Transcript US Enters WWI – Document Stations

America’s Road to WWI
1. US Neutrality
At the war’s outbreak, President Wilson called
on Americans to be “neutral in fact as well as
in name.” If the United States remained out of
the conflict, Wilson reasoned, he could
influence the postwar settlement (treaty).
Even if Wilson had wished to, it would have
been nearly impossible in 1914 to unite
Americans behind the Allies. Many Irish
immigrants viewed Britain as an enemy; while
millions of German Americans maintained
ties to their homeland. Outspoken Americans
condemned the war as a conflict among
greedy capitalist empires.
The New York Sun stated, “It would
be folly, for the country to sacrifice itself to…
the clash of ancient hatreds which is urging
the Old World to destruction.”
The United States, wishing to trade
with all the warring nations, might have
remained neutral if Britain had no held
commanding power at sea….
In this 1916 cartoon,
President Wilson tries to
neutralize German Kaiser
William II’s bloody sword
(representing Germany’s
policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare) by
pointing it toward the
ground.
1) How does the cartoonist
portray Kaiser William II?
2) What position do you
think the cartoonist holds
on American involvement
in the war?
2. Dumba Affair (pronounced: Doom– Ba)
Robert Lancing, Secretary of State in the US, demanded the recall (removal) of
Austrian Ambassador Constantin Dumba. Lancing accused Dumba of
espionage (spying). Dumba was in fact expelled from the US and sent home to
Austria-Hungary. When Dumba arrived in Europe, he was honored!
Lancing’s letter requesting he be removed from office stated:
“Mr. Constantin Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador at Washington, has
admitted that he proposed to his government plans to instigate (incite/start)
strikes in the American manufacturing factories that are specifically engaged in
the production of munitions (weapons) of war.
The information reaching this government through a copy of a letter of the
Ambassador to his government. The bearer was an American citizen named
Archibald, who was traveling with an American passport. The Ambassador has
admitted that he employed Archibald to transport official communications from
him to the Austrian government.”
2. Dumba Affair (pronounced: Doom– Ba)
“THE DUPLICITY (DISHONESTY) OF DUMBA AND HIS DUPE (FOOL) ”
3. Stories from Belgium of the
Schlieffen Plan
The American people were so deeply shocked by Germany’s Schlieffen Plan; which was the
brutal invasion of neutral Belgium, that they believed any British propaganda (persuasive
advertisement) that came from Britain. British propagandists told stories of Belgian Babies
(still living) with their hands hacked off.
British Story of an account of what happened in Belgium:
“The German officer spoke Flemish (Belgian language). He knocked at the door;
the peasant did not come. The officer ordered the soldiers to break down the door, which two
of them did. The peasants came and asked what they were doing. They officer said he did
not come quickly enough, and that they had disciplined plenty of others for the same thing.
His hands were tied behind his back, and he was shot at once without a moment’s delay.
The wife came out with a little child. She put the child down and sprang at the
Germans like a lioness. She clawed their faces. One of the Germans took a rifle and struck
her a tremendous blow with the gun on her head. Another took his bayonet and thrust it
through the child. He then put his rifle on his shoulder with the child up on it, its little arms
stretched out once or twice.
The officers ordered the houses to be set on fire, and straw was obtained, and it
was done. The man and his wife and the child were thrown on the top of the straw. There
were about forty other peasant prisoners there also; and the officer said: “I am doing this as a
lesson and example to you. When a German tells you to do something next time you must
move more quickly.” The regiment of Germans was a regiment of Hussars, with crossbones
and death’s-head on the cap.”
1) Is this
image an
effective
form of
propaganda
?
2) Explain why
or why not.
4. British Blockade of the North Sea
Sept 1914, the British
imposed a naval blockade on
the Central Powers to cut off
vital supplies of food and
military equipment.
President Wilson’s protested
this infringement of the
rights of neutral carriers (the
US) However, commerce
with the Allies more than
made up for the economic
loss.
Trade with Britain and France
grew fourfold over the next
two years ($3.2 billion in
1916) in contrast American
trade with Germany stood at
$56 million. This imbalance
changes US neutrality. If
Germany won and Britain
and France failed to pay on
their debts, American
companies would suffer
catastrophic losses.
4. Unrestricted Submarine
• Unrestricted submarine
Warfare
warfare is a type of
naval warfare in
which submarines sink vessels
such as freighters and tankers
without warning; this goes
against “prize rules.” Prize
rules call for submarines to
surface and search for
merchant ships and place
crews in "a place of safety"
before sinking them, unless
the ship has shown "persistent
refusal to stop ... or active
resistance to visit or search."
• Every dot on the map marks a
ship that was sunk by a
German U-Boat
5. Sinking of the Lusitania
Prior to 1914 there were certain “rules of war” that combatants followed. One
important rule concerned general procedures for battle on the high seas. Before
sinking a ship, the aggressor was required to announce a warning: reason being,
this allowed time for the people to abandon ship. Targeting sailors/civilians was
deemed barbaric, but the supplies on the ship were fair game. When German UBoats insisted on sinking British ships without warning, the US took offense.
William Jennings Bryan, President Wilson’s Secretary of State, protested German
actions:
In view of recent acts of the German authorities in violation of American rights on
the high seas which culminated in the torpedoing and sinking of the British
steamship Lusitania on May 7, 1915, by which over 100 American citizens lost
their lives, it is clearly wise and desirable that the government of the US and the
Imperial German government should come to a clear and full understanding as to
the grave situation which has resulted... The rule that the lives of noncombatants, whether they be of neutral citizenship or citizens of one of the
nations at war, cannot lawfully or rightfully be put in jeopardy by the capture…
American citizens act within their rights in taking their ships and in traveling
wherever their legitimate business calls them upon the high seas.
Timeline
6. Zimmerman Telegram
When war broke out in Europe, the US remained neutral (uninvolved). The
US was willing to sell weapons to both sides, but in reality was only able to
trade with the British. The British naval blockade prevented Americans
from trading with Germany. Frustrated by their situation, Germany sent an
encrypted telegram, a message written in a secret language, to Mexico.
British cryptographers, code breakers, deciphered the message Germany
sent to Mexico:
“On the first of February we intend to begin unrestricted submarine warfare.
In spite of this, it is our intention to keep neutral with the USA.
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…
Zimmerman
(German Secretary of State)
The Pickelhaube (from the German word Pickel meaning,
"point“) was a spiked helmet worn in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries by German military, firefighters, and
police. Although typically associated with the Prussian army,
the helmet was widely imitated by other armies during this
period
WWI Journalism!
• Create a newspaper article
convincing your readers that
the U.S. should enter the war.
You must include at least 3 of
the events in the article to
persuade your readers. Make
sure to explain what
happened!
• Color it.