1. The US Enters The Great War

2. Selective Service Act of 1917
Required all men between 21 and 30 to register for the draft
Candidates were drafted through a lottery system and then either accepted or rejected for service by a local draft board
About 2.8 million Americans were drafted while another 2 million volunteered

3. African-American Troops
Nearly 400,000 blacks were drafted to serve overseas
Had to serve in segregated units under white officers, faced racial discrimination
Still, many, such as the “Harlem Hell Fighters,” served with distinction, winning medals

4. The War Industries Board
Tasked with efficiently managing US industry in the manufacture of war materials
Controlled what products were made in US factories
Created in July 1917
Run by former stockbroker Bernard Baruch

5. Food Administration
Responsible for increasing food production and reducing food consumption
Encouraged families to grow their own food in “victory gardens” and to observe “Wheatless Mondays” & “Meatless Tuesdays”
Run by Herbert Hoover

6. Fuel Administration
To conserve fuel, Daylight Savings Time was created and Americans
Asked to observe Heatless Mondays
Factories not making war materials had their workweeks shortened

7. Paying for the War US spent $32 billion on the war
Congress raised income taxes and created new taxes on corporations
US also borrowed $20 billion from American citizens through the sale of Liberty Bonds or Victory Bonds

8. The Committee of Public Information
Headed by George Creel
Publishes propaganda and radio addresses

9. Do Now. Free Write. In Notes. Think about it!
What does patriotism mean to you?
Do you think it is important for people to be patriotic?
Is it patriotic or anti-American to criticize the US government?

10. Wartime Measures Espionage and Sedition Acts
Infringed on civil liberties
Spying on citizens, targeted “adversaries”
wrongfully imprisoned critics of war
Instituted to encourage loyalty among American citizens (especially German-Americans, Socialists, liberals, and unionists.)
Restricted immigration

11. US Troops Arrive in Europe
The “doughboys” (nickname of unknown origin for US soldiers) of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) arrived in France in July 1917
Commanded by General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing

12. Trench warfare
Armies had dug a network of trenches (deep protective ditches) along the Western Front in which soldiers lived and fought
Living conditions were poor, many soldiers suffered from diseases such as trench foot

13. Stalemate The Tactics of Trench Warfare
Generals were unprepared for the development of trench warfare: their training was in army mobility
Main strategy:
To use a combination of heavy artillery and MORE MEN to break the trench line
First, to use artillery to “soften up” the enemy and destroy barbed wire
Second, to fix bayonets and lead a charge across No Man’s Land
Third, to kill the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
Exceptions, by mutual consent:
No bombing the latrines.
No bombing before breakfast.
No bombing on major holidays.

14. Life in the hole The Equipment: Total Weight: 60 lbs.
1 rifle, 1 bayonet, 170 rounds of ammo, 1 gas mask, 1 shovel, wire cutters, a full water bottle, food rations, extra clothing, medical supplies, portable cooking stove and fuel, personal belongings
Total Weight: 60 lbs.

15. “No Man’s Land”
The devastated area between the opposing armies’ trench lines where everything had been destroyed
Soldiers would come out of the trenches and race toward the enemy while fully exposed to enemy fire

16. British trench, Thiepval Woods, France

17. Trench Foot

18. New Weapons

19. 1. Machine Guns

20. 2. Artillery

21. 3. Poison gas Germans introduced the use of chemical gasses as weapons
These gasses could burn the skin, blind, or destroy the lungs if breathed in
Fortunately, gas masks and rubber chemical suits offered some protection

24. 4. Tanks

25. 5. Airplanes

26. 6. U-boats (submarines)

27. 7. Hand Grenades

28. 8. Land Mines

29. Russia Pulls Out of the War
Two revolutions in Russia in 1917 ousted Czar Nicholas II
The new Russian government negotiated a separate peace with Germany and withdrew Russia from the conflict, closing the Eastern Front

30. American Victories
Summer 1918: US forces successfully defended Paris from a German attack
Fall 1918: US forces began the Battle of Argonne Forest, which would eventually shatter Germany’s fighting abilities

31. The War Ends
Revolt broke out in Austria and the Ottomans surrendered to the Triple Entente, leaving Germany alone to fight
After a mutiny broke out in the German navy and the people of Berlin erupted in riots over food shortages in Nov. 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down as Germany’s leader, clearing the way for an armistice

32. WWI ended at 11 AM, Nov. 11, 1918