The US enters the Great War

1
The US enters the Great War

• US History

2
Pre-1917

• For the first three years of the war, the US
  maintained a position of neutrality, even though
  they were sending goods to the British and French
  forces.
• At the Marne River, were the Allies and the
  Central Powers were fighting at a stalemate,
  things were getting ugly.

3
The Sussex Pledge

• Germany signed the Sussex Pledge which assured
  other nations that they would not fire upon a
  ship without giving prior warning, so that
  civilians could get off.

4
The Lusitania

• May 7, 1917
• -The ship Lusitania went into the Irish Channel
  where it met with a German U-Boat.
• 1,198 people died including 128 Americans which
  fueled the anger at home
• Why did the German Capt.Schwieger feel he had
  just cause to fire?

5
German Rationale

• Capt.Turner had violated 5 of the top-secret
  Admiralty rules for travel in hostile water.
• Zigzag course which is what battleships did
• He avoided headlands
• The Germans also believed illegal contraband was
  being carried across

6
British Rationale

• -most nations hated German unrestricted
  submarine warfare.
• -The Captain Walther Schwieger had destroyed
  many neutral ships including passenger and
  hospital ships.

7
The Zimmerman Note

• Letter from Germany to Mexico
• Promised Mexico return of Texas, Arizona, and New
  Mexico in exchange for her help

8
Where was Russia?

• In 1917, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin
  took over Russia and overthrew Czar Nicholas.
• The new government arranged its own peace treaty
  with the Germans and pulled out of the war.

9
The Treaty of Versailles

• 14 Points of Light
• Flaws
• Idealism
• Reservationists
• Irreconcilables
• Why did so many in the US oppose the Treaty?

10
US gains strength

• Why did the US become a world power after the end
  of the war?
• What problems are still around today because of
  decisions made during World War I?