The First World War

The First World War 1914 - 1918

Causes of WWI: M = Militarism A = Alliances I = Imperialism N = Nationalism

First World War • Allies = France, Great Britain, and Russia • Central Powers = Germany and Austria-Hungary BALANCE & SUPPORT

First World War • On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (future king of Austria-Hungary) was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.

First World War • Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and alliances pulled European nations into war. • On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded neutral Belgium to attack France!!!

First World War • President Woodrow Wilson urged Americans to stay neutral!!!!

First World War • Western front in France became the crucial battle front, but it was a stalemate. • Called trench warfare

“No one who was not been there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go in those days . . . Paddling about by day, sometimes with water above the knees; standing at night, hour after hour on sentry duty, while the drenched boots, puttees and breeches became stiff like cardboard with ice from the freezing cold air.” Eye Deep in Hell

First World War • World War I introduced modern weapons: • Machine guns • Tanks • Mustard gas

First World War • New hazards and dangers: • Dysentery • “Shell shock” • Trench foot

First World War • U-boats (German submarines) began sinking Allied ships. • On May 7, 1915, a German u-boat sank the Lusitania, killing 1,198 people (128 were Americans). • German officials claimed the ship was carrying contraband.

First World War • Wilson was re-elected in 1916 with the campaign slogan “He Kept Us Out of War”

First World War • Germany continued to use unrestricted submarine warfare. • In the Zimmermann Note, Germany asked to form an alliance with Mexico in return for lost territory in the southwestern U.S. • In April 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war.

First World War • Wilson believed the U.S. needed to “make the world safe for democracy.”

U.S. Prepares for War “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. ChorusOver there, over there,Send the word, send the word over thereThat 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. 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. “Over There”

First World War • Selective Service Act – set up a draft for young men for military service.

First World War • Wilson needed to shift the U.S. economy from peacetime to wartime production. • War Industries Board (WIB) regulated industries involved in the war effort; led by Bernard M. Baruch. • National War Labor Board (NWLB) dealt with issues between workers and employers (no strikes).

First World War • Fuel Administration – monitored supplies of coal and oil and created daylight-savings time. • Committee on Public Information (CPI) educated the public about the war and tried to persuade Americans to support the war. • Used propaganda posters!!!

First World War • Food Administration urged Americans to conserve food and grown their own. • Declared days of the week: • “Meatless” - “Wheatless” • “Sweetless” - “Porkless” • Americans planted victory gardens for their own families.

First World War • Americans purchased government bonds to help finance the war. $35.5 billion

First World War • Espionage & Sedition Acts – laws that could fine or jail anyone interfering with the war effort or speaking against the government or military. First Amendment??? • Government has expanded powers during times of war or great crisis!!!

First World War • Army allowed African-Americans to serve as engineers and truck drivers. • Army allowed women to serve as nurses, secretaries, and telephone operators.

First World War • In 1917, Russia had a serious of revolutions to overthrow the czar. • After the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia pulled out of WWI and became . . . COMMUNIST!!!

First World War • American soldiers were called doughboys. • Wanted to become war heroes. • Shocked by the horrors of the battlefield.

First World War • American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was led by General John J. Pershing

First World War • Allies wanted to use American troops as reinforcements (fill the gaps). • Pershing wanted his troops to fight on their own. • American troops provided man power as well as freshness and enthusiasm!!! TURNING POINT!!!

First World War • American troops stopped German soldiers from taking France and began offensive attacks. • German military broke down . . . • On November 11, 1918, Germany agreed to an armistice (cease-fire).

Negotiating Peace after the War

First World War • Woodrow Wilson traveled to Paris to negotiate the peace treaty!!!

Wilson believed his Fourteen Points would change the world by promoting openness, encouraging independence, and supporting freedom. He wanted to form the League of Nations, an international organization to maintain peace. First World War

First World War • But . . . Great Britain and France wanted revenge against Germany. • “Big Four”

First World War • Treaty of Versailles ended WWI and created more problems than it solved. • Created new nations in Europe and the Middle East • Forced Germany to take full responsibility for causing the war and pay $33 million to the Allied nations (reparations)!!!

First World War • Wilson had to bring the treaty back to the U.S. for senate approval. • Henry Cabot Lodge – leader of U.S. Senators against U.S. involvement in the League of Nations. • He believed it would pull the U.S. into European wars!!!

First World War • U.S. did NOT sign the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations. • Wilson completed his term and died in 1922.

Woodrow Wilson was just as much a casualty of the war as any soldier.

The First World War