Chapter 10: World War I

1914-1918 and following “Creating America” textbook

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Causes of World War I



- Europe was seen as a “

powder

keg – it only needs a

spark

to set the whole thing off” due to some main causes…

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Causes of World War I (con’t)

 A) Imperialism: countries were competing for

land

in Africa, Asia, etc. and Germany wanted to keep up  B)

Nationalism

: People in Europe loved their nation and were very protective, loyal, and proud. Some ethnic groups wanted their own

country

, rather than be ruled by others.

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Causes of World War I (con’t)

 C)

Militarism

: Many countries believed that they needed a very strong military, building up their army and navy forces  D)

Alliances

: Different countries formed secret treaties with another country to help protect in case another country

attacked

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his Wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg one hour before………. June 28, 1914 •Sent to Serbia •To help relations between Austria Hungary and the Serbs •Serbs hated it!

•Did not want to deal with them! •Seen as invaders •What happened?

•( see History Channel video…)

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Causes of World War I (con’t)

 The “Spark”: In June 1914, Archduke

Franz Ferdinand

and his wife were

shot

by a Serbian man in Sarajevo.

 When Austria-Hungary found out that the gov’t of

Serbia

gave the man the weapons, they declared war.

Princip (the assassin)

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Causes of World War I (con’t)

 -

Russia

helped Serbia, so then Germany went to war against

France

, and then Britain had to help them, and so on and so on…  - This led Europe to split into two different “sides”:  The Central Powers and the Allied Powers

REVIEW

Who was on which side?

Central Powers: Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Allies: Russia France Great Britain Italy Japan United States (1917) Why isn’t the United States involved at first?

America did not get

involved because: 1) The Monroe Doctrine worked both ways (we can’t get involved in Europe’s problems, just like they couldn’t for ours 2) America didn’t really want to get involved in this mess…unless it had to become involved

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



Stalemate in the Trenches

 - the

French

were able to hold off Germany’s attack at the First Battle of the

Marne

in 1914, but…..

 - both sides then dug in for

trench

warfare along the Western front  See map next page

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe

PBS website/map 

Stalemate in the Trenches

 - neither side could

win

and each attack was met with death  - Battle of Somme (July Nov 1916) led to

1.2

million dead/wounded and only

7

miles of land was gained for the Allies  More on trench warfare…

Youtube clip from “The Somme” from BBC trailer (2)

Next Slide: “The Somme” w/death & over the top (2)

Youtube “The Somme” Sneak Peek #2

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



War of New Technology

:  - new technology led to more

deaths

 - British

tanks

were used to fight and cross the trenches  -

machine

guns fired over 600 bullets a minute, killing efficiently  - poison

gas

was used by both sides, burning and blinding soldiers

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe

Youtube “ Red Baron ”) 

War of New Tech (con’t)

:  -

airplanes

were used for the first time in warfare during WWI (see Flyboys clips)  “ace”

pilots

like the German “Red

Baron

” became famous  - German submarines, called

U-Boats

sank many ships at sea  See “WWI Tech” video

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



America’s Path To War

 - President Woodrow

Wilson

was against America joining the war, and many Americans agreed with him.

 -

German

U-boats started sinking British merchant (supply) ships in response to Britain’s naval

blockade

of German ports

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe

Note in Bottle After Lusitania Disaster 

America’s Path To War

 - in May 1915, the Germans sank the British passenger ship

Lusitania

 killing

1,198

people, including

128

Americans  - Wilson demanded an apology and a promise that the Germans would not use unrestricted

submarine

warfare (sinking merchant ships without

warning

) and they agreed and we accepted it

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe



America’s Path To War

 - in 1917, Germany started sinking ships full-force again, knowing it would get us in the war (but they hoped they could end it before we

got

there)  - the

Zimmerman

Telegram was discovered, which had Germany promising

Mexico

their land (Texas, New Mex, AZ) in return for fighting against America in the war  - this was the last straw, and the U.S. declared

war

on Germany (1917)

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe

Vladimir Lenin 

Revolution in Russia

 By 1917, Russia’s army was in trouble and the country was

starving

 - the

Bolshevik

Revolution, led by Vladimir

Lenin

, occurred and a

communist

government was established  - Communism is where the

government

runs/owns the economy

Section 1: War Breaks Out in Europe

Endangered: French!



Revolution in Russia

 - Lenin signed a peace treaty with

Germany

in 1918, and Russia pulled out of the war  - this let Germany send all of its

troops, etc.

to France (before they had been split fighting both them and Russia)  - France was in big

trouble

and the Allies really needed the United States to and get there!

hurry

See map… up

Moving to Section 2



America Joins the Fight

 What does America do now that is is joining the war? What preparations?

 How does the War change now that America is part of it?

Section 2: America Joins the Fight



Raising an Army & a Navy

 The U.S. needed soldiers, so it started the

Selective

Service Act in 1917 (all males between 21-30 must sign up for military)  By 1918’s end, 3 million troops had been

drafted

the forces to  About 2 million soldiers went to

Europe

to fight  Led by Gen. John J.

Pershing

(of

Nebraska

!), they fought in Europe under

Section 2: America Joins the Fight



Raising an Army & a Navy

 Nearly 50,000

women

served in WWI also  They were allowed to serve in the

military

for the first time 

Nurses

over made up most of the

1,000

Europe who went to  Also worked as

interpreters

, switchboard operators, entertainers,

drivers

, etc.

Section 2: America Joins the Fight



American Ships Make a Difference

 German U-boats were sinking supply ships very often 

The Allies started a convoy system to protect ships



Destroyer ships would surround supply ships to protect them



The Allies started laying down sea-mines in the water to blow up U-boats as well

 This reduced the # of ship losses

Moving to Sec. 3 “Life on the Home Front”

 How did Americans back in the USA support the war effort?

 What else was going on in the U.S. during this time?

 What disease killed many people during this period?

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Intolerance and Suspicion

 Why did Garland, Nebraska change their name during this time?

 Why did many Lutheran churches change the language they used during their church services during this time?

 Discuss…

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Intolerance and Suspicion

 Anti-

German

propaganda got Americans fired up for the war but also turned them

against

anything German in America 

Towns

changed names, sauerkraut became “ cabbage”, hamburger became “Salisbury

liberty steak

”, and anti-immigrant issues arose as well

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Mobilizing for War

 The U.S. first needed

money

in order to fund the war effort  We spent

$35.5

billion dollars on WWI - with 2/3 of the money raised by

war bonds

.

 War bonds were

loans

given by

citizens

that they gave to the

government

back later to be paid  Liberty Loan drives used

celebrities

, posters, etc. to encourage people to support it

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Mobilizing for War

 Schoolchildren collected items that could help such as tin

cans

, paper,

toothpaste

tubes, etc.

 Others grew “Victory

Gardens

” to feed their families so that other food could go to soldiers 

Women’s

groups got together to sew and knit

clothing

, etc. items 

Wheatless

Mon. and Wed. (no bread), meatless

Tuesdays

, no Sunday drives, etc. all

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Mobilizing for War

 The U.S. government took over much of the

economy

to control materials made, prices, and labor agreements to keep

production

up  The gov’t also produced a lot of

propaganda

from writers, artists, film-makers, etc. to rally Americans to support the effort  Why would the government go to such lengths to do this?

 Why would Americans go to these lengths? Would they still?

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



Intolerance and Suspicion

 In 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act which fined or sent people to

prison

for anti-

war

activities  In 1918, Congress passed the Sedition Act which made it illegal to even

criticize

the war  Hundreds went to jail and the

Supreme Court

upheld the laws in it’s ruling that Free Speech (1st amendment) could be

limited

if it caused

panic

, etc. especially during

wartime

 What would Americans’ response to these laws be like today? Discuss…

Section 3: Life on the Home Front



The Flu Epidemic of 1918



A deadly flu epidemic swept the globe in 1918, killing more than 20 million people by 1919



It was spread around the world by soldiers and had no known cure



Over 500,000 Americans died as people tried to protect themselves by shutting down schools, etc.



More than 1/4 of U.S. army soldiers got the flu and the German army was hit harder also

Back to Section 2: Now that the US is in the war, How does it end?

Section 2: America Joins the Fight

To the Rescue!

= HELP!

France PBS website/map 

U.S. Troops Enter the War

 In 1917 the U.S. could send

14,000

troops to help  It took about a

year

to get the rest of the troops, etc. to Europe  Germany rushed its troops

from

Russia (since Russia signed a peace treaty with Germany) to

France

to quickly try to take France before the U.S. got there  They reached the

Marne

river (50 miles from

Paris

) again…

Section 2: America Joins the Fight



Germany Stops Fighting

 In early November, 1918 German navy

mutinied

(rebelled against its commanders) and its allies dropped out  Nov. 9th, the

Kaiser

resigned  On November 11, 1918 at 11am (11th

hour

,11th

day

, of the 11th

month

) the Germans agreed to stop the

fighting

and the war was now over 

We now celebrate this day as Veteran’s Day!

Section 2: America Joins the Fight



Germany Stops Fighting

 The aftermath of the war: 

About 8.5 million soldiers dead



Around 21 million wounded



About 12 million civilian deaths from starvation, bombing, disease, etc.



Total of about 20 million deaths, all from one “spark” that started it all

Moving to Section 4

 How did World War I change the world?

 How did it change relations between countries?

 What was done to try to prevent another World War?

 How did it effect the countries that fought in the war?

Europe at start of WWI Europe after WWI 1) How are they different? 2) How and why did this happen?

Section 4: The Legacy of WW1



Wilson’s 14 Points

 President Wilson offered Congress 14 points for world peace. Highlights… 

Smaller military forces



No more secret treaties/alliances



Free trade and freedom on the seas



New country boundaries in Europe (more countries made)



14th Point: Form a League of Nations to help negotiate and prevent major wars from breaking out



This was the beginning basically of the current United Nations

Section 4: The Legacy of WW1



Treaty of Versailles

 Leaders in Europe did not agree with Wilson on some things, and they wanted

Germany

to pay heavily for their part in the war  The Treaty forced Germany to accept full

blame

, took away their

colonies

, and made them pay $33 billion in reparations to pay for the

destruction

caused by the war  The treaty also divided up

land

from Austria-Hungary and Ottomon empire into

smaller

, independent countries (like Yugoslavia & Poland)

Section 4: The Legacy of WW1



Treaty of Versailles

 The League of Nations was also part of the treaty and was heavily

debated

 The U.S.

Senate

argued for weeks on whether to accept the treaty and join the League of Nations (didn’t want to get involved in Europe’s problems again)  Wilson

toured

the country intensely to try to drum up

support

for the League of Nations & the need for the U.S. to join

Section 4: The Legacy of WW1



Treaty of Versailles

 Wilson suffered a

stroke

in Sept, 1919 and never fully recovered  The U.S.

didn’t

accept membership into the League of Nations  The reparations, etc. in the treaty helped “sow the seeds” with hurt feelings in Europe that helped lead to

WWII

Section 4: The Legacy of WW1



Longing for Normalcy



By 1920, labor strikes, race riots, the Red Scare and the League of Nations debate had worn citizens out and voters wanted a break



Warren G. Harding, Republican candidate for the 1920 Presidential election promised a “return to normalcy” for America



Harding won a landslide election and Americans looked toward a new hope and a new beginning…

 Sound familiar???????

 Next slide for closure…

Closing Thoughts…

 The world after WW1…  New countries in Europe & League of Nations (but without the USA in it)  An angry and wounded Germany  Communism in Russia  The USA was tired of war, global issues, etc. and was ready for a new President  On the horizon… the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression