1/10 Objective:Students will be able to identify and analyze the reasons that the United States Entered World War I.

Bell Ringer:Based on what you know, should the United States have entered the war? Why or why not?

The U.S. Enters the War• America was trying its hardest

to remain neutral in the war

• President= Woodrow Wilson• Promised neutrality in his

Presidential Campaign

What pushed the U.S. to join the war?• Sinking of the Lusitania

• British passenger ship sunk by German U-Boat

• 128 Americans on board were killed

• America believed this German submarine warfare violated the “freedom of the seas”

What pushed the U.S. to join the war?• The U.S. felt compelled

to help the Allied powers fight the war for economic reasons• The U.S. loaned the Allies

money during the war

• If the Allies lost the war, they would not be able to pay the U.S. back

What pushed the U.S. to join the war?

• Zimmerman Telegraph

• German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, sent a telegraph to Mexico

• Told Mexico they would help them gain back land in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas in return for Mexican support against the U.S.

• British Intelligence intercepted the telegraph and sent it to the Americans

• Increased Anti-German feelings in U.S.

America Goes to War• Congress declared war in

April of 1917

• By 1918 about 2 million American troops were fighting in the Western Front in Europe

• Relatively few Americans engaged in combat, but their presence boosted morale for the tired European soldiers

SOAPS Intro

S - Subject• What is it that you’re looking at/studying?

• Document• Letter• Photograph• Cartoon

O - Occasion• What is the time period/event surrounding the object of

study?• Formation of new circumstances• War• Specific Year

A - Audience• Who was the intended audience of your subject?

• Group of people• Entire Nation• One person• Magazine readers

P - Purpose• What is the purpose of your object of study?

• Informative• Persuasive• Argumentative

Signficance?• Why is the object of study significant?

• Lasting Impression• Permanent Changes• Insight

SOAPS• Introduction to SOAPS

Exit Ticket:Today we discussed the United States entry into World War I. Based on what you know NOW, should the United States have entered the war? Why or why not?(use evidence from your notes to support your stance).