World War I (1914-1920)

World War I (1914-1920)

World War I : 1914-1920 Even though the nation had become very Nationalistic…most Americans by 1914 were also Isolationists **The Causes of World War I** • Nationalism: Europeans were very proud of their heritage and competitive amongst one another. 1. Imperialism: Germany was ANGRY…they felt cheated out of their fair share of land claims in Asia and Africa • Militarism: this is the belief that a nation needs a large military force to demonstrate its power. European nations were spending billions of dollars to raise armies and navies!

**The Causes of World War I** The Assassination that nearly Ended Life on Earth *Archduke Francis Ferdinand heir to Austria-Hungary’s throne, Ferdinand made a trip to visit Bosnia (a slavic region of A-H) on June 18, 1914. He was making to visit to to share his plans to give the Slavic people of Bosnia an equal voice in the Austrian government. As Ferdinand and his wife rode through the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia (in a convertible) they were ambushed and shot by 7 assassins from the Balkan state of Serbia Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia…….Germany and the Ottoman Empire did so as well

**The Causes of World War I** GB liked Neutrality because it was CHEAP…this time they didn’t have a choice Why?...... German forces began to push through the country of Belgium on their way to the French border Belgium was neutral In 1839 Germany, France, Russia, and GB signed a treaty promising to honor Belgium’s neutrality throughout any conflict

The U.S. Prepares for War-1917 *Selective Service Act 1917required all men between the ages of 21-30 to sign up for military service. WHAT IS A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR? A person who refuses to enter the draft or serve in the military because they believe it violates their religious/spiritual beliefs. • HOW DID THE GOVT HANDLE THIS ISSUE? • They still made them serve in the military BUT THEY COULD NOT FORCE THEM TO FIGHT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A VILOLATION OF THE 1st AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION • Conscientious Objectors were assigned to non-combative roles such as cooks, medics, mechanics, etc. This freed up men who were willing to fight to go out in the trenches while conscientious objectors performed the behind the scenes work of the war effort.

The U.S. Prepares for War at Home Selling the War at Home Despite all that had happened, half the nation was still cold to involvement in Europe. The government decided it was their job to sell the nation on War! **Red Scare** The government’s propaganda created Anti-Foreign feelings towards American immigrants, led to acts of violence against German American citizens, and Congress began passing laws limited the freedoms of anyone not on board with the war! **The government created the FBI to raid businesses, homes, agencies looking for evidence of communist or German conspiracy

As the U.S. Prepared for War ….Russia was on the verge of Revolution -Widespread poverty, military disasters, supply shortages, economic bankruptcy…..the hostility between the Russian people and Czar Nicholas was reaching a boiling point by 1917! **Russian Revolution** -In March 1917 the nation erupted in revolution between supporters of the Czar and the working people of the nation. -By mid-March 1917 Nicholas had been taken hostage by rebel forces along with his wife, 3 daughters, and only son The capture, execution of the Royal family, and new government were set up by a aggressive group called the BOLSHEVICS

The Leadership of the Revolution *Bolshevic Beliefs** The Bolshevics began to call themselves “Communists”…. *WHAT IS COMUNISM?* Communism(COMMAND) An economic theory which stresses that the control of the means of producing economic goods in a society should reside in the hands of those who invest their labor for production. In its ideal form, social classes cease to exist, there is no coercive governmental structures, and everyone lives in abundance without supervision from a ruling class. Lenin set out to build greater support by signing a deal with Germany to get Russia out of the war.

Wilson’s Plea for Peace with Honor President Wilson wanted to establish a peace that would help Germany rebuild and avoid further confrontation. His Plan was called the “FOURTEEN POINTS” **The Fourteen Points* The Fourteenth point called for the creation of the League of Nations. The League’s member nations would help preserve peace and prevent future wars by pledging to respect and protect each other’s territory and political independence.

The Treaty of Versailles -The Fourteen Points was a failure. European nations wanted Germany to pay dearly for what it had done. Also, the U.S. Congress did not want part of anything that meant continued U.S. involvement in Europe. • **Treaty of Versailles** • Germany was stripped of all its colonies • Germany forced to pay $33 billion in reparations (war damages) • Germany forced to disband most of its armed forces • Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire divided to create Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Poland **The League of Nations did begin but was a failure due to a lack of U.S. leadership!

World War I Lets look at a couple samples of how questions look on the OGT that will test your knowledge of the World War I A. Without Germany as a competitor for colonies, Britain and France put little effort into rebuilding their navies. B. The Nazis exploited German resentment of their colonial losses by engaging in territorial expansion in Europe. C. Rivalries between Britain and France for territory in Africa prevented these countries from taking action to stop aggression in Europe. D. The United States ignored Germany’s military build-up because Germany was not likely to become powerful without raw materials from its former African colonies. As a result of the Versailles Treaty, Germany lost its overseas colonies in Africa. How did the loss of these colonies contribute to the outbreak of World War II?

World War I Lets look at a couple samples of how questions look on the OGT that will test your knowledge of the World War I During World War I, conscientious objectors to military service were often accused of disloyalty, and some conscientious objectors were sentenced to prison. However, other conscientious objectors were willing to accept noncombatant service. The assignment of conscientious objectors to noncombatant service was an attempt by the government to: • promote ethnic diversity • within the military. • B. educate people about their • constitutional rights. • C. balance individual rights • and the common good. • D. encourage people to apply for conscientious objector status.

World War I Lets look at a couple samples of how questions look on the OGT that will test your knowledge of the World War I During World War I, two revolutions took place in Russia while Russia was at war with Germany. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, said: There can be no doubt that our army is absolutely in no condition... to beat back a Germanoffensive successfully. ... Source: V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, 4th English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1964, p. 447. The excerpt above could be used to support the thesis that • Lenin had few skills as a • military leader. • B. Russia shared in the • responsibility for World • War I. • C. Lenin believed that Russia • should withdraw from World War I. • D. The Bolshevik Revolution had the support of the Russian army.

World War I (1914-1920)