WWI And America How Did WWI Impact America?

What Was America’s Position at The Start Of The War?  In 1914 President Wilson refused to take sides in the war  Most American’s agreed  America was neutral

What Was Happening At Sea?  Britain set-up navel blockades of goods going to Germany  German subs started sinking all allied ships off the coast of Britain

What Was The Lusitania The Lusitania was a merchant ship that sailed between the U.S and Great Britain. The German’s warned America and Great Britain that they were out looking for ships and would “fire to destroy”.

What Happened To The Lusitania? *On May, 7 th 1915 the Lusitania was making its 202 voyage between the U.S. and Great Britain *The German’s believed the ship was carrying military supplies, they also knew there were 1,959 passengers including children on board *A German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania killing 1,198 people – 128 were Americas

How Did America Respond To The Sinking?  President Wilson demanded that the German government halt submarine warfare, and they agreed  President Wilson still kept America neutral

How Does The War Affect The 1916 Election? *President Wilson ran for re-election under the slogan, “He Kept Us Out Of War” *He won by a landslide, proving America still did not want to be involved

Did Germany Keep Up It’s Agreement On Submarines?  On February, 1 st 1917, Germany resumed submarine warfare- they were desperate to defeat Britain  They knew this could bring the U.S. into the war, but they thought they could defeat Britain before the U.S. arrived  America still remains neutral

What Was The Zimmermann Telegram? *Arthur Zimmermann was the German foreign minister at the time *He told the German ambassador in Mexico to propose that Mexico join the war with the Germans *In exchange- Germany would help Mexico get back the territory it lost to the U.S.

What Happened With The Zimmermann Telegram?  The telegram was intercepted by the British  The British gave the telegram to America  America was furious, but we still remained neutral

What Finally Pushes America To War? *In March 1917, German submarines sank 3 more American ships *On April 2 nd, 1917, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war *On April 6 th, 1917, America officially enters WWI

What Happens That Makes America’s Entrance Into The War Urgent? *On March, 19 th 1918, Russia signs a peace treaty with Germany and pulls out of the war *Germany is able to take it’s entire Russian front and move it to the Western front

What Did The American Military Do To Get Ready For The War?  Selective Service Act: all male between had to sign-up for military service  Started a draft  2-African American combat units were created  Took female volunteers for clerical work, nurses, and ambulance drives

How Did Civilians Help With The War Effort? *Bought war bonds: low interest loans to help pay for the war *rolled bandages *collected tin cans, paper, toothpaste tubes and cherry pits *Knit socks, sweaters, sewed hospital gowns *Planted victory gardens, saved food by having “wheatless” and “meatless” days *Saved gas Limited use of steel and metal

What Was The Committee on Public Information? President Wilson created this committee to rally citizen support The committee produced propaganda to influence the action of others The “sold” the war to the public through pamphlets, books, movies and posters

What Were American Military Units Like?  American’s wanted to establish their own units and not join the existing British and France units  President Wilson thought this would help the U.S. have a say in the peace talks when the war was over  General John Pershing was the commander of the U.S. troops

How Did The Arrival of the Americans Effect the Fighting? *When the first “Yanks” arrived it boosted the moral of the Allied soldiers *The navy adopted a convoy system to protect merchant ships *Americans convinced the Allied forces to lay a landmine barrier in the North Sea which kept German U-boats from attacking at sea

What Were The Key American Battles That Helped To Turn Around The War?  In late May 1918, American forces took back the France town of Cantigny which was occupied by Germans.  In early June of 1918 American forces took Belleau Wood, a forest near the Marne River  The second battle of the Marne began in the summer of 1918 and was the turning point of the war  By early September the Germans had lost all the territory they had gained since the spring before America had arrived

What Social Changes Did America Experience Because of the War?  The Espionage Act and the Sedition Act set fines for any anti-war activity  The “Great Migration” African Americans moved north to take the jobs of soldiers and escape the racism of the south  Women took on more of the “men work”

What Social Changes Did America Experience Because of the War? (Continued)  Red Scare: Public fear that America would become communist  Palmer Raids: The attorney general, Mitchell Palmer, ordered raids on peoples houses that were suspected radicals

What was The Flu Epidemic of 1918?  In 1918 and 1919 a flue epidemic swept the entire world.  There was no known cure  20 million people died of the flu  Soldiers in trenches were very much at risk for getting the flu, sometimes up to 1/3 of soldiers died of the flu