America Enters War (WWI) US History

1916 Wilson won the election with the motto “He kept us out of war”. He could not continue to do this. After heavy losses during the war, Germany was becoming desperate. The British blockade did not allow food into Germany. The Germans continued with unrestricted submarine warfare and broke the Sussex Pledge.

Responses and Actions In response to Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson armed merchant ships. The final straw for us to stay out of war was the Zimmerman Note.

Zimmerman Note It was written by the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico, asking the Mexicans to declare war on the US in return for land they lost in the Mexican/American War. The note was intercepted by the British and published in American newspapers. The public was outraged and Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war.

Entering War When the US entered the war, it did not look good for the allies. Russia had already surrendered, Britain was running out of food, and France was about to fall.

New Things… In 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which required all men to register for military service. New weapons, such as tanks, gases, flamethrowers, machine guns, u-boats, etc., made it possible for more destruction and more deaths.

American People 4-5 million US citizens participated in WWI. More than 2 million went to France to fight. American soldiers were called “doughboys” and helped turn the war around.

Germans The Germans made a last effort to capture Paris in 1918 (but failed) after fighting in trenches for 4 years. They realized defeat and signed an armistice.

Results Convoys were introduced to prevent precious ships from being blown up. The Allies cut off the North Sea to prevent U-boats from entering the Atlantic Ocean. Over 10 million people died, over 20 million wounded. The was losts of devastation due to shell shock and exposure to toxic gases.