Aftermath of WWI

US enters in 1917; War ends in 1918

Aftermath of WWI• Trench warfare dominates

the fighting on the ground, U-Boats on the seas, and the airplane is first used in combat in the skies

• A war of new inventions and technology made it the bloodiest up to that point

Aftermath of WWI

• How did the US get ready to go to war?

• 1916: Build up armed forces in preparation

• 1917: Selective Service Act passed when we entered - “The Draft”

Aftermath of WWI

• Not everyone supported the draft.

• 1. Charles Schneck was found guilty of espionage by distributing leaflets urging men to resist the draft

• Individual Rights v. Security of a Nation in times of war is debated

Aftermath of WWI

• Not everyone supported the war effort, including men who would not fight

• 2. Conscientious Objector: A person who refuses to fight based on individual religious or moral beliefs

Aftermath of WWI

• What happened in the U.S. at this time?

• Women went to work in the factories building war materials (gas masks, machine guns…)

• An Anti-German feeling swept over the U.S.

Aftermath of WWI

Aftermath of WWI• Fresh American

troops helped the allies win the war a year later in 1918

• Germany could not fight back against this many soldiers and surrenders

Aftermath of WWI

•How do we punish Germany?

•President Wilson offers his peace proposal known as the Fourteen Points

Aftermath of WWI• The Fourteen Points were very fair

on Germany

• England and France want to crush Germany for starting this war because they suffered so much more than the U.S.

• World leaders meet in early 1919 in France to discuss a treaty

Aftermath of WWI

• European leaders reject the Fourteen Points proposal and instead choose a much more severe and harsh punishment for Germany

• Treaty of Versailles: Treaty reached with Germany in 1919 ending WWI

• Wilson hated it, but did like one aspect:

Aftermath of WWI

• League of Nations: A peacekeeping body designed to prevent a second world war

Aftermath of WWI• President Wilson supported it but

parts of the League of Nations worried Americans

• It was defeated in Congress and therefore the U.S. did not join the League of Nations

• With the U.S. not joining, the League of Nations remains weak, ineffective, and eventually fails