World War I 1914-1918 Chapter 23 Pg. 718

Vocabulary Central Powers: The WWI alliance of Germany, Austria Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Allies: The WWI alliance of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, and others. Nationalism: Extreme Pride of loyalty to a country. Militarism: Policy of making military power the prime goal of a nation.

Vocabulary (Continued) Trench Warfare: Warfare in which soldiers dug into deep trenches (holes) across the battlefield. U-Boat: German Submarine Zimmerman Telegram: Telegram telling German Ambassador in Mexico to ask for Mexico to attack the U.S.

Vocabulary (Continued) American Expeditionary Force: The American Army that fought in Europe in WWI. General John J. Pershing: Commander of the American forces in Europe in WWI War Bonds: A low interest loan by civilians to the government that was to be repaid in a certain number of years. War Industries Board: Managed the buying and distributing of war materials; set goals for production, ordered construction of new factories, and with the presidents approval, also set prices.

Vocabulary (Continued) Committee on Public Information: Government organization that produced propaganda to support the war. Espionage Act: A 1917 law that set heavy fines and long prison terms for anti-war activities. Sedition Act: A 1918 law that made it illegal to criticize the government.

Vocabulary (Continued) Second Battle of the Marne: The battle that was the turning point of World War I Fourteen Points: President Woodrow Wilson’s goals for peace after WWI (Called for peace without victory.) League of Nations: An organization set up after WWI to settle international conflicts. Treaty of Versailles: A 1919 treaty that ended WWI.

Vocabulary (Continued) Reparations: Money that a defeated nation pays for the destruction it caused in other countries. Great Migration: The movement of African Americans from the south to the northern cities between 1910 and 1920. Red Scare: Between 1910-1920 – Americans were very scared that the U.S. was threatened with a communist revolution. Palmer Raids: Raids carried out by federal agents and police against radicals and the direction of the U.S. Attorney General – A. Mitchell Palmer.

Communism What is Communism? A single party political system in which the government controls and plans the economy – with the goal of common ownership of all property. Basically, In a communist country the government controls everything – especially the money…they control the production and distribution of goods – It also controls how much/many goods each family gets…it is run on the theory that everyone is equal and should get an equal amount of all goods…including money… in theory, there are no rich or poor people, everyone gets the same amount of all resources regardless of education or occupation.

Communism Today!!

Back to WWI – How it all Started! Basically, WWI began as an extremely small conflict between Serbia and Austria Hungary. Serbia and Austria-Hungary had a long history of problems On June 28, 1914 a Serbian man who was part of a terrorist organization (The Black Hand) assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the City of Sarajevo (in Serbia.) The Archduke was the heir to the throne in Austria Hungary – After this, Austria Hungary will declare war on Serbia.

A little more about Serbia & Austria Hungary. Austria Hungary was very upset because a Serbian had killed the heir to their throne. – More over, they believed that the Serbian Government had something to do with the assassination. They respond by giving Serbia an ultimatum, “you will let us go into your country and investigate the assassination or we will declare war on you.”

Serbia Responds & Austria Declares War Serbia claimed that Austria going into their country to investigate was a violation of Serbian Sovereignty. (Which it was) Serbia says, “NO! we will investigate the assassination” Austria declares war!!! This is what basically started the war, (All because one man was assassinated) but there will be many other factors which will drag other countries into the war and make it escalate to become a World War.

Causes of World War I The assassination of the Archduke got the ball rolling which led to WWI, however even before the assassination, there were 4 major long term causes…Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, and the Alliance System. Nationalism: Basically, all the countries involved wanted to prove that their country was the best, smartest, strongest, etc. Often this was expressed as competitiveness with and even hostility toward other nations.

Causes of WWI Imperialism: Britain, France, Germany, and Italy competed for colonies in Africa and Asia. Germany had fewer colonies than Britain and France and felt it deserved more colonies. It wanted more colonies because colonies provided imperial powers with raw materials such as cotton, oil, and rubber, it also was a sign of prestige to have more colonies.

Causes of WWI Militarism: In the decades before the war, the major powers built up their armies and navies. Basically leaders wanted their military power to be stronger than potential enemies and therefore they built up their military and stockpiled weapons. (Especially Germany.) Soon Germany became the strongest nation on the European continent. They would draft all young men, train them, and then return them to civilian life until they were needed.

Militarism – (Continued) At first Great Britain was not concerned about Germany’s military buildup, especially since it is an island and still had the strongest naval power in Europe. Germany decided to begin building its Navy – this worried Great Britain who then began to build up its Navy…the two countries began competing to build the largest battleships and destroyers. France, Italy, Japan, and the United States quickly joined the naval arms race.

Causes of World War I “You mess with me, you mess with my friends!!!” Alliance System: During World War I a tangled network of competing alliances bound European nations together. An attack on one nation forced its allies to come to its aid. Basically, the alliance system was a system where countries set up contracts with other countries to jump in if they were ever attacked. “You mess with me, you mess with my friends!!!”

Key Players Central Powers Allies Austria Hungary Germany Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Italy Allies Serbia Great Britain France Russia Italy United States & 7 other countries

Italy Originally Italy had an alliance with Germany and Austria… Italy said that they would have come and helped their allies if it were a defensive war…that is, if they were being attacked. But because they saw Austria and Germany as starting the war, they declared their neutrality. Later Italy did declare war, but it changed sides – now it was fighting on the allied side, against its former allies. It fights for the allies because Britain and France promise them that if they win they will give them control of a piece of land around Italy. As a result, Austria was fighting a three front war.

World War I Escalates Because of alliances European countries began to join the war… June 26 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. July 28 – Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia July 30 – Russia (Serbia’s ally) mobilizes its armed forces. August 1 – Germany (Austria’s ally) declares war against Russia. Russia had an alliance with France August 3 – Germany declares war against France & invades Belgium August 4 – Britain, having pledged to protect Belgium declares war against Germany. August 6 – Austria Hungary declares war against Russia August 12 – France and Britain declare war on Austria Hungary And once again, when this war began, people on both sides thought it would be a short war!!!

Germany Invades Belgium Belgium was a neutral country and Germany violated Belgium’s neutrality when it chose to go through Belgium to attack France This brought Great Britain into the war because Britain had an alliance with Belgium.

Trench Warfare This was a new kind of war, in this war soldiers on both sides dug trenches into the ground and shot from there. However when battles did take place, they cost thousands of lives. The First Battle of the Somme, in 1916 resulted in more than 1.2 million casualties.

New War Technologies Quick firing artillery (machine guns) made it too dangerous to occupy the land above ground. Soldiers who left the trenches to attack enemy lines “rushed into a hail of bullets from enemy machine guns that could fire 600 bullets per minute.” Poison gas used on both sides burned and blinded soldiers. Later in the war tanks were used to cross the trenches. WWI was the first major conflict in which airplanes were used in combat. At sea Germans used U-Boats (Submarines to block trade) U-Boats sank about 10 million allied ships.

America’s Path to War Most Americans along with President Woodrow Wilson wanted to remain neutral. “Many Americans refused to get involved in a European conflict.” Over time however a series of events dragged the United States into war.

America Gets Angry!!! The sinking of the Lusitania: Germany began sinking all Allied merchant ships it encountered – sometimes American ships. In May 1915 a German U-Boat sank an British passenger ship – Lusitania – killing 1,198 people (128 Americans) President Woodrow Wilson demanded that Germany stop “unrestricted submarine warfare” Germany listened for a while but eventually continued sinking any and all allied merchant ships. (including American ships.)

The Zimmerman Notes The Zimmerman notes also angered Americans – this was a telegram from Germany to Mexico proposing that Mexico join the war on Germany’s side, and in return they promised to help them get back their “lost” territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

America In!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In March 1917 a German submarine sunk another 3 American ships – America had had enough!!! – President Woodrow Wilson asked congress to declare war Congress voted to go to war. Germany knew that by continuing their unrestricted submarine warfare they would bring the U.S. into the war, but they thought it would take the U.S. a lot longer to mobilize and by that time they would have already won the war. The U.S. mobilized a lot faster than Germany had expected and brought with it fresh troops and supplies.

The Russian Revolutions Events in Russia made the U.S. entry into the war even more urgent for the Allies. By March of 1917 Russia was in bad shape. Military failures, food shortages, and soaring inflation led to riots and violent strikes by workers in Russia. In November the Bolsheviks, a communist group led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin took power.

Peace between Germany & Russia Soon Lenin began peace talks with Germany…in March 1918 Russia withdrew from the war by signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Germany could now concentrate all of its forces on its western front (France) Allies urged Americans to get involved quickly.

Map of Germany/France/Russia

America Prepares for War In 1917 the United States was not prepared for a war the size of WWI. When WWI began the American army consisted of about 200,000 men, very few officers had any experience, almost all U.S. weapons were outdated, and the entire U.S. air corps consisted of 55 small planes and 130 pilots.

The Selective Service Act To solve the manpower problem the U.S. started the Selective Service Act. This act required all males between the ages of 21 and 30 to sign up for military service. (By the way, this is still in force today, except now the age begins at 18.) About 10 million American men registered under the act, and another two registrations were held in 1918 raising the number of possible draftees to 24 million. (of these, only 2 million troops were sent to Europe.)

Americans go to Europe About 2 million American soldiers were sent to France. They served as the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. Pershing. About 400,000 African American soldiers served in the armed forces however they were discriminated against (by white American soldiers) but not by European soldiers. About 40,000 women helped in the war effort – some served as volunteers in the American Red Cross – many were also nurses, interpreters, switchboard operators, entertainers, and ambulance drivers.

Civilians help in the War Effort To raise money, President Woodrow Wilson asked civilians to do several things… Buying War Bonds: low interest loans from civilians to the government meant to be repaid in a couple years. (this raised about $20 billion) Conserving scarce resources. Children often collected tin cans, toothpaste tubes, cherry pits (used to burn and make charcoal for soldiers gas mask filters.) Women often gathered to sew of knit uniforms/clothes/sweaters etc for soldiers, Some people planted “victory gardens” and stopped eating “wheat’s and meats” – to send more food to the soldiers.

War Industries Board The U.S. Government created the War Industries Board to control the economy. It managed the buying and distributing of all war materials It ordered the construction of new factories. It controlled wages and prices Settled conflicts between workers and factory workers.

Committee on Public Information President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to help convince Americans to support the war. The committee produced propaganda (misinformation/half truths) to sell the war to Americans. They did this by using posters, pamphlets and movies.

Silence The First Amendment!!! The U.S. passed the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act – these laws set heavy fines and long prison terms for any anti-war activities such as resisting the draft. Schenck v. United States Schenck passed out leaflets opposing the draft and asking people to repeal the Select Service Act He was arrested and convicted for violating the Espionage Act by trying to block military recruitment. He argued that the Espionage Act violated his 1st Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision claiming that free speech guaranteed by the first Amendment could be limited, especially in a time of war.

Check Point How did Americans at home contribute to the war effort? Americans bought war bonds, made bandages, collected tin cans, planted victory gardens, knitted clothes, gave up eating wheat and meat on certain days etc.

Stop & Think Why did Congress pass the Selective Service Act? Because we needed more people to fight in the war. Why did Americans buy War Bonds? To help pay for the cost of the war What did the Committee on Public Information do? It produced propaganda to try to influence public opinion during the war Do you think that free speech should be limited during time of war? Explain you answer…

Pushing Germany Back The U.S. entering the war made a huge difference in many ways. First it boosted the morale in Europe. The Allies began to think they could win the war Americans adopted a convoy system (a heavy guard of destroyers escorting merchant ships.) this quickly reduced the amount of sunken ships.

Convoy System

Hurry Up Germany!!! With Russia out of the war, in March 1918 the Germans launched an attack to end the war before Americans arrived in large numbers. Within two months they smashed through the French lines reaching the Marne River (Only 50 miles from Paris.) If they would have taken over Paris (the capital of France) they would have won a symbolic victory over France.

Just in Time!!! By the mid summer of 1918 about 1 million American troops arrived in Europe ready to fight. Remember that the European forces had been fighting this war for the past three years and the countries are suffering economically and militarily. Almost immediately, American forces push back the Germans

The U.S. Takes Back Cantigny American soldiers attacked the French town of Cantigny, which was occupied by German soldiers. American soldiers also push Germany out of the town of Château-Thierry to the southeast of Cantigny and northeast of Paris. Next General Pershing and the AEF set out to retake Belleau Wood. This was the forest near the Marne River – well defended by German troops. American soldiers succeeded, but at a horrific cost. One unit lost 380 of its 400 soldiers.

The Second Battle of the Marne This was the turning point in WWI Once again the Germans will charge across the French lines where they will meet Allied troops (mostly Americans) During the 3 days of fighting 85,000 Americans helped the Allies stop German advancements. The Allies then took the offensive and pushed the Germans back. By early September Germany had lost all of the French land it had acquired and it became evident that they would lose the war.

Germany Stops Fighting Germany realized that although it still occupied a lot of land in Europe they were constantly loosing land because American soldiers were arriving in France 10,000 troops a day. Additionally, its allies (Austria and Bulgaria) had already dropped out of the war and Germany was suffering harsh economic conditions. It became evident that the Allies would win the war. On November 11 1918 – (The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) all fighting ceased.

Stop & Think What is a Convoy System? A heavy guard of destroyers escorting merchant ships. What happened at Cantigny? U.S. troops defeated the Germans, lifting Allied morale How did American troops impact Germany’s decision to surrender? Every day 10,000 U.S. troops landed in France which convinced Germany that the Allies would win. Where were most WWI battles fought? France Why? Because Germany invaded France.

President Wilson’s Fourteen Points President Wilson was determined to make sure that a war like this would never happen again, and therefore he asked all nations involved to follow his “Fourteen Points.” The Plan called for… (shortened list) Smaller military forces An end to secret treaties between nations Freedom of the seas Free Trade Changes in national boundaries (giving independence to the people of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires.) The Formation of the League of Nations

Wilson’s “Peace w/o Victory” President Wilson said, “Only a tranquil Europe can be a stable Europe…[there] must be a peace without victory…victory would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor’s terms imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in humiliation… and would leave a string of resentment, a bitter memory upon which terms of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand.” Woodrow Wilson “Peace Without Victory Speech” January 22 1917.

Peace Without Victory Basically President Wilson was asking for a peace inspired by noble ideas, not greed and vengeance. He was asking all the European nations to accept that the war was over, and not blame anyone for causing the war. (lets just move on) He claimed that if they make a country take the blame for the war, the peace would just be temporary because those blamed for the war would be forced to accept the terms of the winners, and therefore resent them – which will obviously lead to more problems down the line.

The Treaty of Versailles The leaders of Britain, France, and Italy did not approve of President Wilson’s peace without victory because they wanted Germany to pay heavily for the war. Therefore they passed the Treaty of Versailles which officially ended WWI

Treaty of Versailles The treaty called for… Germany to accept full blame for the war Germany was stripped of its colonies Germany could not longer maintain a military Germany had to pay $33 million in reparations. (money that a defeated nation pays for the destruction caused by the war.) The treaty also divided up the empires of Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. It created Czechoslovakia, and recognized the independence of Poland.

The Failure of the Treaty of Versailles President Wilson was correct in his idea about “Peace without Victory” In the next decades Germany’s economic burdens and resentment of the treaty would grow. The treaty planted the seeds of resentment that will cause the second World War.

The Post-War Social Changes Northern Factories that were previously unwilling to higher African Americans were now allowing them to work in their factories. This led to the Great Migration, where hundreds of thousands of African Americans fled to Northern cities. Between 1910 and 1920 about 500,000 African Americans moved north to cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

WWI Affects Mexican Immigrants Because of the Mexican Revolution many Mexican people came to the U.S. to find work. Many found work as farm laborers in the Southwest. Many also found work in the Northern war industries.

Strikes and the Red Scare Labor conflicts continued after the war Many workers who were forbidden to stop working and were made to work for low wages by the War Industries Board during the war now demanded a pay increase – or threatened to strike. This brought about the Red Scare a fearful reaction that the U.S. was threatened by a communist revolution. The Red Scare targeted suspected communists, anarchists, and immigrants.

The Palmer Raids In a series of raids in 1920 known as the Palmer Raids, police arrested thousands of people, some were radicals, some were immigrants from Southern or Eastern Europe. Most were never charged or tried for a crime – the government then deported hundreds of radicals.