Transcript Woodrow Wilson and WWI

WOODROW WILSON
AND WWI
1914-1918
President Woodrow Wilson, 19081913-1921
Trouble in Europe: 4 Primary Causes that
Led to WWI in Europe in 1914
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1. Increased Militarism
2. The Growth of Imperialism
3. Entangling Alliances
4. The Rise of Nationalism
Germany and Great Britain
SPARK the started WWI: Assassination of Francis
Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian throne by Serb
Nationalist
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife
just minutes before being shot in Bosnia
Europe at War, 1914-1918
Allies
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British Empire
France
Russia *** (until 1917)
U. S., Entered War in
1917
Central Powers
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Germany
Austro-Hungarian
Empire
Turkey (Ottoman
Empire)
Map of Participants WWI
President Woodrow Wilson
1916:“He Kept us Out of War”
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Desired Neutrality
US divided in support for
Britain and Germany
Isolationists wanted to stay
out of war
Interventionists wanted to join
the war
Trade with Europe (Britain
and France) during WWI led
to one of the greatest
economic booms in the
nation’s history
WWI and Submarine Warfare
Sussex Pledge
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March 1916 German submarine in the English Channel
attacked what it thought was a minelaying ship. It was
actually a French passenger ship called 'The Sussex'
Several Americans were injured
Merchant ships would be
searched and sunk only if they
contained military items.
February 1917, Germany broke the Sussex Pledge and
returned to sinking all 'enemy' craft
Election of 1916: Wilson Wins
“He Kept Us Out of War”
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Wilson ran again for president and knew that
many Americans wanted to stay out of the war,
called pacifists or isolationists.
Theodore Roosevelt and many others felt the U.S.
should go to war=interventionists.
Wilson tried to remain neutral—not taking sides
in the war
There was a heated debate over preparedness,
and Wilson finally agreed to expand the armed
forces.
The Zimmerman Telegram
Arthur Zimmerman, German foreign
minister
The Telegram to Mexico
1917---PIVOTAL YEAR IN U.S. AND WORLD
HISTORY
1. US joined the war in Europe
•2. Russian Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution) impacted
global alignments for rest of the 20th century
Reasons why the U.S. Joined the War in 1917
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1. U.S. was becoming more active in international affairs
2. Americans identified with Britain and France and
TRADED with them =$$$$
3. Wilson believed the U.S. should take the lead to
create new world order, a lasting peace
4. The Zimmerman telegram to Mexico was a direct
threat to the US
5. Germany resumed use of submarines to attack U.S.
ships
6. It looked as if the Allies would lose the war against
Germany if the U.S. did not step in
U.S. declared war in April, 1917
African American Soldiers in WWI
General John J. Pershing
New Technology of Warfare
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1. Trench warfare
2. Chemical weapons, mustard gas
3. Submarines
4. ***Modern navy and battleships
5. First war to use airplanes
6. Machine guns
7. Mobile weapons=tanks, trucks
8. Flame throwers
9. Wireless telegraphy
American Cemetery in the Argonne Forest,
France
1918 Armistice Ended Hostilities
11th hour, 11th day, 11th month
 9-10 million killed in war, 20 million died of
flu
 U.S. lost 112,000 in the war (half died of flu)
 U.S. lost 675,000 to the flu epidemic
 WWI led to profound changes in Europe, the
nature of warfare, the rise of communism
(Russian Revolution) and the international
position of the U.S.
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WWI Transforms American Society
WWI Transformed American Society
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1. Selective Service Act (Draft)
2. American Expeditionary Force—men serving abroad
3. The federal government and the business community
worked closely to coordinate and control the wartime
economy.
*WWI led to economic boom in the U.S.
*War Industries Board
*Rationing and price setting
* Manufacturing and shipping war supplies
*Funding the war—taxes, Liberty Bonds, national debt
$2 billion to $20 billion
WWI Transforms the nation
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4. Women, African Americans, Hispanics and
Asians went to work in jobs they had never held
before.
5. American farmers and agriculture—economic
boom as farm prices were higher than had been
in ten years
Women at work in tannery
WWI Transforms the Nation….
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6. “Great Migration” from the rural South to the
urban North
7. Espionage Act
Sedition Acts
Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles
Wilson arrived in Paris to an overwhelming
welcome—was treated like a hero. This changed very
quickly.
The Fight for the League of Nations
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Paris Peace Conference
Treaty of Versailles
Debate Over the Treaty and League of Nations
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points
for Peace
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The Fourteen Points—Wilson’s plan for a new
world order to insure peace in the future
Several points addressed boundaries for European
countries and right to national self determination
Other points addressed how to settle international
disputes in the future
FINALLY—There was a proposal for a League of
Nations – an international peacekeeping
organization, which all countries should belong
to.
Wilson’s 14 Points in a nutshell…
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1. No more secret treaties
2. Countries should reduce their stockpiles of armies
and reduce the size of their armies
3. National self determination should allow people
of the same nationality to govern themselves and
one nationality should not have the power to govern
another.
4. All countries should belong to the League of
Nations
Palace of Versailles where treaty was
signed….officially ending WWI
Signing the Treaty of Versailles
The League of Nations