United States Entry into the Great War Androstic Modern World History

Russia exits the war…  Russia left the war with a cease-fire in December  Russia settles the terms of peace with Germany in the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk in March,  The Treaty of Brest- Litovsk pulled Russia out of the war, weakened the overall force of the Allied Powers. Russian diplomats arriving in Brest-Litovsk, 1918.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk German HungarianBulgarian Turkish Russian

Russia signed the treaty to exit the war, turning over control of Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces. All of these territories he expected back when socialist revolutions spread through Europe. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The United State’s stance in the beginning of the war: At the beginning of the Great War, the United States declared their neutrality – taking no sides, and fighting for neither side. The U.S. would trade and sell goods to both sides. However, they did more business with the Allied Powers. With Germany’s naval blockage around Great Britain, war was inevitable.

 Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States.  Wanted to remain neutral  But was secretly looking for an excuse to join war…  he found one…

Actually, he found several reasons to enter the Great War.

Causes of U.S. entry into World War I. Germany declared a “war zone” around Great Britain, indicating that they would sink ships that attempted to enter Britain. This strategy was meant to cut Britain off from supplies and choke the life out of the people.

Causes of U.S. entry into World War I. Germany sunk vessels that carried the American passengers, including:  Lusitania (1915) British ship  Sussex (1916) French ship

Was the sinking of the Lusitania justified?  U.S. claimed the Lusitania carried an innocent cargo  Lusitania was in fact heavily armed;*  1,248 cases shells  4,927 boxes of cartridges (1,000 round/box)  2,000 cases of small-arms ammunition *Information from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States

Causes of U.S. entry into World War I. The sinking of the Sussex brought the United States close to declaring war. However, the Sussex Pledge maintained peace. It stated that the U.S. would maintain contact with Germany in exchange for no more attacks on merchant ships.

Causes of U.S. entry into World War I. Germany would later violate the Sussex Pledge, returning to unrestricted submarine warfare in January of 1917.

Causes of U.S. entry into World War I. Lastly, the Zimmermann note would be the final straw, causing the United States to declare war.

The Zimmermann Note The Zimmermann Note was written by Arthur Zimmermann and sent to the German ambassador in Mexico suggesting an alliance between the two nations.

The Zimmermann Note The Zimmermann Note encouraged Mexico to attack the United States. They would receive support from Germany to help them regain the territories that were TX, AZ and NM.

Zimmerman Note read: "We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal or alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace." Signed, ZIMMERMANN.

The British intercepted and decoded the telegraph and gave it to the Americans in February. The American public was incensed and war is declared in April Ironically, the Mexicans had turned the Germans down because they didn’t want a full-scale war with the U.S., they didn’t think the Germans would be able to follow through, and the Mexicans wouldn’t be able to effectively govern all the English-speaking folks even if they did retake the territory. The Zimmermann Note

MEXICO WOULD GET ALL OF THIS!

With these events, the United States was driven to join the war, and it was just in time. The United States entered the war shortly before Russia left the war. Reinforcement from the U.S. was needed by the Allied Powers to be successful.