America and World War I

The Great War in Europe Quickly spiraled out of control Total War Spread and reach of conflict affected all aspects of society Loss of civilians and infrastructure All elements business, economy, agriculture, etc, used to support war effort Trench Warfare Made necessary by the accuracy of improved weapons In northern France- 6,250 miles of trenches Misery of the trenches New Technologies Airplanes, submarines (u-boats), and tanks as transport Chemical warfare- chlorine and mustard gas Improved Machine guns Connected to America in WWI- start with

Neutrality From the outbreak of war in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson called for Americans not to take sides Called for Americans to be ‘neutral in thought as well as in deed’ In sentiment and allegiance not really neutral- heavily favored Britain and France Wilson believed trade with warring countries was necessary Most US trade of the time was with the Allied Powers After a few years, fighting nations were in need of loans US loaned $2.25 billion to the Allies, only $27 million to the Central Powers

The Lusitania May 7, 1915 Civilian passenger ship torpedoed by a German U Boat off the coast of Ireland- sank in 20 mins. Killed 1,198 people 128 Americans Outrage, but did not enter the War http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/lusitania

Towards War Unrestricted Submarine Warfare 1917- Germany resumes plan to target and attack ships providing aide to the Allied Powers Germany was attempting the win the war quickly, despite the risk of antagonizing Wilson

The Zimmerman Note March 1917- British intelligence sends Wilson an intercepted telegram between German foreign minister Alfred Zimmerman and German ambassador to Mexico Telegram proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if the US joined the War Promised to help Mexico recover lost territory- Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona Last straw- Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war Claiming our role would be to end German Militarism and “make the world safe for democracy” http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-zimmermann-telegram

Over There 1917- Russia had cut a deal with Germany- destabilized by the Bolshevik revolution, and Italy had been beaten US assumed an active role in the conflict very quickly US raised an army of 5 million- volunteer and draft American troops assisted in pushing German army back at the Battle of the Somme Influx of American troops forced the Central Powers to ask for peace

Over Here In 1917, over 1/3 of the US was of foreign decent- close ties to warring countries in Europe Over 10 million from Central Powers nations; Irish hated the English To raise support for the war, Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI) to distribute pro- war propaganda Anti-German Sentiment Immigrants from Germany and Ireland strongly supported neutrality and criticized US support of the Allies Once we entered the war- hunting for spies in the German communities German schools and newspapers were closed-

Over Here cont. Removing German elements from the culture- Germans were called "Huns." In the name of patriotism, musicians no longer played Bach and Beethoven, and schools stopped teaching the German language. Americans renamed sauerkraut "liberty cabbage"; dachshunds "liberty hounds"; and German measles "liberty measles." Cincinnati, with its large German American population, even removed pretzels from the free lunch counters in saloons. Vigilante actions against Germans in the community- often without consequence

Espionage and Sabotage Act 1917- Espionage Act allowed postal service to ban anti-war written work- and threatened those encouraged draft dodging with jail time 1918- Sabotage and Sedition Act- made it a federal offense to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" against the US government Bisbee deportation- Over 1100 striking mine workers were rounded up and shipped off into the New Mexico desert without food or water Strikers seen as threatening the economy and therefore the war effort

Most Significant Battles Battle of the Marne Initial surprise invasion by Germany- ended in stalemate Battle of Verdune France in 1916- one of the most brutal encounters of the war- massive losses with very little advantage gained Battle of Ypres Multiple battles at this location- 1915 first use of chemical warfare by Germany Battle of the Somme July-Nov. of 1916- massive losses- gained 3 miles Total Casualties- 8.5 million Allied Powers- 5.1 million Central Powers- 3.3 million The Lost Generation

Treaty of Versailles Exhausted European powers agreed to an armistice on November 11, 1918 Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28, 1919 Dissolution of Austria Hungary and The Ottoman Empire Germany forced to take responsibility of the war- forced to accept territorial losses and military restrictions http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles

Wilson’s 14 points When peace talks began- Woodrow Wilson put forth his plan, called his 14 points In it, called for an association of nations to keep the peace and mediate problems- called the League of Nations- precursor to the UN Believed League needed to include Germany to prevent further conflict from breaking out in Europe- not popular Finally accepted, although he did not prevent the ‘War Guilt’ Clause On his return, the US Congress refused to join the League- Wilson spent the rest of his life trying to convince them http://themetapicture.com/if-wwi-was-a-bar-fight/

Works Cited Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2016). World War I. Digital History. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?e raID=11&smtID=2