1. American Power Tips the Balance
Ch. 11, Sec. 2 Guided Reading Power Point Review

2. Objectives:
Describe how the U.S. mobilized for the war.
Identify the new weapons faced in WWI.
Describe the end of the war.

3. 1. How did the United States raise an army?
Selective Service Act - register to be randomly selected for military svc.
Only 200,000 men in service when war was declared.
Sel. Svc. required men 18 to 45 to register
24 million register; 3 million are drafted; 2 million go to Europe. Nationalism & WWI
Most did not attend high school (illiteracy at 25%)
Almost ½ million African Americans in US armed forces; over ½ served in France. Their units were segregated. The all-black 369th infantry saw more continuous duty on front line than any other regiment. 2 rec’d. France’s highest military honor – the cross of war.
Harlem Hellfighters History Channel
Women served in the Navy & Marines (non- combat positions).

4. 2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?
Gov’t. made mass production of ships a priority.
US factories (with help from the Gov’t.) mass produced ships to get men, supplies & equipment overseas);
After almost 3 years of fighting, Allied forces were exhausted.
American troops were fresh and enthusiastic!
WWI Prop

5. 3. How did the U.S. build its naval force?
Four crucial steps:
Did not draft shipyard workers;
Emphasized the importance of shipyard workers;
Prefabrication using standardized parts saved valuable time;
Government took control of all ships.

6. 4. How did the U.S. Navy help win the war?
Convoy system where armed destroyers escorted merchant ships across the Atlantic Ocean (p. 383).
Laid a 230-mile barrier of mines in the North Sea to “bottle” the German subs
(U-boats) & keep them
out of the Atlantic. Effect: cut
lost lives at sea significantly.
On land, US troops brought freshness & enthusiasm.
After 2 ½ yrs. Of fighting, Allied troops were exhausted & demoralized. shell shock stop at 1:35

7. Why were US troops so effective in combat?
LEADERSHIP:
General John. J. Pershing – Commander of
US Army in Europe (AEF). Changed combat
Style from DEFENSIVE (trenches) to OFFENSIVE.
DOUGH BOYS: American infantryman (p. 384).
NEW WEAPONS INTRODUCED:
Machine gun; Rifles - Uncut series Tank; Airplane; Antiaircraft guns;
Poison gas masks were standard issue.

8. Examples of physical and emotional ailments suffered by men at the front?
Battle fatigue & shell shock (PTSD)
the smell of decaying bodies
surrounded by filth, lice, rats
Dysentery from dirty water
Trench foot
Trench mouth

9. American troops on the offensive…
Russia pulls out of the war in 1917 & by soon the Germans are within 50 miles of Paris. US troops arrived in time to stop Germany from making big gains in France. By mid-year the tide had turned against the Central Powers.
Alvin York emerged as a US war hero, despite his initial position as a conscientious objector (a person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, based on religious beliefs).
Collapse of Germany – November 1918 naval mutiny quickly spreads throughout German army; that same month Socialist leaders take control of the gov’t. and the Kaiser gives up the throne.
ARMISTACE – (truce) on This ended WWI.

10. 7. What did the war cost in terms of the number of…
22 million total dead
Civilian deaths accounted for half of that number.
Military deaths = 9-11 million
Wounded = 20 million
Refugees = 10 million
American costs:
52,000 died in battle
62,000 died of disease
200,000 wounded

11. 8. What were the estimated economic costs?
$338 billion -
However, that number and
Statistic is misleading. Turn to page
13 in your Chapter 11 packet and read the article “WWI and the Economy.”
What do the tone and message of that article imply about the economic impact of WWI – specifically on the US? (Positive or negative?) Highlight or underline anything in the article that supports your position. Circle words you are unfamiliar with. HW: Write a paragraph stating and supporting your position with details from the reading. (4-6 sentences)

12. American Ace – red baron Eddie Rickenbacker clip

13. WWI impacts life in the US…
MAKING PREDICTIONS:
Brainstorm with your small groups as to how you think being involved in a long, costly war like WWI would affect the lives of Americans on the home front during its course. Make a list of
POLITICAL……..ECONOMIC…….. & SOCIAL CHANGES you think would most likely have happened.
Section 3 will let you judge the accuracy of your predictions!