Americans on the European Front

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Transcript Americans on the European Front

World War 1
Militarism
Alliances
Nationalism
Imperialism
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Triple Alliance
 Germany, Italy, and Austri-Hungary
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Franco-Russian Alliance
 France and Russia
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Entente Cordiale
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Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia
Russia immediately mobilized its army.
Germany declares war on Russia.
2 days later Germany declares war on France.
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WORLD WAR 1 HAD BEGUN!!!
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Assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand
 Alliances are triggered.
 Sinking of the Lusitania.
 Sussex and Sussex Pledge
 Zimmerman Telegram
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United States sent
14,500 men led by
General Pershing
 Needed more
troops
 Selective Service
Act
 American
Expeditionary Force
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 Rifles
 Trench Digging
 Gas Masks
 Grenade
Throwing
 Bayonet Use
 Convoys
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300,000 African Americans volunteered or
were drafted
Nearly 4,000 died or were injured
 Marines: Not Accepted
 Navy: Menial Tasks Only
 Army: Manual Labor
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369th Infantry or Harlem Hell Fighters
Awarded the highest French Combat Medal
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Bolsheviks overthrow the Russian Republican
Government
Lenin signed a truce with Germany
March 21, 1918 – Germany breaks the trench
lines
By June 1918 the Germans were only 40 miles
from Paris
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Battle of ChateauThierry
Mid July 1st Battle at
the river Marne
2nd Battle at the
Marne- Germans lost
all hope of victory
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Tanks (Landships)
 Allowed troops to crush over the barbed
wire , were immune to machine guns and
had tracks for wheels that allowed them to
cross through the mud and craters of noman’s land.
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Zeppelins
 Giant balloons used to drop bombs on British
war ships at sea.
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Wooden Plane
 Planes could carry 4-5 small bombs at a time
that could be dropped on enemy artillery
and trenches.
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Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Austria-Hungary
 Poles
 Hungarians
 Czechs
 Slovaks
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Unlike the Flu
 Didn’t target a certain age group
 Could kill you within just a few days
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Over 1 ½ Million Americans and estimated 30
Million Worldwide died as a result
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Approx. 50,ooo American soldiers died in
battle
Total Death Toll of approx. 8 Million
Average 5,000 Soldiers per day
Sick & Wounded Out-numbered
 Trench Foot
 Lost Limbs
 Poison Gasses
 Genocide
Preparedness was not enough in itself. There was still
more work to be done.
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Liberty Bonds- This was a
way for the average
American to show their
patriotism and help
support the war.
The United States raised
over 20 billion dollars with
them.
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War Industries
Board
War Trade Board
National War Labor
Board
National War Labor
Policies Board
Labor Unions
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Lever Food & Fuel Control Act- August 1917
 Slogan “Food will win the war”
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Food Administration
 Increase farm output, reduce waste
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Hoover Imposed
 Price Controls- a system on pricing determined by the government on
the sale of food
 Rationing- distributing goods to consumers in a fixed amounts
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Lever ever Food and Fuel Control Act- Created the agency known
as the Fuel Administration
 Started the Daylight Savings Time- Turning clocks ahead 1 hour for
summer, took an hour of sunlight from the morning when most
people were sleeping to the evening. It increased the number of
daylight hours available for work. Also reduced the need for artificial
light and lowered fuel consumption.
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“Stop, before throwing any food away, and
ask ‘can this be used?’… Stop catering to
different appetites. No second helpings.
Stop eating between meals …One meatless
day a week. One meatless meal a day…No
butter in cooking: use substitutes.”
Encourages women to play a role.
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News and information directly from
government.
National Security League- 100% Americanism
“Hate the Hun”
▪ Espionage Act- Passed in 1917. This act made it illegal to
interfere with the draft.
▪ Sedition Act- Amended the Espionage Act. This made it
illegal to obstruct the sale of Liberty bonds, or to discuss
anything “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive” about
the American form of government, the Constitution, or
the army and the navy.
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In one situation Americans found
the briefcase German embassy
staff member on an American
train. In the briefcase were plans
to turn the allies against the allies
and disrupting the American
economy.
Events such as this added to the
American fear of spies and what
they could do.
Americans boycotted Germany
and all that Had to do with it.
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American Patriotism
 Military drill became part of many school
programs.
 Children scouting programs adopted military style
uniforms, marching, and patriotic exercises.
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War Ended- Military Trends Ended
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Flow of Immigrants Slowed
Discriminated African Americans became
Recruited
The Great Migration- 500,000 African
Americans that left the South and headed to
northern factories for work.
Political instability and the labor shortage in
the United States led over 100,000 Mexicans
to head north.
Jobs on Farms
 Telegraph Messengers
 Elevator Operators
 Letter Carriers
 A few earned Management Positions
 Some 400,000 in total
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The navy was willing to enlist women but only in
noncombat positions but the army only brought women in
to fill temporary clerical positions.
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