1 / 14

Events Leading Up to U.S. Involvement in WWII

Events Leading Up to U.S. Involvement in WWII. U.S. History. World War I ( a.k.a The Great War and The War to End All Wars). Was fought in Europe between 1914-1918 Allied Powers (France, Great Britain, Russia) vs. Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Italy) Causes Nationalism

kyran
Download Presentation

Events Leading Up to U.S. Involvement in WWII

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Events Leading Up to U.S. Involvement in WWII U.S. History

  2. World War I (a.k.a The Great War and The War to End All Wars) • Was fought in Europe between 1914-1918 • Allied Powers (France, Great Britain, Russia) vs. Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Italy) • Causes • Nationalism • Devotion/ pride in ones own nation, national pride, superiority • Militarism • Belief in a strong military power • Competition for colonies (mainly African) • Resources, trade, markets, resources • System of alliances (allies)

  3. Nationalism and Militarism

  4. European Colonization of Africa

  5. Trench Warfare during WWI

  6. WWI Cartoon

  7. Should the U.S. get involved in WWI? YES! NO! • “Interventionist” • Need to support allies • Many Americans had ties to European countries • European immigrants • Strong bonds to GB/ France • “Isolationist” • “Neutral” • Distant quarrel between Europeans, didn’t concern Americans. • Cost U.S. $$$ and lives

  8. The Outcomes of WWI • Germans sink the Lusitania, as British passenger ship, of the coast of Ireland. • Germans claimed it was carrying ammo (it was), U.S. says it was an unmanned passenger ship. • Germany promises not to sink any more ships. • U.S finally enters the war • Zimmerman Telegram: Germany tries to convince Mexico to attack U.S. • Germany announces unrestricted sub warfare on GB • Originally neutral, the U.S. enters in 1917 on the Allied side. • Results: • Germany/Central Powers surrender • Close to 20 million dead (soldiers and civilians)

  9. Following World War I • U.S President Woodrow Wilson promoted his “14 Points” which promoted peace and unity instead of revenge. • European leaders rejected this and wanted to punish Germany and force them to pay reparations for their starting the WWI. • Punishment, coupled with the world-wide Great Depression, led to poor living conditions in countries such as Germany and Italy. • Germany money became worthless • Many were hungry and in poverty

  10. German Inflation

  11. The Rise of Fascism in Europe • Because of the poor living conditions, dictators such as Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy) and Joseph Stalin (Russia) came to power. • The people of these countries were desperate and looking for answers to their problems. • These leaders gave powerful speeches, blamed others for their problems, and united their counties using nationalism and militarism. • These totalitarian governments shared many similar traits: persecution of opponents, use of military force, few democratic rights, use of secret police/spies, govt. control of media, use of propaganda.

  12. European Dictators

  13. World War II Begins • While the Germany and Italy were growing more powerful, France and Great Britain adopted a policy of appeasement, which is letting an enemy get their way in order to maintain peace. • Hitler began to add surrounding countries to Germany, including Austria and western Czechoslovakia…these actions went unchecked. • On Sept. 1st, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II officially began. • Allies (GB, France, China) vs. Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan) • By 1941, Hitler controlled most of Europe including Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, and France. • Great Britain is the only Allied country left standing in 1941.

  14. Hitler in Europe

More Related