1. Adapted from Mr. Wells Harold E. Winkler Middle School

2. Before the U.S. Joined World War I  U.S. refused to take sides = Neutral.  Despite neutrality, the United States had great sympathy for the Allies… Why? 1. Ancestral ties with Great Britain. Common language and religion. 2. The United States and Great Britain had strong trade ties. 3. Propaganda newsreels portrayed the Germans as barbaric.

3. American Propaganda

5. Here Come the Yanks! Event #1  Germans declared the waters around Britain a war zone…unrestricted submarine warfare.  Germans sank 5,000 ships including U.S. ships, bringing war supplies (guns, ammunition, money, etc.) to Great Britain.  May 7 th, 1915: British passenger ship, Lusitania sunk… killing 124 Americans.

6. The Lusitania

8. Here Come the Yanks! Event #2 February, 1917: The Zimmerman Note  Germany attempts to gain Mexico as an ally.  British intelligence intercepted and decoded the message.  Americans became outraged!  April 2, 1917: President Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany.

9. Zimmerman Telegram

10. U.S. Mobilizes for War! May 1917: Selective Service Act June 5, 1917: First day of draft Men between the ages of 21-30 were drafted… Manpower Act extends registration to 18-45

11. 24,000,000 men registered for the draft by the end of 1918. 4,800,000 men served in WW1 (2,000,000 saw active combat). 400,000 African-Americans were put in segregated units. Most were put in non- combat duties. 15,000 Native-Americans served as scouts, messengers, and snipers in non-segregated units. U.S. Mobilizes for War!

12. United States in World War I June, 1917, first U.S. troops arrive in France. Doughboys = U.S. nickname for U.S. infantry. Commanded by General John J. Pershing.

13. Crash Course #30 – America in World War I Skip 3:24 – 5:05

14. The United States Joins World War I 4:19