Transcript History Causes of World War I

WORLD WAR I
Mr. Lugo
OBJECTIVES: BY THE END OF THIS UNIT, STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
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Describe the factors that were in place that led to the outbreak of war in
Europe.
Identify how World War 1 was deadlier than any war prior to it.
Discuss how the United States shifted from a policy of neutrality to
involvement in the War.
Describe how the United States quickly prepared itself for entry into World War
1.
Analyze the measures the United States government took to control the
wartime economy.
Discuss how the need to build support for the war effort sometimes conflicted
with civil liberties.
Describe the setbacks the Allies faced in 1917 and 1918.
Analyze how American forces contributed to Allied victory. Discuss the
agreement that ended the fighting.
Examine and analyze Woodrow Wilson’s plan for peace.
Describe how the Treaty of Versailles punished the nation of Germany.
Explain why many Americans were against membership in the League of
Nations.
WORLD WAR I (1914–1918)
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Imperialism, Nationalism, and
the Alliance System led to the
“Great War” between the
Central Powers and the Allies
United States, Great Britain,
France, Russia, Belgium,
Serbia, Greece, Romania,
Montenegro, Portugal, Italy,
and Japan were the Allies.
Austria-Hungary, Germany,
Bulgaria, and Turkey were the
Central Powers
About 10 million combatants
killed, 20 million wounded.
IMPERIALISM
 European
nations were
competing for trade and land
in Africa.
 France and Great Britain did
not trust Germany’s
expansion.
 As a result of this distrust,
these nations began to build
up their armed forces.
NATIONALISM
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Nationalism, which is pride in one’s
country, increased tensions between
European nations.
In the Balkan region of Southeastern
Europe, different national groups
tries to break free from AustriaHungary
Russia encouraged these nations to
seek their independence.
The tension created in this area led
many to compare the Balkans to a
“Powder keg” or a barrel of
gunpowder that could explode at any
moment
ALLIANCE SYSTEM
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European nations began to
form alliance systems
Germany formed an alliance
with Austria-Hungary and
Italy
France, Great Britain and
Russia formed their own
alliance.
The alliance system would
mean that any conflict
between any two powers
from opposite sides would
guarantee the involvement of
each sides allies.
STUDENT PRACTICE/APPLICATION
1. Read pages 706-711 in your American
History textbook.
 2. Answer all checkpoint questions.
 3. Utilize all information from PowerPoint
presentation, the reading, and your knowledge
of Social Studies when completing the
Checkpoint questions.
 4. Complete Exit Ticket Question
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THE START OF THE GREAT WAR
It is important to note that at the
start of the Great War, the United
States was not involved militarily.
At the start of the War, the United
States wanted to remain neutral
The war will begin following the
assassination of Austrian
Archduke Francis Ferdinand and
his wife in Sarajevo by Serbian
nationalist, Gavrilo Princip
The following declarations of war
then followed.
Austria declares war on Serbia
Germany declares war on Russia
and France
Germany invades Belgium
Britain declares war on Germany
EARLY ON IN WORLD WAR I
(BEFORE THE UNITED STATES ENTERED)
At the onset of the War, both
sides had hoped for a quick
victory.
 This was not to be the case,
as the war soon turned into a
stalemate.
 A stalemate is a deadlock or
a tie with neither side being
victorious
 This stalemate was fueled by
the utilization of trench
warfare.
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TRENCH WARFARE
Trench warfare is when
soldiers fire upon one
another from opposing
lines of dugout trenches.
 The term “ no man’s land
arose from trench warfare
as the land in between
the trenches was known
as “NO MAN’S LAND”
 Why was it called “ No
Man’s Land”?
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TRENCH WARFARE CONTINUED
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The two armies dug trenches to
protect themselves from bullets
and bombs.
Then they put up mazes of
barbed wire around the trenches.
The area between the trenches
was called "no man's land.“
Soldiers ate and slept in the
trenches.
First one side, and then the other
would try to break through at
some point along the line.
It was very difficult for either side
to win a battle this way, and
trench warfare claimed many
lives.
TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES IN WEAPONS
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Advances in technology made
the war more lethal. These
advances included:
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Airplanes that were used for
scouting and ground support.
Armored Tanks
Rapid-fire machine guns
Poison Gas: Various gases
caused choking, blinding, and
skin blisters.
Poison gas was so destructive
that in 1925, 140 nations
including the United States
agreed to ban the use of
chemical weapons in war.
STUDENT PRACTICE/APPLICATION
1. Read pages 712-715 in your American
History Textbook.
 2. Answer all checkpoint questions.
 3.Utilize all information from PowerPoint
presentation, the reading, and your knowledge
of Social Studies when completing the
Checkpoint questions.
 4. Complete Exit Ticket Question.
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FROM NEUTRALITY TO ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
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As previously mentioned,
soon after the War began,
President Wilson issued a
proclamation of “strict and
impartial neutrality.”
Americans of various different
ethnic backgrounds
supported both sides of the
war.
German and Irish-Americans
supported the Central Powers
Italian-Americans tended to
support the Allies
FROM NEUTRALITY TO ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
Knowing the importance of
having the United States
on their side of the
conflict, the British began
using propaganda to win
American support.
 Propaganda is the spread
of information designed to
win support for a cause.
 British propaganda
focused its efforts on
German brutality
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FROM NEUTRALITY TO ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
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Although the United States as a
nation was neutral, that did not
keep it from providing the Allies
with supplies in their war effort.
Most American trade was with
the Allies
American banks made large
loans to the Allies.
In addition to this, the British
had a naval blockade
preventing supplies from
reaching Germany.
Germany retaliated by using UBoats to blockade Britain.
FROM NEUTRALITY TO ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
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On May 7, 1915, A German UBoat sank the passenger ship the
Lusitania.
1200 people died, 128 of these
were Americans
Americans were furious with
Germany.
Germany claimed the ship was
carrying ammunition. The sinking
of the Lusitania would be the
penultimate major event that
would lead to the United States
entering the war on the side of
the Allies.
Germany continued attacking
American supply ships
FROM NEUTRALITY TO ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
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The final event involved a telegram
intercepted by the British.
This telegram became known as the
Zimmerman telegram, after its author,
German foreign minister Arthur
Zimmerman.
The Zimmerman telegram, meant for
Mexico, but intercepted by Great Britain,
called for Mexico to join the war on the
side of Germany.
In the telegram, Germany promised to
“re-conquer” New Mexico, Texas and
Arizona for Mexico if they joined them in
the war.
As expected, American anger towards
Germany exploded.
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson
asked Congress to declare war on the
Central Powers.
The United States was now at war.
MOBILIZING THE ECONOMY
• Going to war was extremely expensive, and President Wilson needed to
find ways to pay for it.
Taxes
Loans and Liberty
Bonds
• Congress passed the
War Revenue Act of
1917, which
established very high
taxes.
• Wilson sparked an
intense campaign
to sell Liberty
Bonds.
• It taxed wealthy
Americans up to 77
percent of their
incomes.
• They were a form
of loan to the
government from
American people.
• It increased federal
revenue by 400
percent within two
years.
• The national debt
grew from $1.2
billion to $25.5
billion in three
years.
Regulating
Industry
• Congress created
administrative
boards to prepare
industries for war.
• The War Industries
Board (WIB)
regulated all war
materials.
• It increased
industrial
production by 20
percent.
U.S. INVOLVEMENT
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The U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917.
Many reasons: unrestricted submarine warfare
(Lusitania), Zimmerman telegram, British
propaganda, the Russian Revolution
With America’s entry, the war was transformed (at
least according to Woodrow Wilson) into a moral
crusade: an ideological conflict between democracy
and autocracy.
He had been able to claim that because of the
revolution in Russia.
SUPPORTING THE WAR EFFORT
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Now that the U.S. is in the war, it
will need to mobilize quickly
To mobilize is to prepare for war.
In order to do this President
Wilson asked Congress to
establish a draft.
Congress would pass the
Selective Service Act that
required all men ages 21-30 to
register for the draft.
The draft did not apply to
women.
Even without being required to
sign up for the draft, 30,000
women signed up for the
military.
SUPPORTING THE WAR EFFORT
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Americans of many ethnic
backgrounds supported the
war effort.
Mexican, Italian, Phillipino,
Native, African and Puerto
Rican Americans all
volunteered for service.
25% of all draftees were
illiterate.
Not only did the military teach
draftees how to fight, but it
also taught many of them to
read and write.
MANAGING THE WAR EFFORT
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Upon entering the war, the
nation was faced with having to
reshape it’s economy
Herbert Hoover was selected by
President Wilson to oversee the
new Food Administration.
Industries refocused their
efforts and productivity to
support the war.
The War Industries Board (WIB)
was established to oversee the
shift to war production.
Business owners hired women
and African-Americans to fill the
positions left by the men who
had gone off to fight.
MANAGING THE WAR EFFORT
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The Committee on Public
Information, appointed by
President Wilson was established
to promote effective propaganda.
75,000 Artists and Patriotic
speakers were hired to promote
the war effort.
STUDENT PRACTICE/ APPLICATION
1. Read pages 718-722 in your American
History Textbook.
 2. Answer all checkpoint questions.
 3. Utilize all information from PowerPoint
presentation, the reading, and your knowledge
of Social Studies when completing the
Checkpoint questions.
 4. Complete Exit Ticket Question
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FROM WAR TO PEACE
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The United States developed
a convoy system in order to
keep products needed to
fight the war flowing.
A convoy is a large group of
merchant vessels sailing
together.
Allied military ships called
Destroyers accompanied
these convoys.
The Destroyers helped bring
ship losses down
dramatically
FROM WAR TO PEACE
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The Allies would win a series of
important battles in the fall of
1918 that would lead the
Germans to surrender.
The most significant of these
was the Battle of the Argonne
Forest.
In this battle German defenses
crumbled under a vicious Allied
attack.
Early in the fall of 1918,
Germany realized it could not
win and sought out an
armistice.
An Armistice is a halt in fighting
that allows peace talks to begin.
THE END OF WORLD WAR I
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France and Britain dictated the terms of the
Armistice.
Germany was required to surrender all her
U-Boats and remove all its troops from the
Western front.
President Wilson demanded that the
Kaiser, the absolute monarch of Germany,
step down. On November 9, 1918, Kaiser
Wilhelm II left Germany for Holland.
The Armistice officially would take place on
November 11, 1918.
The Treaty of Versailles, signed by Germany
on June 28, 1919 officially ends the war.
World War I would be the deadliest war to
date.
PRESIDENT WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS PLAN
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In a speech to Congress before the war ended, President Wilson outlined a vision of a
“just and lasting peace.”
His plan was called the Fourteen Points, and among its ideas were
— Open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, the removal of trade barriers, and the
reduction of military arms
— A fair system to resolve disputes over colonies
— Self-determination, or the right of people to decide their own political status and
form their own nations
— Establishing a League of Nations, or an organization of countries working together to
settle disputes, protect democracy, and prevent future wars
The Fourteen Points expressed a new philosophy that applied progressivism to U.S.
foreign policy.
The Fourteen Points declared that foreign policy should be based on morality, not just on
what’s best for the nation.
THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
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President Wilson led American negotiators attending the peace conference in
Paris in January 1919.
– His attendance of the Paris Peace Conference made him the first U.S.
President to visit Europe while in office.
– Republicans criticized Wilson for leaving the country when it was trying to
restore its economy.
Wilson’s dream of international peace, though, required him to attend the
conference as a fair and unbiased leader to prevent squabbling among
European nations.
The Paris Peace Conference began on January 12, 1919, with leaders
representing 32 nations, or about three-quarters of the world’s population.
The leaders of the victorious Allies—President Wilson, British Prime Minister
David Lloyd George, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and Italian prime
minister Vittorio Orlando—became known as the Big Four.
Germany and the Central Powers were not invited to attend.
CONFLICTING NEEDS AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE
The delegates arrived at the Peace Conference
with competing needs and desires.
Better World
• President Wilson
had a vision of a
better world.
• He wanted nations to
deal with each other
openly and trade
with each other
fairly.
• Wanted countries to
reduce their arsenal
of weapons
Revenge
• Many Allies wanted
to punish Germany
for its role in the
war.
• Georges
Clemenceau
accused Germany
of tyrannical
conduct,
exemplified by the
huge loss of life
and the continued
suffering of
veterans.
Independence
• Leaders of
Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia
wanted to build
new nations.
• Poland, divided
between Germany
and Russia,
wanted one
nation.
• Ho Chi Minh
worked at the
Paris Ritz hotel
and asked France
to free Vietnam.
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
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The Allies eventually reached an agreement and presented the Treaty of
Versailles to Germany in May.
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The treaty was harsher than Wilson wanted, requiring Germany to
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Disarm its military forces
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Pay $33 billion in reparations, or payments for damages and expenses
caused by the war, which Germany could not afford
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Take sole responsibility for starting the war
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The Central Powers also had to turn over their colonies to the Allies, to stay
under Allied control until they could become independent.
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The treaty included some of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, such as the creation
of a League of Nations and self-determination for some ethnic groups in
Eastern and Central Europe.
Germany strongly protested the treaty but signed it after
France threatened military action.
THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR I
Political
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The war led to the
overthrow of
monarchies in
Russia, AustriaHungary, Germany,
and Turkey.
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It contributed to the
rise of the Bolsheviks
to power in Russia in
1917.
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It fanned the flames
of revolts against
colonialism in the
Middle East and
Southeast Asia.
Economic
• WWI devastated
European
economies, giving
the U.S. the
economic lead.
• The U.S. still faced
problems such as
inflation, which left
people struggling to
afford ordinary
items.
• Farmers, whose
goods were less in
demand than during
the war, were hit
hard.
Social
• The war killed 14
million people and
left 7 million men
disabled.
• The war drew
more than a
million women into
the U.S. workforce,
which helped them
pass the
Nineteenth
Amendment to get
the vote.
• It also encouraged
African Americans
to move to
northern cities for
factory work.
CASUALTIES OF
WORLD WAR I
STUDENT PRACTICE/APPLICATION
1. Read pages 723-727 in your American
History Textbook.
 2. Answer all checkpoint questions.
 3. Utilize all information from PowerPoint
presentation, the reading, and your knowledge
of Social Studies when completing the
Checkpoint questions.
 4. Complete Exit Ticket Question
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