The Great War

UNIT 4

LEQ:

What were the causes of the world’s first Great War?

Drill:

Why might countries ally themselves with others? What are the positives and negatives of an alliance?

Causes of the Great War (WWI)

Imperialism to 1914

1.

Entangling Alliances 2.

Militarism belief in maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively 3.

Imperialism a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force 4.

Nationalism – asserting the interests of one’s own nation as separate from others 5.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914

American Imperialism

• Manifest Destiny – 1840s; belief that Americans were destined to expand • Annexation of Texas from Mexico in 1842 • Acquired Guam, Puerto Rico, Guantanamo Bay, and the Philippines from Spain in 1898 (Spanish-American War) • Annexation of Hawaii in 1898 (becomes a state in 1959) • Panama Canal in 1903

LEQ: What factors caused European nations and the United States to enter into World War I?

Drill:

Why were some many countries at war over the assassination of an archduke?

Nationalism Alliances

Direct Cause of World War I = Ferdinand

Militarism Imperialism

Alliances of WWI

Triple Alliance = Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungry Triple Entente = Britain, France, and Russia

So…Who Fought Who?

Allied Powers = Triple Entente + Italy in 1915 + U.S.A. in 1917 VS.

Central Powers = Triple Alliance + Ottoman Empire + Bulgaria

Propaganda

• Information designed to influence opinion

LEQ: What factors caused European nations and the United States to enter into World War I?

Drill:

What happened after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

Bosnia

United States Declares War

What Events Motivated the U.S. to Join the War?

United States Declares War

Germany breaks international treaty & U-boat attack on the Lusitania in 1915

What Events Motivated the U.S. to Join the War?

Collect on debts owed to the U.S.

Zimmerman Telegram

LEQ:

What did Congress do to prepare the U.S. for war?

Drill:

Make a list of everything a nation needs to fight a war .

Prewar U.S. Economy

• 1913-1914 in a recession - a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced Result of “Trust Busting” • Unemployment = around 7% • Europeans began purchasing U.S. goods in 1914 to assist with their war effort

Congress Mobilizes the Economy

• 1917 there was a shift from consumer goods to wartime goods in American factories • Congress created agencies to mobilize and ensure efficient use of national resources • These agencies told manufactures what to produce, allocated materials, and set prices • All manufacturing was centered on the war and what the troops needed

Funding the War

• U.S. spent $32 Billion by the end of WWI • Congress raised income taxes, place new taxes on corporate profits, and borrowed over $20 billion through the sale of Liberty and Victory Bonds ◦ In buying bonds Americans were lending $ to U.S. Govt. and being repaid w/ interest

The Workforce

• Conditions for workers improved as they were essential to wartime manufacturing • More women entered the workforce • Recruitment of African American and Mexican workers

The Food Administration

• Increased food production while reducing civilian consumption • Encouraged to grow and can own food = victory gardens

Public Opinion

• President Wilson created the Committee of Public Opinion to “sell” the war to the public • Legislation was passed to fight espionage: Espionage Act of 1917 – illegal to support the enemy; Sedition Act of 1918 – illegal to speak against the war publicly

LEQ: How did the American military prepare for war?

Drill:

Do you agree with the draft? Why or why not?

LEQ:

How did new technology increase the number of causalities in WWI?

Drill:

What do you think life was like for soldiers during WWI?

“Many dead Germans along the road. Ne heap on a manure pile…Devastation everywhere. Our barrage has rooted up the entire territory like a plowed field. Dead horses galore, many of them have a hind quarter cut off – the (Germans) need food. Dead men here and there.” – 1918

Characteristic of Combat in WWI

• Unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused • Innovative – new weapons • Trench warfare - opposing armies dug trenches for protection and defense • Stalemate – a situation in which no one can win; war at a “standstill”; no advancement