Section 1

 Porfirio Diaz ruled Mexico from  Encouraged foreign investment to develop nation  Majority of people were poor and landless and frustrated  1911 revolution erupted and forced Diaz to flee  Francisco Madero took Diaz’s place  Unskilled administrator & Mexico continued to decline  Army officers plotted against Madero

 General Victoriano Huerta seized power in Mexico and Madero was murdered, probably on Huerta’s orders  Wilson upset by Huerta’s actions refused to recognize new gov’t  Felt without U.S. support the gov’t would soon be overthrown

 April 1914 American sailors were arrested in Tampico for entering a restricted area  Quickly released but Wilson demanded an apology  Mexicans refused and Wilson used refusal as an opportunity get rid of Huerta  Wilson sent marines to seize Mexican port of Veracruz

 Marines were not welcomed like Wilson thought they would be  Riots broke out  Venustiano Carranza became Mexico’s president  Mexicans who opposed Carranza weren’t happy so they conducted raids in the U.S. hoping to force Wilson to intervene

 Pancho Villa- led a group of guerillas that burned Columbus, New Mexico killing Americans  Guerillas- armed band that uses surprise attacks and sabotage other than open warfare  Wilson responded by sending 6,000 troops led by General John J. Pershing to capture Villa  Pershing failed to capture guerillas; Wilson recalls Pershing’s troops with growing concern in Europe in 1917

 Read this section  Understand how Germany became a nation  France and Germany enemies  Triple Alliance

 While major powers in Europe were dividing into alliances, Great Britain remained neutral  1898 Germans began building a navy challenging Great Britain’s navy  Naval race had begun which increased tensions with Germany and Great Britain causing Great Britain to establish closer relations with France and Russia  Refused a formal alliance so it became known as an “entente cordiale”- friendly understanding (Triple Entente)

 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austro- Hungarian throne, was assassinated as he rode through Sarajevo  Gavrilo Princip was the shooter and he was a member of the “Black Hand” (Serbian Nationalist Group)  Serbian’s knew this was going to happen, they were looking to start war

 Austrians asked German allies for support before attacking Serbia because they feared an attack would trigger war with Russia  Germany agreed  Serbs counted on Russia to back them up, Russia counted on France to back them  July 28, 1914 Austria declared war on Serbia  Russia mobilizes an army  August 1 Germany declares war on Russia, 2 days later declared war on France  WWI had begun

 Germany had been waiting for war for a long time  Launched massive invasion of France hoping to knock them out fast  With France out of the picture Germany could then focus on sending troops to Russia  Problem: Germany had to advance through neutral Belgium  German troops crossed the Belgian frontier and Britain declared war on Germany

 Germany’s plan worked at first  They blew through Belgium and drove French and British forces back  Then Russia invaded Germany catching Germany by surprise  Germany forced to pull troops from France and send them east  French troops stopped German advances at the Battle of the Marne

 Both sides were locked in a bloody stalemate for 3 years in hundreds of miles of trenches

 Allies- France, Russia, and Great Britain formed the backbone (Italy came in later)  Central Powers- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria

 Wilson declares the U.S. neutral  Americans however, showed support for one side or the other  German immigrants supported Central Powers  American public favored Allies  Americans treasured history link with France, great friend during Revolutionary War

 Read this section  Propaganda

 British blockade Germany to keep it from obtaining supplies  Contraband- prohibited materials  Germans knew how much the Allies depended on the U.S. for supplies  To get around Britain’s blockade the Germans deployed submarines known as U-boats  U-boats would attempt to sink without warning any ship found around Britain

 Germany’s announcement triggered outrage  International treaty stated military vessels must reveal their intentions to merchant ships and make provisions for the safety of the targeted ship’s crew and passengers before sinking it  Germans disagreed saying it would give away there position

 May 7, 1915 German U-boat fired on the Lusitania sinking it  Killing 1200 passengers- 128 Americans  Americans were outraged  Wilson didn’t take extreme measures against Germany  Sent notes insisting Germany to stop firing on civilian ships

 Germany ignored Wilson’s request  March 1916 German U-boat fired on Sussex injuring many Americans  Wilson issued one last warning  Abandon submarine warfare or risk war with U.S.  Germany didn’t want to strengthen the Allies  Sussex Pledge- Germany would sink no more merchant ships; kept U.S. out of war a little longer

 Arthur Zimmerman, German official, cabled German ambassador in Mexico telling him to instruct Mexican gov’t to ally with Germany in an event of war b/w Germany and U.S.  Mexico would regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona after war (if Germany won)  Germany hoped this would occupy U.S. and keep them out of Europe  British intelligence intercepted this Zimmerman telegraph, shortly after it was leaked in American papers

 Feb. 1, 1917 Germany resumes submarine warfare  Didn’t believe U.S. could raise an Army fast enough  Germany sank 6 American merchants ship between Feb 3-March21  Wilson appears before a special session of Congress to ask for a declaration of war  Senate: 82-6 in favor (April 4, 1917)  House: in favor (April 6, 1917)  America was now at war