World War I

Bell Ringer: How would you react if we went to war? Would you volunteer to serve? Would you refuse to go? Would you protest your country’s involvement in the conflict? How did you feel about the war in Iraq?

American Power Tips the Balance Section 2

American Stories Ace of Aces Eddie Rickenbacker and the First World War

America Mobilizes  Raising an Army  Selective Service Act – required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service  24 million registered – 3 million called up  Most did not attend high school; 1 in 5 foreign born  400,000 African-Americans,  Segregated units, excluded from navy & marines, non-combat duties.  Henry Johnson & Needham Roberts – first Americans to receive France’s highest military honor – the “cross of war”

America Mobilizes  Mass Production  Exempted many shipyard workers from the draft  US Chamber of Commerce joined in a public relations campaign to emphasize the importance of shipyard work  Used prefabrication techniques – 95 ships  Government took over commercial and private ships, converted for war use.

America Turns the Tide  Convoy system, barrier of mines  Fighting in Europe  Allied forces tired, Americans fresh & enthusiastic

American Expeditionary Force – General John J. Pershing New Weapons Battlefront trenches, Airplanes, tanks, Pistols, and bayonets Fighting “Over There”

Filth, lice, rats, polluted water, poison gas, stench of decaying bodies, lack of sleep, battle fatigue, trench foot & mouth The War Introduces New Hazards

American Troops Go on the Offensive American War Hero Alvin York - Conscientious objector – Medal of Honor

American Troops Go on the Offensive  The Collapse of Germany  November 3, 1918 – Austria-Hungary surrender to the Allies  11 th hour, 11 th day, 11 th month of 1918 – Germany signed armistice

American Troops Go on the Offensive  The Final Toll  22 million deaths, 20 million wounded, 10 million refugees, cost $338 billion  United States – 48,000 lost in battle, 62,000 died of disease, 200,000 wounded  The U.S. lost the fewest lives

Section 2: Primary Source Patriotic Song  Why do you think this song was used as a marching song?  Why did it spur people to give money for the war effort?  Over There Over There

Oppy Wood (1917), John Nash

Oppy Wood Imagine for a moment that you are a soldier fighting in this place. On an index card, write a journal entry about your feelings and experiences.