SWBAT: Describe how the U.S. departed from a foreign policy of noninvolvement to defend Wilson’s call for democracy WWI: FROM NEUTRALITY TO DECLARATION OF WAR

DO NOW Recall: What were the MAIN causes of WWI? Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism Who were the “Allied Powers” and the “Central Powers”? Allies=Triple Entente: France, Russia, Great Britain + Italy later Central Powers=Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria

PRIOR TO ENTERING WWI From : US was neutral…kind of… By 1915: US had $2 billion worth of goods sold to Allies $3.5 billion in private foreign investments US allowed private banks to loan money to Allies J.P. Morgan & others become wealthier U.S. Steel turns a $348 million profit

PRIOR TO ENTERING WWI A.Submarine Warfare- new naval weapon  Lusitania (128 Americans drowned)  “unrestricted submarine warfare” B.Economic ties to Britain & France C.Public Opinion- ethnic influences, war propaganda D.Zimmermann Telegram

The Lusitania left New York for England on May 1, Germany had placed a warning notice in American newspapers, but few people took it seriously.

READ FOR UNDERSTANDING After reading the Zimmermann Telegram, discuss the questions below with your group members: 1.What was Germany’s first plan concerning the US? 2.If that plan failed, what did Germany propose to do in alliance with Mexico? 3.What reaction would this note have had in the US?

WHY DID THE U.S. ENTER WWI? After reading excerpts of Wilson’s speeches and Howard Zinn’s, A People’s History of the United States, complete the guiding questions that follow. WRAP UP: Using all the documents and your prior knowledge, what would you argue were the major reasons the United States declared war in April 1917?