Unit 9

World War I(The Great War)

1914 - 1918

1917 - 1918

U.S. involvement

• Imperialism

When one country controls another country’s land, politics or economy with no intention of stopping – literally, establishing empires.

• Foreign policy debate– Imperialism vs. Isolationism

• U.S. wants to be imperialistic• U.S. wants to stay out of European problems

• Roosevelt Corollary– U.S. would use its police power to control Western

Hemisphere

Woodrow Wilson – 28th President of U.S.

• 2 terms: 1913 - 1921• Democratic Party

• Domestic reform policies known as the “New Freedom”

Woodrow Wilson – 28th President of U.S.

• Foreign policy known as “Missionary Diplomacy”– Missionary of democracy

• Ethnocentric– Everyone should be like U.S.

– Contradictory views

• Wilson said imperialism was immoral

– Not right to own other people/countries if they don’t want to be owned

• Wilson also thought U.S. interests needed to be protected

Woodrow Wilson – 28th President of U.S.

• Foreign policy known as “Missionary Diplomacy”

– Wilson first used missionary diplomacy before WWI

• In Nicaragua, U.S. supported overthrow of its president & supported the new president

• In Mexico, U.S. helped overthrow a dictator

Europe Explodes Into War

• Tensions in Europe

– Nationalism: pride in or devotion to one’s country• Created rivalry & hostility between European nations

– Imperialism• 1870–1914: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, & Russia

scrambled for colonies in Africa, Asia, & the Pacific– Each sought new markets & raw materials

– Militarism: policy of building up strong armed forces to prepare for war

• European nations expanded their armies & navies• Glorification of the military

Europe Explodes Into War

• Tensions in Europe

– Rival alliances (agreements between two or more countries to help each other if needed)

• Germany organized the Triple Alliance– Included Austria-Hungary & Italy– To protect Germany & isolate France

• France formed the Triple Entente– Included Russia & Britain

– Allies agree to support one another in case of attack

Tensions in Europe

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand– Heir to the Austrian

throne

Outbreak of War

June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand & wife Sophie assassinated in Sarajevo

(capital of Austria-Hungary province of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Outbreak of War

• Archduke Ferdinand assassinated by Gavrilo Princip

• Black Hand– Terrorist group– Wanted Bosnia to break

free of Austria-Hungary

• Triggered World War I

Outbreak of War

• Alliances lead to war– Austria-Hungary accused Serbian government of murder

& threatened war– Russia moved to protect Serbia

• July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia– Next day, Russia mobilized its forces

• Mobilize: prepare for war– Germany told Russia to cancel mobilization

• Russia did not reply

Outbreak of War

• Alliances lead to war

• July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia• August 1, 1914: Germany declared war on Russia• August 3, 1914: Germany declared war on France

• Schlieffen Plan (German, von Schlieffen)

– Attack France through Belgium if Russia attacked Germany

• When Germany marched through neutral Belgium on the way to France, Britain declared war on Germany– Britain promised to defend Belgium if it were attacked

The “Great War” Begins

• Central Powers– Germany– Austria-Hungary– Ottoman Empire

• Allied Powers– France– Britain– Russia

In time, 21 other

countries, including

Italy, joined the Allies

The “Great War” Begins

• Wilson wanted to remain neutral at first– Officially, the U.S. was neutral

• In 1914, 1/3 of U.S. citizens were immigrants or first generation– 8 million Americans were

German or Austrian descent

• Most Americans favored the Allies

The “Great War” Begins

• Profits – trade with Allies– 1914: $825M– 1916: $3.2B

• U.S. trade with Central Powers was miniscule

• U.S. also had millions in loans to the Allies

The “Great War” Begins

• As a neutral nation, U.S. wanted to trade with both sides

• Britain & Germany blockaded each other’s ports

The “Great War”

• Germans used U-boats (submarines)– Submarine warfare– Attacked any ship that entered or left British ports

The “Great War” Begins

• Germany warned U.S. to keep ships out of blockade zone

– Wilson threatened to hold Germany responsible if German submarines caused Americans to die or lose property

– Germany ignored Wilson’s threat

The “Great War” Begins

• May 7, 1915 – sinking of Lusitania– German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania

• British passenger ship• Off coast of Ireland• Nearly 1,200 people died, including 128 Americans

The “Great War” Begins

– Wilson called it “murder on the high seas.”

• Threatened to break off diplomatic relations if Germany did not stop sinking passenger ships

• Germany did not want to risk war with U.S.

• Germany apologized for sinking ships with Americans on board

• Germany agreed to stop attacking neutral ships without warning

The Road to War

• Despite his devotion to peace, Pres. Wilson saw the need to be prepared in case war could not be avoided– He called for a stronger army & navy– He tried to bring the Central and Allied powers together

for peace talks, but failed

The Road to War

• Election of 1916– Woodrow Wilson ran for reelection

• Campaign slogan: “He kept us out of war!”• Narrow victory

– To look more progressive just before the election:» Gave low cost loans to farmers» Signed the Child Labor Act (under pressure)» Supported 8 hour work day for railroad workers

Republican candidate

Charles Evans Hughes

Supreme Court Justice

former Gov. of New York

The Road to War

• After 1916 election– Wilson again pressed for peace– January 1917, calls on warring

powers to accept “peace without victory”

The Road to War

• Germany warned neutral nations– After Feb. 1, 1917, would sink any ship nearing Britain– Renewed unrestricted submarine warfare

• To break Allied blockade

– Risked bringing U.S. into war• Germany gambled they could beat the Allies before American

troops could reach Europe

• Pres. Wilson cut diplomatic relations with Germany

The Road to War

• Zimmermann telegram– Secret note from Germany’s foreign secretary, Arthur

Zimmermann, to German minister in Mexico– Gave instructions to German minister

• Urge Mexico to attack U.S. if U.S. declared war on Germany• In return, Germany would help Mexico win back “lost provinces”

in American Southwest– Land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas

(land lost after Mexican War)

– Anti-German feeling soared in Americans

Zimmermann Telegram

The Road to War

• Early 1917

– German submarines sank several American merchant ships

– Revolution in Russia drove Czar Nicholas II from power

• Poor conditions on war front and at home because of food shortage

• Russia signed a peace treaty with Germany and withdrew from WWI

The Road to War

• April 2, 1917

– Pres. Wilson asked Congress to declare war

– Congress voted for war, 455 to 56• Jeannette Rankin of Montana

– First woman elected to congress– Voted no

The Road to War

• April 6, 1917

– Pres. Wilson signed declaration of war

– Next day, George M. Cohan wrote a song, “Over There”• Patriot’s tune -- lines expressed American confidence

“Over There”Johnnie, get your gun,

Get your gun, get your gun,Take it on the run,On the run, on the run.Hear them calling, you and me,Every son of liberty.Hurry right away,No delay, go today,Make your daddy gladTo have had such a lad.Tell your sweetheart not to pine,To be proud her boy's in line. (chorus sung twice)

Johnnie, get your gun,Get your gun, get your gun,Johnnie show the HunWho's a son of a gun.Hoist the flag and let her fly,Yankee Doodle do or die.Pack your little kit,Show your grit, do your bit.Yankee to the ranks,From the towns and the tanks.Make your mother proud of you,And the old Red, White and Blue. (chorus sung twice)

ChorusOver there, over there,Send the word, send the word over there -That the Yanks are coming,The Yanks are coming,The drums rum-tummingEv'rywhere.So prepare, say a pray'r,Send the word, send the word to beware.We'll be over, we're coming over,And we won't come back till it's overOver there.

The Great War

• U.S. needed an army to fight

• May 18, 1917– Congress passed the Selective Service Act

• Required all young men ages 21-30 to register for military draft• In next 18 months, 4 million men & women joined armed forces

– People from every ethnic group enlisted» Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, recently arrived immigrants,

Native Americans

• Women served as radio operators, clerks, & stenographers

The Great War

• Men drilled for combat– Not enough weapons at training camps– Trained using broomsticks for guns– At first, African Americans were not allowed in combat

• When government changed the rules, >2M registered for draft• Segregated “black-only” units commanded by white officers

• Many thought the war seemed like a great adventure

The Yanks are coming!

The Great War

• Food for victory– Pres. Wilson chose Herbert Hoover to head Food

Administration• Boost food production

– Feed troops– Help Allies

• Farmers grew more crops• Families planted “victory gardens”

The Great War

• Foreign policy known as “Missionary Diplomacy”– Missionary of democracy

• Ethnocentric– Everyone should be like U.S.

• Pres. Wilson entered WWI to “make the world safe for democracy”

The Great War

• Factories & labor– Government told

factories what they had to produce

– Factories began producing more

– Short supply of workers

• Women began working

– Unions won better pay & working conditions

• No one wanted a strike

The Great War

• Americans supported war effort with their savings

– Millions bought Liberty Bonds

• Lending money to the government to pay for war

• Government raised $21B

The Great War

• During WWI, almost a half million African Americans left the South & moved to cities in North– Escaped poverty & discrimination– Found better paying jobs in war industries– Competition for housing & jobs led to race riots

• 1917: 39 African Americans killed during riot– East St. Louis, IL

• Immigrants from Mexico– Almost 100,000 came to work on farms & in factories– Were welcomed by Americans & made important

contribution• But after war, U.S. tried to force them to return to Mexico

The Great War

• Critics of war– Believed war benefited wealthy owners & not workers– Pacifists refused to fight in any war

• Congress pass laws making it a crime to criticize government or interfere with the war

– Nearly 1,600 men & women arrested for breaking laws

– Although laws violated Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech, most felt the laws were necessary in wartime

The Great War

• Propaganda: false or misleading information used to sway public opinion

• France and Great Britain twisted the war into a fight against democratic powers versus evil absolute monarchies

  • By June 1918, Americans were reaching France in record

numbers– Commanded by Gen. John J. Pershing

• U.S. wanted a major role in shaping peace– To do so, would need a “definite and distinct part” during

the war

369th Infantry Regiment – “Harlem Hell Fighters”

• On front lines, attached to French army– Spent more time under fire

than any other American unit during WWI

– French respected their bravery

• Most African Americans served in support roles– Laborers, cargo handlers,

waiters

Campaign to Victory

In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany

By 1918, about two million American soldiers had joined the Allies on the Western Front

The Germans launched a huge offensive, pushing the Allies back

The Allies launched a counteroffensive, driving German forces back across France and Germany

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Campaign to Victory

Germany sought an armistice with the Allies based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points, but France and Britain dictated the harsh terms of the armistice

– a halt in fighting, allowing peace talks to begin

The other Central Powers also asked for an armistice

At 11 am, on November 11, 1918, the war ended

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Campaign to Victory

President Wilson insisted that Kaiser Wilhelm II (absolute monarch of Germany) must step down

– On Nov. 9, 1918, Wilhelm II fled to Holland and gave up the throne

Germany became a republic after the war

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson issued the Fourteen Points, a list of his terms for resolving World War I and future wars. He called for:

• freedom of the seas

• free trade

• large-scale reductions of arms

• an end to secret treaties

• self-determination, or the right of people to choose their own form of government, for Eastern Europe

• the creation of a “general association of nations” to keep the peace in the future

The Paris Peace Conference

The delegates to the Paris Peace Conference faced many difficult issues:

The Big Four:

– Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)– David Lloyd George (Great Britain)– Georges Clemenceau (France)– Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

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The Paris Peace Conference

The delegates to the Paris Peace Conference faced many difficult issues:

– Great Britain and France wanted to punish the Central Powers

– Created the Treaty of Versailles

– Created the League of Nations• Weak & ineffectual• 60 nations join

– Not the U.S.

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The Treaty:

•Forced Germany to assume full blame for causing the war•Imposed huge reparations upon Germany

– Payments to cover war damages

The Treaty aimed at weakening Germany by:

•Limited the size of the German military to 100,000 total•No tanks, heavy artillery, airplanes, submarines, or draft •Germany must return Alsace and Lorraine to France•Removed hundreds of miles of territory from Germany•Stripped Germany of its overseas colonies

The Treaty of Versailles5

The treaty also chopped up and created new countries

The Germans signed the treaty because they had no choice

German resentment of the Treaty of Versailles would poison the international climate for 20 years and lead to an even deadlier world war

The Treaty of Versailles5

Casualties of World War I

Deaths Woundedin Battle in Battle

Allied Powers

France 1,357,800 4,266,000British Empire 908,371 2,090,212Russia 1,700,000 4,950,000

Italy 462,391 953,886United States 50,585 205,690Others 502,421 342,585

Central Powers

Germany 1,808,546 4,247,143Austria-Hungary 922,500 3,620,000Ottoman Empire 325,000 400,000

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Europe in 1914 & 1920

1914

1920