Transcript SC and WWIx
World War I and South Carolina What role did South Carolina play with its involvement in World War I? How World War I Began • On June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. The assassination sparked a chain of events that drew most of the nations of Europe into a world war. Both sides expected the war to be short, but they were wrong. Their armies quickly reached a stalemate, which meant that neither side was winning. The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand • Over the next few weeks, most of the major European countries are at war • President Wilson issues a proclamation of neutrality…U.S. will stay out of the war. Central Powers • • • • Austria-Hungary German Empire Bulgaria Ottoman Empire Allied Powers • • • • Russia England France United States (joined in 1917) How the U.S. became involved World War I (WWI) • The U.S. remained neutral for the first 3 years of the war. • So what got us involved? • The sinking of a British passenger ship, the Lusitania, by German U-boats in the spring of 1915. • Why does this matter? • The ship was carrying 100 American passengers. A German U-Boat The Lusitania Sunk The German Command said it would torpedo any boat. Neutrality did not matter! Zimmerman Telegraph •The last straw was the interception of the Zimmerman Note. • This telegraph proposed German support for a Mexican attack in the U.S. southwest. • For their involvement, Mexico would get the land it lost during the Mexican-American war. (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada) • On April 4, 1917 the Senate voted “yes” to enter the war. The Zimmerman Telegraph World War I Map We Want You! • The U.S. was not ready to enter the war, so Congress passed the Selective Service Act to ensure there would be enough soldiers for the effort. • Selective Service Act = Draft law that required any male between the ages of 21-30 to register for service and serve if called. WWI Recruiting Poster WWI Recruiting Poster WWI Recruiting Poster • Almost 24 million males signed up for the “draft” and 2.7 million were “called up” for service. Sample Draft Card • On November 11, 1918 Germany signs the armistice which ends the war. • Today, we celebrate Veteran’s Day (Armistice Day) to remember the end of World War I South Carolina Military Bases • Camp Sevier – Located in Greenville to train soldiers to fight in WWI. They even had to use wooden guns because the real ones could only be used for war. • Camp Wadsworth – Located in Spartanburg to train the National Guard troops for the war. • Fort Jackson – Located in Columbia which transformed a barren farm into the largest military base in the state. • Parris Island - Located on Parris Island in the southern part of South Carolina where Marines were trained to fight in WWI. • Charleston Naval Yard – Located in Charleston, this naval yard built and repaired ships for the war effort. Camp Sevier Camp Wadsworth Charleston Naval Yard Fort Jackson Parris Island A Major South Carolinian in WWI • Bernard Baruch (born in Camden) was chosen by President Wilson to lead the War Industries Board • Under his leadership, the country produced every kind of war supply possible • This production helped the U.S. achieve victory in WWI Wartime Economy Freddie Stowers The “Great” Migration • In 1910, three out of every four black Americans lived on farms, and nine out of ten lived in the South before WWI. • After 1917, hoping to escape tenant farming and sharecropping, 1.5 million southern blacks moved to cities in the late teens and 1920s. • During the 1910s and '20s, Chicago's black population grew 148 percent, Cleveland's by 307 percent, Detroit's by 611 percent. • African Americans created cities-within-cities during the 1920s. The largest was Harlem, in upper Manhattan, where 200,000 African Americans lived in a neighborhood that had been virtually all-white fifteen years before. Copy the questions and answer each question. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) What sparked a chain of events that drew most of the nations of Europe into a world war? Why was it difficult for the United States to remain neutral during WW1? What event caused Americans to urge President Wilson to declare war on Germany? What event forced the United States to join the war? Why? There were five training camps in South Carolina during WW1. Name and describe each one of them. How were blacks treated in the military? Who is Freddie Stowers? (Describe his job in the military, the honor he was awarded and why he earned it.) 8) How did WW1 affect South Carolina’s economy? 9) In what ways did Americans show their patriotism during the war? 10) Why did so many black Americans migrate north in the 1910s and 1920s?