenburg Line

Captured German Trench at the Battle of the Somme

What was the American response?
• War would threaten U.S. business interests
• Many saw no reason to become involved
• Wilson: America should remain above the conflict and he would serve as peacemaker
• Neutrality Proclamation: U.S. was not committed to either side and should remain neutral

America should be
“neutral in fact as well as in nameimpartial in thought as well as in action.”
– Woodrow Wilson

What does neutrality mean?
1) To be as neutral as possible in a neutral sense – not care about the outcome of the war
2) Be as fair as possible to both sides without influencing either side to win
During war belligerents and neutrals can trade – but everything a neutral does affects the outcome of the war.

How did Americans feel about the war?
• President Wilson’s message “impartial in thought and action”
• Economic, cultural, and political factors make impossible.
• 1914 1/3 of all Americans are “hyphenated”
Americans
• 8 million German-Americans and 4 million
Irish-Americans
• Culture and language bonds along with
Franco-American friendship

What was the tone of American neutrality?
• Propaganda….
• Violation of neutral rights…
• Financial and Economic…

British propaganda
• Emphasized common ties: heritage, language, literature, legal systems, democratic institutions
• Cut communications with the continent
• Exaggerated stories of German atrocities in Belgium

What were America’s economic ties with the Allies?
• As a neutral power we could trade with belligerents
• Trade with Germany ended because
– of British blockade practices and
– Pres. Wilson denounced German war atrocities and
– the threat of Germany to democracy.

American Neutrality
• USA economically tied to GB
– Trade with Germany ends
– Trade with Allies shoots up
• 1914 = $824 million
• 1916 = $3.2 billion
• 1917 loans = 2.5 billion
– Great economic boom for USA
• Neutral in name only

How did Germany violate American neutrality rights?
• February, 1915 – Germany announced waters around Great Britain as a war zone
• Warned neutral powers identification at sea a problem
• Wilson informed Germany that will be held in strict accountability
• American response: “an indefensible violation of neutral rights”

Lusitania
• British liner – departed from New York
• Sunk off the coast of Ireland
• 128 Americans died
• Wilson condemned the act as barbaric and insisted on sending a warning to Germany
• Lusitania Notes
• Wm. Jennings Bryan resigned as Sec. of State

Burying the dead from the Lusitania

The Sussex
• Unarmed French ship
• Sunk by Germany – March, 1916
• 4 Americans injured
• Wilson protested
• Sussex pledge: Germany agreed to warn all ships before sinking  puts the decision of when the U.S. goes to war in Gemany’s hands

What was Germany’s defense for submarine warfare?
• England had taken liberties with international law
• England was attempting the starvation of
Germany
• England proclaimed the North Sea a military zone
• Germany must stop the flow of munitions from the U.S.

“Unrestricted Submarine Warfare”
• Lusitania and Sussex sunk
• Barbaric U-boats killing innocent civilians
• Lusitania secretly carrying war materials to the Allies
• Wilson’s diplomatic response…harsh words
 Germany promises to board ships prior to attack

Who opposed the war?
• Jane Addams, Lillian Wald – progressive reformers
– Suffrage movement: “I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier.”
• Socialists – opposed capitalist interests
• Wm. Jennings Bryant - Pacifists
• Wilson’s campaign slogan in 1916 – “He Kept Us Out of War”

Fading opposition to the War
• War becomes viewed as a positive force for social change
• War required greater government involvement in American life
• Women believed they could win the right to vote
• Middle-class women became community leaders

Who advocated U.S. preparedness?
• National Security League
• business leaders urged that the United States be more prepared - many had ties to Great Britain and would have liked the U.S. to aid G.B. if necessary.
• National Defense Act – 1916 – doubled sized of army to 220,000
• Congress increased spending for navy

The Russian Revolution and America’s
Response

How did the Russian Revolution affect the war?
• 1917 – Lenin took control of the Russian government
• Promised to make peace with Germany
• Civil war broke out
• March 3, 1918 signed treaty with Germany
• Allowed Germany to concentrate on Western
Front
• June 3, German forces within 56 miles of Paris

Why did the U.S. enter the war?
• Germany – fearful of loss unless she cut British supply lines – announced resumption of unlimited submarine warfare
• Wilson broke diplomatic relations – Feb, 3, 1917
• Zimmerman note…
• Russian Revolution…
• Wilson ordered Am. Merchant ships armed in
March
• Germany sank 7 Am. Merchant ships

U.S. Declared War on Germany
• April 2, 1917 – Wilson addressed Congress
• Submarine warfare – “warfare against mankind”
• “The world must be made safe for democracy”
• Senate – 82 to 6
• House – 373 to 50
• Declaration of war – April 6, 1917

President Wilson delivers his War Message to
Congress April 2, 1917

•
•
• Austro-
Empire
Germany
Ottoman
Empire
Central Powers v.
Allied Powers
• United States
Hungarian • Serbia
• Belgium
• France
• Great Britain
• Italy
• Japan