1. World War I
"The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.“
- Woodrow Wilson -

2. -Lots of Instability – in Europe Nationalism
                                                                                                  
Causes of the War
-Lots of Instability – in Europe
Nationalism
Devotion to one’s country; leads to competition and rivalries (fear of Germany)
Old Empires
Competition for colonies
Ethnic groups want to become independent from empires
Old Style Gov’ts (Militarism)
Imperial nations building large, competitive armies and navies
Alliance System
Nations fear other militaries, begin to form alliances

3. Major nations all racing to build and arm large armies and navies
Alliances
-Led to an arms race
Major nations all racing to build and arm large armies and navies
-Triple Alliance
(Central Powers)
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
-Triple Entente
(Allies)
France, Britain, Russia
Later Italy and the U.S. will join the Allied war effort
Just prior to WWI, the major imperial nations of Europe began competing to build bigger and better armies and navies. Wanting to become the leading imperial power, Germany competed with rival Great Britain to build the world’s largest navy. Both countries successfully built strong navies, and competed with one another in the arms race.

5. Strategy
-War starts
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand – heir to Austro-Hungarian throne
Shot by Serbian nationalist
Alliances cause chain reaction to Austria-Hungary’s attack on Serbia after the assassination
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary
Germany declares war on Russia and its ally France (all within weeks)
Britain declares war on Germany and Austria Hungary

6. Memoir of Count Franz von Harrach
As the car quickly reversed, a thin stream of blood spurted from His Highness's mouth onto my right check.  As I was pulling out my handkerchief to wipe the blood away from his mouth, the Duchess cried out to him, "For God's sake!  What has happened to you?"
At that she slid off the seat and lay on the floor of the car, with her face between his knees.
I had no idea that she too was hit and thought she had simply fainted with fright.  Then I heard His Imperial Highness say, "Sophie, Sophie, don't die.  Stay alive for the children!"
At that, I seized the Archduke by the collar of his uniform, to stop his head dropping forward and asked him if he was in great pain.  He answered me quite distinctly, "It is nothing!"
His face began to twist somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, "It's nothing!"
Then came a brief pause followed by a convulsive rattle in his throat, caused by a loss of blood.  This ceased on arrival at the governor's residence.
The two unconscious bodies were carried into the building where their death was soon established.
- Witness to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand -

7. Powder Keg of WWI Allies Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia WWI
Central Powers
Austria Hungary, Germany
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
Assassination of Ferdinand
Powder Keg
of WWI

8. -Germany wants to defeat Russia first if faced with two front war
Strategy
-War develops into trench warfare after initial German advance failed to defeat France
-Germany wants to defeat Russia first if faced with two front war
Does not want to split forces on Western Front in France and Eastern Front in Russia
-Allies want to force fighting on two fronts and get help from U.S.
Germany’s first strategy was to avoid fighting a war on two fronts. To keep this from happening, German leaders developed the Schlieffen Plan, which would have them defeating France on the Western Front to later focus on Russia on the Eastern Front. To get to France, Germany had to invade neutral Belgium, which brought Great Britain into the war. What Germany thought would be a quick, easy victory ended up being anything but that as stalemate developed.

9. -U.S. declares neutrality in the war– President Wilson
U.S. Neutrality
-U.S. declares neutrality in the war– President Wilson
-develops sympathy for the Allied cause
Americans feel loyalty to Britain as stories of atrocity circulate through propaganda
-Begin to export war materials
U.S. begins to ship millions of dollars in supplies to Allies
Some atrocity stories—spread by British propaganda—referred to Germany as the “Bully of Europe.” Stories of Germany attacking civilians, destroying villages, cathedrals, libraries, and even hospitals prompted sympathy among Americans. This was spread through British propaganda aimed at the US: "It should be America's duty to help us subdue the mad dog of Europe."

10. -Submarine warfare begins
U.S. Neutrality
-Submarine warfare begins
British blockade German coast and severely limit supplies
Germans use u-boats to attack British blockade (and others)
-Wilson wins 1916 election on “He kept us out of war!”
-isolationist policy
Wilson sticking to policy to stay out of European affairs
View from the tower of an attacking u-boat as a torpedo hits home on a merchant ship.

11. Stalemate Both sides want U.S. involvement
-War quickly reaches a stalemate
Neither side winning on the Western Front
-Trench warfare
Thousands of miles, no territory
Over the Top – charge!
No Man’s Land – space between enemy trenches where men were gunned down by machine guns
new technology
submarines (u-boats)
airplanes
horrible weapons
poison gas
mustard gas

12. U.S. Enters War -U.S. continues to export war materials
Hindered by British blockade and German u-boat attacks
-German u-boats sink any ships they find – unrestricted submarine warfare
Lusitania sinks, 1915
British ship sunk by German sub
128 Americans killed; passenger ship
Sussex Pledge
Germany promises not to use unrestricted submarine warfare and will warn ships prior to attack

13. Attempt to get Mexico involved in war vs. U.S.
U.S. Enters War
-Wilson wins election
calls for peace
-Zimmerman Note
Attempt to get Mexico involved in war vs. U.S.
Final straw for U.S. citizens
Push for war declaration
The Zimmerman note

14. 19 January, 1917: The Zimmerman Note to the German Minister to Mexico
Berlin, January 19, 1917
On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavor to keep neutral the United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement....
You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
Zimmerman (Secretary of State)

15. U.S. Enters War -Peace without Victory
Wilson attempts to keep U.S. out of the war – isolationist
-idealistic peace plan
-Submarine warfare continues
Germany continues unrestricted submarine warfare, no warnings
-Zimmerman Note intercepted
Proposed Mexican alliance
-Wilson calls for War
“Make world safe for democracy”
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
-Russian Revolution takes them out of the war
Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, set up communist government and exit war
“Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be. The present German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind…We are glad…to fight…fore the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples…The world must be made safe for democracy…We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities…IT is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war…But the right is more precious than peace.”
~Woodrow Wilson

16. Military Operations Mobilizing the U.S. for war
-Selective Service Act (May 1917)
drafted over 3 million troops
24 million men registered, 3 million randomly selected
-recruits trained for 9 months
17-hour days with fake weapons, not prepared
-transportation problems
Must get men, food, equipment across ocean
gov’t control of industry
Took over warships and production
use of convoy system
Guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships across Atlantic
To meet the government’s need for fighting power, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in May of The act required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service. By the end of 1918, 24 million men had registered under the act. Of this number, almost 3 million were called up. About 2 million troops reached Europe before the truce was signed, and three-fourths of them saw actual combat. Most of the inductees had not attended high school, and about one in five was foreign-born.

17. Military Operations -”Over There” – Europe/France
-”Dough Boys” – nickname for American soldiers
-General John Pershing
American Expeditionary Force
Most went to Western Front
-Argonne Forest Campaign
-Alvin York-American Hero
Killed 25 Germans and captured many prisoners of war
-Armistice Nov. 1918
Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
Germans exhausted, A-H already surrendered; cease-fire
no battles fought in Germany
A redhead mountaineer and blacksmith from Tennessee, York sought exemption from war as a conscientious objector, a person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, saying that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” York eventually decided that it was morally acceptable to fight if the cause was just. On October 8, 1918, armed with only a rifle and a revolver, York killed 25 Germans and—with six other doughboys—captured 132 prisoners.

18. “About 9 o’clock in the evening we heard wild commotion in the little town. The French people, old and young, were running through the streets. Old men and women we’d seen sitting around their houses too feeble to move, were out in the streets yelling, “Vive la France! Vive la France! Vive l’America!”…Down the street came a soldier. He was telling everybody the armistice had been signed. I said, ‘What’s an armistice?’ It sounded like some kind of machine to me. The other boys around there didn’t know what it meant either. When the official word came through that it meant peace, we couldn’t believe it. Finally Jesse said, ‘Well kid, I guess it really does mean the war is over.’ I said, ‘I just can’t believe it’s true.’ But it was.

19. Fighting Over There -most U.S. soldiers were not experienced travelers
Impressed by foreign sights and sounds, not ready for harsh realities of war
-huge cannons, Zeppelins, machine guns, poison gases, tanks, airplanes
Modern warfare brings large numbers of casualties
-poor medical care
Unsanitary conditions
shell shock, trench foot
Emotional breakdown/shocks
Caused by standing in wet trenches, feet rot
Trench mouth
Physical problems included trench foot, caused by standing in cold, wet trenches for long periods of time without changing into dry socks or boots. First the toes would turn red or blue, then they would become numb, and finally they would start to rot. The only solution was to amputate the toes, and in some cases the entire foot.

20. Preparing for War -War Industries Board
Encourage companies to increase efficiency and decrease waste in production (waste less)
Set quotas on raw materials
-Conservation efforts
Victory Gardens – citizens plant gardens to conserve food
Daylight Savings Time – conserve fuel and energy
-Liberty Bonds, increased taxes
Income taxes increased, war-profits tax passed, higher excise taxes
Volunteers sold government bonds
-Opportunities for Women and Minorities

22. Common Objectives and Tools of Propaganda
Recruitment of Soldiers
Finance the War
Eliminate Dissent/ Unify the Country
Conserve Resources
Participate in Home Front Efforts
Tools:
Demonization
Emotional Appeals
Name Calling
Patriotic Appeals
Half-Truths/ Lies
Catchy Slogans
Evocative Visual Symbols
Humor or Caricatures

24. Public Opinion -Committee on Public Information
Propaganda agency to sell the war
George Creel
4 Minute Men – volunteers who spoke out about the war (draft, rationing, bonds, etc.)
“I Want You” Campaign
Army and Navy recruitment
-Espionage and Sedition Act
Fined $10,000 or jailed 20 years for interfering with the war effort or saying anything disloyal about the government
Schenck v. United States
Can limit freedoms in times of clear and present danger
-Anti-immigrant sentiment
Discrimination and violence against immigrants

25. Arthur Ponsonby, Member of Parliament, England - 1928
"Falsehood is a recognized and extremely useful weapon in warfare, and every country uses it quite deliberately to deceive its own people, to attract neutrals, and to mislead the enemy.“
Arthur Ponsonby, Member of Parliament, England

26. Social Changes -African Americans
Great Migration brought increased opportunities
Movement of blacks into the cities to escape discrimination and work in industry
Civil Rights Debated??
Put aside differences to fight
-Women
took the jobs left by many men
Jobs previously reserved for men ONLY
19th Amendment was passed
Women get right to vote
About 400,000 African-Americans served in the armed forces. More than half of them served on the Western Front in France. African-American soldiers served in segregated units and were excluded from the navy and marines. Most African-Americans were assigned to non-combat duties, although there were exceptions.

27. Epidemic -World War brought disease to a new level
-large groups of people were exposed
-Influenza (flu) outbreak of 1918 spread all over the world
-1/4 of the U.S. fell victim and ½ million died
-as many as 40 million dead worldwide
Epidemic ended about the same time as the war
In the fall of 1918, about ¼ of the U.S. population from the international flu epidemic. The effect on the economy was devastating. Mines shut down, telephone service was cut in half, and factories and offices staggered working hours to avoid contagion. Cities ran short of coffins, and the corpses of poor people lay unburied for as long as a week. The mysterious illness seemed to strike people who were otherwise in the best of health, and death could come in a matter of days.