1. Aim #57: What were the causes of World War I? Do now! Please read poem Dulce Decorum Est and answer the accompanying questions AND Howard Zinn reading

2. MILITARISM ALLIANCES IMPERIALISM NATIONALISM

3. (I) Long Term Causes of WWI (MAIN) a.Militarism: nations developed strong armed forces to back up their growing empires b.Alliances: series of treaties grouped the nations of Europe into two armed camps 1. Allied powers: Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy 2.Central powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire c. Imperialism: rivalries increased as nations jockeyed for power around the world d. Nationalism 1.European nations wanted to prove their superiority 2.Competition for colonies because an issue of national pride

4. (II) How did new military technology change war tactics? a.New inventions (barbed wire and machine gun) switched the advantage from offensive to defensive b.Submarines (U-boats), poison gas, airplanes, tanks c.Trench warfare: troops dug into the groud for defense from new weapons

5. POISON GAS: SOME FACTS 1 st used by the French in 1914; used on a large scale by the Germans, though all sides used poison gas by the end of World War I on a regular basis. What types were used? ☠ Stage 1: Chlorine [visible clouds of gas and a gag reflex made it difficult to breath enough to die] ☠ Stage 2: Phosgene [also visible, but no gag reflex and a delayed effect made it far more deadly than chlorine] ☠ Stage 3: Mustard [colorless and odorless, damages more than lungs -- blisters exposed skin {←}, but contaminates the area upon which it is used for up to a month]

6. Blinded by gas Lives changed forever.

7. Artillery was used on a huge scale in World War I Improvements in technology created guns with ranges of 10-15 miles!

8. SOME FINAL STATISTICS: BELOW: a spent German gas cylinder. Country Gas casualties Gas deaths Germany200,0009,000 Austria- Hungary 100,0003,000 France190,0008,000 Great Britain 188,7068,109 Russia419,34056,000 USA72,8071,462 In 1925, the League of Nations voted to ban the use of poison gas permanently.

9. LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

10. FACT: BY 1915, FOUR MILLION MEN WERE LIVING IN TRENCHES! FACT: LIFE IN A TRENCH WAS NOT PLEASANT!

11. SLEEPING IN THE TRENCHES

12. THE CAUSE OF “TRENCH FOOT”

13. (III) Wilson’s Response to Outbreak of war in Europe a.Followed Washington’s tradition of neutrality b.Violations of neutrality (unrestricted submarine warfare) 1.Sinking of the Lusitania: 128 Americans killed 2.Sinking of the Sussex (French merchant ship) 3.Zimmerman note: British intercept a German proposal to Mexico for a joint alliance (ask Mexico to attack the US and they could get back lost territory)

14. IV. How did economic ties make neutrality difficult? a.US experiencing economic boom due to export of war supplies (mainly to Britain and France) b. US govt. allowed JP Morgan to extend up to $3 billion in credit to GB and France READ HOWARD ZINN ARTICLE V. War and US public opinion a.Many saw Germans as ruthless bullies (newspaper reports, unrestricted submarine warfare) b.Ethnic groups tended to support their native countries c.British control of the seas: they controlled propaganda