Why did the United States get Involved in World War 1?

Case 1 – Submarine Warfare

Case 2 - Economy

Submarine WarfareBritain had a very powerful navy, and Germany realized that they had to take drastic measures. Germany realized that they would have no chance beating Britain while on the same playing field. They decided that U-boats were their way to level the playing field. The use of U-boats were meant to stop the British blockade, but it eventually stemmed out to all ships that were in the "War Zone". No ship, even British ones with a neutral flag would not be spared from U-boat attacks. The German U-boats terrorized the British navy, sinking the Cruiser; Formidable, HMS Dreadnought, Aboukir, Hogue, and the Cressy. Because the British destroyers were not able to hunt the small U-boats, Britain called upon every ship or vessel they could. They asked yachts, trawlers, and auxiliary patrol vessel to stop or sink the U-boats. Unfortunately for the British Navy the U-boats had no problems with these civilian lead ships. The use of Submarine Warfare was paying off, they had a chance of starving the Britain into surrendering. But on the other hand, Germany was having great disasters with America. America wanted to stay out of the war, and the general opinion of the American people was against Germany. The most publicly known U-boat sinking was the Lusitania. The Lusitania was targeted, by the German U-boats. In an effort to avoid a lot of controversy the Germans printed a warning in several New York newspapers warning civilians that the Lusitania was "Liable to Destruction". That add was printed right next to the ad for the Lusitania's return voyage. There were 1,257 passengers; 197 America, and rifle cartridges, artillery shells, and fuses for the war effort. The Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat that had three torpedoes left and was running low on fuel.

http://www.vectorsite.net/twsub2_1.html#m2

Home Zimmerman Telegram Survivor Mother of Passenger

Mother of a Dead Lusitania Passenger

Instructions:

1. Read passage to the right 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

My son, Edward Hardwell, was on the Lusitania when the German's sank it as part of their unrestricted submarine warfare. When I was first told about his death, i was saddened just like any other mother. But when I was told that he was killed while on the Lusitania I become extremely mad and wanted to know why he was on the ship in the first place. I was told that he was accompanying supplies that were on their way to Britain. The supplied that were on the ship were ammunition and supplies for the war effort. The fact that he was helping ship supplies to a war that i did not want the U.S. to be involved in made me angrier than before. But losing my son helped change my view of our involvement in the war. I want reparations for my loss, and i think that beating those filthy Germans is good enough for me. I am sure that every other family member who lost a son our husband on the Lusitania would agree with me. Germany's efforts to stop our anger came in the for of a lie. They said that they would stop attacking passenger ships, but less than a year later they took out another ship, the Sussex. That attack killed 50 Americans.

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1716935

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Home Zimmerman Telegram

SurvivorCase - 1

Reader of the Zimmerman Telegram

Instructions:

1. Read passage to the right 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

Deciphering the Zimmerman Telegram along with my fellow cryptographers was the proudest moment in my entire life. I had absolutely no idea that by deciphering this one single telegram, the United States of America would come onto the British side of World War I. Deciphering this Zimmerman Telegram was incredibly exciting. It was from the German foreign minister, Author Zimmerman, to the German minister in Mexico, von Eckhardt. The telegram consisted of Germany's evil intentions. The telegram opened with Zimmerman saying that Germany was ready to use their unrestricted submarine warfare. He thought there was a chance that the United States of America would stay neutral. However, if they did not he wanted Mexico to fight with the Germans against American forces. Arthur Zimmerman offered Mexico land from the United States if they were to join the German cause. We, the British, knew that if we told the United States about the telegram right away it would be apparent that British intelligence to crack the code, and we did not want the world to know of this. We also waited for the United States to grow even more uneasy towards the Germans. We decided to wait until the perfect moment to notify U.S. intelligence about everything in the telegram. On February 24, 1917, about one month after breaking the code, we filled the United States of America in on the Zimmerman Telegram. On March 1, news of the Zimmerman Telegram spread across America through the newspapers. American attitude changed from "let's stay away" to "let's go to war." Shortly after the Zimmerman Telegram went public, on April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and its allies. They were on our side.

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/8386/zman02.jpg - in code

http://www.irwinator.com/126/w367.jpg - decrypted

Home Case - 1 Survivor Mother of Passenger

Survivor of the Lusitania Attack

Instructions:

1. Read passage on next page 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

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Proceed to next page . . .

On May 1, 1915, I stepped foot onto the Lusitania in New York thinking that I would be sailing safely to Liverpool. I was indeed aware of the recent British merchant ships that were sunk by German submarine warfare, but I was assured that due to the speed and safety of the RMS Lusitania, I had nothing to worry about. Surely the ship was fast enough to escape any sort of attack that might come our way. For six days we sailed smoothly. For six days I spent time on the lovely ship with my husband and two beautiful children who unfortunately are not with me any longer. On May 7, 1915, we were attacked. I remember it being very foggy that day, and the speed of the Lusitania had slowed down significantly because Captain Turner could not see a thing. It was sometime in the afternoon because I remember I had just returned to my room from the dining room after lunch. I was sitting with my husband and two children when I heard the loudest noise of my entire life. Screams filled the entire ship as we felt the ship bounce about unsteadily. My husband looked at me, and we knew what had occurred. Our ship had been attacked. What was an innocent ride to Liverpool had turned into absolute hell. After the first explosion, a secondary blast occurred. At this point we had left our room and the four of us had made it up to the deck. Approximately 19 minutes later, the Lusitania was submerged, and I was never to see my husband or two children ever again. I was one of the "lucky" ones that survived. But how lucky am I to be living without my children and my husband? I will never forget May 7, 1915. I will never forget the Lusitania. How did the Germans do this? We were all innocent. They are responsible for over 1,000 lives being lost! They are responsible for over 100 Americans dead! They are responsible for the United States of America entering into World War I, and I am so happy that we did. They got what they deserved in the end, but it does not make the loss of my two children and my husband any easier or better. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ShOHb67h4Qc

Home Case - 1 Mother of Passenger Zimmerman Telegram

German Leader

Instructions:

1. Read passage to the right 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

http://www.haaretz.com/hasite/images/iht_daily/D081207/mullen.jpg

The United States claims to be neutral in this war but the fact of the matter is that they are supporting our enemies in ways arguably more detrimental than almost any form of military action. The United States is fueling the war effort of Great Britain, France, and Russia by making considerable loans out to these nations and exporting significantly more to them than us and our allies.

At the outset of the war the US was exporting $829 million to the Entente Nations, while exporting $169 million worth to our nations. Today they export $3.2 Billion to Entente nations, and only 1.2 Million dollars worth to our allies. This contribution of funds is more dangerous to us than any form of military action.

Home Secretary of State Bryan

Case - 2 Samuel McRoberts

Secretary of State Bryan

Instructions:

1. Read passage to the right 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

I believe that to put a stop to this Great War it would be best if neutral nations like ourselves not lend out money to warring nations. Such actions would bring a much more hastily end to fighting. With individuals in our country aiding each of the warring nations on either side of the conflict we are not achieving any ground on the road to peace. With each factions within our nation making loans to separate nations we will slowly see a divide of support represented in our media. For each loaner will have their newspaper supporting the side in which they invested funds. So that when the war is over they will look better for supporting the winning side. So with that said I will be sending letters to the companies noting that we do not support the sending of money to warring nations because it is not within the best interest of our neutrality.

Home German LeaderCase - 2 Samuel McRoberts

Economy  The War in Europe was raging on without involvement from the United States and other neutral nations. The economic costs of the war were straining the warring nations so they began to look for loans from neutral nations that could afford it. With the United States corporations flourishing because of the massive amounts of exports being sent to European nations money was plentiful.    Secretary of State Bryan knew that if the United States companies made loans to belligerent nations that the war would only continue long enough to affect the homeland.    Exports from the US to European nations were heavily made to the Entente nations including Great Britain, France, and Russia. By fueling their economies much more than Allie forces like Germany and Austria Hungary they created a divide in relations from those nations.    American companies wanted to be able to make loans out to European nations because they were making a lot of money that was benefiting our economy. Also if they stopped trading with warring nations then they would turn to other countries to get goods from at the time being.

Home German Leader Secretary of State BryanSamuel McRoberts

Samuel McRoberts (To Secretary of State)

Instructions:

1. Read passage to the right 2. Consider issues within passage 3. Review all of the different

perspectives 4. Draw a conclusion about the

reasons why the United States entered World War 1

As president of the National City Bank, I think that we should continue to export to different countries during this time of war. As of right now, we owe a large amount of money to many European countries. We had expected to pay them back with cotton, but the cotton mills are unavailable due to war conditions so this is no longer possible. However, since the war has broken out, we have been exporting a very large amount of goods. We have received almost $50,000,000 since the beginning of the war, and American business has definitely increased. It will be much easier to pay back our debts with this large amount of money. However, recently, these countries are unable to pay us for our goods and services. They are asking for temporary credit and loans, and I think we should accept them. If we do not, European countries will begin to buy from other countries like Australia, Canada, and Argentine. If this happens, our thriving economy will fall and businesses will dwindle. This time of war is a great opportunity for foreign trade and for building up our economy. In order to keep the growth of the economy going, we should accept any form of payment we can get.

Home Case - 2 German Leader Secretary of State Bryan

Why did the United States get Involved in World War 1?

After reading the two different perspectives, they have shown you two different views on why the US got involved in World War 1. Why do you think the US got involved in World War 1? Write your ideas and responses on the blog below.

http://usandworldwar1.blogspot.com/

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