World War I (1914-1920)

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World War I (1914-1920)

• The War to End All Wars?

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Section 1 Road to War

• Prior to WWI, a dramatic rise of nationalism,
  imperialism, and militarism in Europe seemed to
  make large-scale conflict inevitable.

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Causes of World War I

• Although one event provoked the start of war, the
  main causes of war existed prior to 1914.
• Imperialism
• Militarism
• Nationalism
• Alliances

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Imperialism

• A great scramble for colonies took place in the
  late 1800s.
• European powers rushed to claim the remaining
  uncolonized areas of the world, particularly in
  Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
• By 1910, most land was colonized, leading to
  increased hostility and competition for land
  within Europe.
• Germany felt envious of Britain and France, who
  fared better in the imperialist race.

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Militarism

• Diplomacy is largely abandoned for militarism.
• Nations built up their armed forces in
  preparation for war.
• Industrial and technological growth gave birth to
  new weaponry.
• Preparation leads to action

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Nationalism

• Some countries acted out of national interest.
  When interests conflicted with other countries,
  war often ensued.
• Other countries had diverse ethnic groups within
  them. These ethnic minorities often wanted their
  independence.

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Alliances

• A complicated system of alliances developed among
  European nations at the turn of the century.
• Germany and Austria-Hungary
• Russia and France
• Great Britain and France
• If two countries went to war, the alliance system
  would pull the entire continent into the conflict.

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Alliances

• Alliances were broken into two groups the Triple
  Alliance, and the Triple Entente

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A Powder Keg

• Due to these alliances, strong nationalism, and
  the expansion of armed forces, Europe appeared to
  be on the brink of a continent-wide conflict.
• Many referred to it as a powder keg ready to
  explode with any small spark.

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Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand

• On June 28, 1914 Francis Ferdinand, heir to the
  throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire was
  assassinated.

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Austria-Hungary had recently annexed Bosnia, many
Serbians lived in Bosnia and resented A-Hs
control wanted to reunite with
Serbia. Ferdinand was in Sarajevo, the capital
of Bosnia, and his assassin, Gavrilo Princip, was
a Serbian nationalist.
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Powder Keg explodes

• The assassination of Francis Ferdinand was the
  spark that lit the powder keg.
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
• Russian declared war on Austria-Hungary
• Germany sides with A-H
• France and Great Britain side with Russia/Serbia.
  

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Allied Powers

• Russia, Serbia, France, and Great Britain became
  known as the Allied Powers, or the Allies.

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Central Powers

• Germany and Austria-Hungary made up the Central
  Powers.
• Italy was an ally to Germany and Austria-Hungary
  prior to the war, but switched sides after the
  war began.

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Schlieffen Plan

• Both sides expected victory within months.
• The Schlieffen Plan was Germanys plan for quick
  sweeping victory on the Western war front.
• Germany hoped to avoid fighting on two fronts by
  winning quickly on the Western Front before
  facing Russia in the east.

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Stalemate

• Germany quickly moved through Belgium and
  northern France, but were stopped by British and
  French forces 30 miles from Paris.
• Stalemate occurred, where neither side could gain
  land or advantage.

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Trench Warfare

• In the stalemate that was most of WWI, soldier
  dug trenches into the ground for protection.
• Both sides trenches faced each other across an
  empty no mans land.

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Trench Foot
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Modern Warfare

• WWI is often considered to be the first modern
  war.
• Industrial development created new, more
  efficient killing machines.
• Rapid fire machine guns, grenades, artillery
  shells, poison gases, armored tanks.

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New Weapons Effect

• A machine gun can fire 450 rounds a minute.
• In prior wars, armies fought in an open field.
• Rapid-fire weapons made fighting in the open
  deadly and impossible.
• 20,000 British soldiers were killed in a single
  day trying to rush a German trench.
• Soldiers dug into the ground to avoid being
  mowed down.

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American Response

• Most Americans sympathized with the Allied
  powers.
• Many German and Irish American immigrants,
  however, felt ties with Central powers and
  resented the British.
• Wilhelm II, the Kaiser, or Emperor, of Germany
  had strong militant control over Germany. His
  authoritarian leadership concerned Americans, who
  valued democracy.

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Propaganda

• British newspapers published false propaganda,
  information to sway public opinion, that soon
  infiltrated American thought.

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Neutrality

• President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed
  the U.S. a neutral country.
• American business leaders supported neutrality,
  but many with strong commercial ties to Great
  Britain urged preparedness for war.
• In 1915-1916, Wilson greatly expanded the U.S.
  armed forces to prepare for possible involvement.

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Peace Movement

• Many also opposed preparedness and any
  consideration of war.
• Former Populists, progressives, and social
  reformers advocated peace and neutrality.
• Many cited the financial costs and increased
  taxes as reasons not to enter war.

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Section 2 U.S. Enters War

• As WWI increasingly jeopardized U.S. business
  interests, America finally declared war.

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German Submarine Warfare

• The German U-boat, or submarine, changed naval
  warfare and trade.
• U-boats fired on merchant ships while hidden
  underwater without warning.

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Sinking of the Lusitania

• On May 7, 1915, A German U-boat attacked the
  Lusitania, a British passenger liner.
• The ship sank in eighteen minutes, killing 1,200
  passengers and 128 Americans.
• Outraged the U.S. who demanded Germany stop
  submarine warfare.

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Sussex Pledge

• Germany promised to stop sinking passenger ships
  without warning, but continued doing so anyway.
• After attacking the Sussex, a French ship, the
  U.S. threatened to cut diplomatic ties with
  Germany.
• Germany promised again to warn ships before
  attacking, known as the Sussex pledge.

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Wilson Reelected

• Woodrow Wilson was reelected as president in 1916
  on the slogan, He kept us out of war.
• Soon afterwards, Germany declared it would end
  the Sussex pledge.

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The Zimmerman Note

• In February of 1917, Britain revealed an
  intercepted German telegram from Arthur
  Zimmerman, Germanys foreign secretary.
• The Zimmerman note was written to Mexico,
  proposing that if Mexico joined Germany in
  fighting the U.S., Germany would help Mexico
  reacquire Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

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Zimmerman Note

• Mexico, divided by civil war, didnt pose a
  realistic threat to the U.S., but the telegram
  increased American hostility towards Germany.
• We shall endeavor to keep the U.S. neutral. In
  the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico
  a proposal of alliance Make war together, make
  peace together and Mexico is to reconquer the
  lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and
  Arizona.
• -Arthur Zimmerman

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Russian Revolution

• By 1917, Russia had suffered enormous casualties
  in the war (1.5 million killed, 2.5 million POW,
  millions more wounded) and Central forces had
  pushed deep into Russias interior.
• In March 1917, Czar Nicholas II was forced out of
  the throne for a republican government.
• This further pushed the U.S. to war, who was
  hesitant to ally themselves with a dictator.

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U.S. Declaration of War

• Germany sank the U.S. ships City of Memphis,
  Illinois, and Vigilancia before the Presidents
  Cabinet voted unanimously for war.
• A war vote passed 82 to 6 in the Senate and 373
  to 50 in the House.
• Wilson said that the world must be made safe for
  democracy.
• U.S. entered war on April 6, 1917

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Section 3 U.S. in Europe

• Early on, the U.S. only contributed supplies and
  a small group of soldiers. In 1918, they
  increased the number of troops in Europe to 3
  million.

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Draftees and Volunteers

• Congress passed a Selective Service Act,
  authorizing a draft of young men for military
  service.
• More than 24 million registered for the mandatory
  draft, and 3 million were chosen by lottery.
• Draftees and volunteers formed what was called
  the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

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The Convoy System

• As a precaution against German U-boats, the U.S.
  merchant and troop ships began traveling to
  Europe in a convoy.
• Groups of unarmed ships traveled in a large group
  surrounded by destroyers and torpedo boats
  designed to track and destroy submarines.

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Soldiers in Europe

• Led by General John J. Pershing
• Pershing history Spanish-American War went to
  Mexico in search of Pancho Villa
• Pershing kept U.S. troops independent from other
  Allied troops.
• Believed the U.S. needed to bring a new,
  offensive mindset that would turn the tide of war
  and bring victory.

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Russias Exit The Bolshevik Revolution

• In late 1917, Vladimir Lenin and his followers,
  Bolsheviks, overthrew the Russian government.
• Prioritizing the communist revolution within
  Russia, Lenin signed a truce with Germany and
  pulled out of the war.
• Eliminated the eastern front of the war and
  allowed Germany to move all their troops to the
  western front.

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German Advancement

• In 1918, with all their troops on the western
  front, Germany broke through the trenches and
  began advancing through France toward Paris.
• First time that the stalemate ended since the
  beginning of the war in 1914.

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American troops push back Germany

• General Pershing dispatched troops to the front
  of the battle to turn back the German offensive.
• They successfully halted the German advancement
  and began pushing the line of battle further
  back, away from Paris.

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Allied Counterattack

• The arrival of U.S. troops turned the tide of the
  war in favor of the Allied powers.
• 250,000 new American soldiers were arriving in
  France each month and quickly sent to the front
  line.
• The introduction of the armored tank allowed
  Allies to cross trenches and break German lines.

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War in the Air

• Towards the end of the war, airplanes are
  introduced in combat, forever changing warfare.
• Used as scouting tools early on.
• Began firing machine guns from planes and finally
  dropping bombs.

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Ending the War

• The Allied powers continued to overpower the
  Central forces.
• Austria-Hungary divided in October of 1918.
• Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks all
  declared their independence.
• German commanders proposed peace, but Allies
  demanded full German surrender.

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End of War

• The German navy mutinied, or refused to fight any
  longer.
• The German Kaiser fled to Holland in November.
• A civilian representative from Germany signed an
  armistice, or cease-fire, on November 11, 1918.

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Influenza Epidemic

• Last months of war were darkened not only from
  war deaths, but epidemic.
• American troops arriving in 1918 brought a new
  form of an influenza virus.
• The epidemic killed an estimated 30 million
  people worldwide, far more than those who died in
  battle itself.

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Impact of War

• The scars of war ran deep throughout most of the
  world, particularly in Europe.
• The sick and wounded outnumbered those who had
  died.
• The war to end all wars only seemed to
  intensify the hatred and bitterness between
  nations and ethnicities in Europe.

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Section 4 War at Home

• Although the war more greatly impacted Europe,
  where it was fought, domestic life in America saw
  changes as well.

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Financing the War

• Government raised money from the American people.
• Borrowed money by selling Liberty Bonds.
• A bond is an investment, money loaned to the
  government to be paid back with interest.
• Liberty Bonds raised 20 billion for the war.

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New Agencies

• New agencies were created to coordinate the war
  effort.
• War Industries Board- managed war-related
  production
• National War Labor Board- worked to settle
  disruptive labor issues

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Food and Fuel Regulation

• In 1917, Congress passed the Lever Food and Fuel
  Control Act.
• Gave the President the power to regulate food and
  fuel distribution.
• Herbert Hoover, leader of the Food Administration
  and future President, had power to control prices
  and ration goods that were necessary for war
  food and fuel.

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Enforcing Loyalty

• In an effort to unify the country and enforce
  loyalty, news and information came under federal
  control.
• Propaganda and advertisements glorified the war
  and criticized those who werent supportive of
  the war.

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Hate the Hun

• Germans were often called Huns, a reference to a
  violent people group that invaded Europe in the
  fourth and fifth century.
• Schools stopped teaching German, German books
  were removed from libraries.
• A German-born American citizen name Robert Prager
  was lynched, despite having tried to enlist in
  the U.S. Navy.

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Sedition Act

• President Wilson warned that disloyalty would be
  dealt with with a firm hand of stern
  repression.
• Congress passed the Sedition Act in 1918.
• Made it illegal to obstruct the sale of Liberty
  Bonds or discuss anything disloyal, profane, or
  abusive about American government, or the war.
• A direct violation of the First Amendment
  freedom of speech.

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Lifestyle Changes

• War created new work opportunities for women and
  minorities, to fill the jobs of soldiers in the
  war.
• 400,000 women joined the industrial work force
  for the first time.
• 500,000 African Americans moved from the South to
  northern cities to find factory work.

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Section 5 End of War Resolutions

• Woodrow Wilson had visions of world peace and
  accountability. His plans were not realized,
  Germany was given harsh punishments that led
  directly to WWII.

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Woodrow Wilsons Fourteen Points

• Before the war ended, Wilson proposed a series of
  goals that he thought could bring lasting world
  peace.
• There were fourteen goals, and were known as
  Wilsons Fourteen Points

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Wilsons Fourteen Points

• 1. An end to secret treaties
• 2. Absolute freedom of the seas
• 4. Guaranteed reduction of national armaments
• 14. The creation of a League of Nations
• A cooperative group of nations created to hold
  all nations accountable a community of shared
  power.

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Self-determination

• Wilson advocated for the self-determination of
  ethnic groups.
• Self-determination- the power to make decisions
  about ones own future.

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Paris Peace Conference

• In January 1919, an international peace
  conference convened in Paris.
• Wilson attended and made it clear he did not wish
  to punish the wars losers by taking land or
  money from them.

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Compromise

• Wilson did not get his way
• Leaders from Britain, France, and Italy wanted to
  make Germany pay significantly for the war.
• Wanted to divide up German colonies and make them
  pay reparations- financial repayment for losses.

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League of Nations

• One of Wilsons major points was the formation of
  a League of Nations.
• Under the league, nations would join together to
  ensure security and peace for all nations.
• Article 10 stated that an attack on one country
  would be viewed as an attack on all countries.
• Designed to dissuade any country from aggression
  and imperialism.

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The Peace Treaty

• Peace talks resumed in March 1919, but Wilson was
  given little input in the discussion.
• France and Britain demanded harsh penalties for
  Germany.
• Wilson feared that these demands would lead to
  future wars.

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Redrawing the Map of Europe

• Wilson was also forced to compromise on
  self-determination, the conference leaders
  decided the fate of small Balkan ethnic groups.
• The conference created nine new nations out of
  the territory that was Austria-Hungary.

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Redrawing Maps

• They reduced the Ottoman Empire to what became
  Turkey.
• Britain took control of Palestine, Transjordan,
  and Iraq.
• France took control of Syria and Lebanon.

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War Guilt and Reparations

• Against Wilsons desire, the treaty left Germany
  with crippling reparations.
• Ruled that Germany owed the Allies 33 Billion,
  an amount that Germany could not realistically
  afford to pay.

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Reparations, Depression, Hitler, and WWII

• These harsh reparations are often cited as a
  direct cause of WWII.
• The reparations created German bitterness and
  intensified the global economic depression in the
  20-30s, leading to Hitlers rise to power.
• Germany just completed paying the reparations on
  October 3, 2010

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Versailles Treaty

• Germany, shocked by the excessive reparations,
  refused to sign the treaty until France
  threatened to invade.
• The powers finally signed the treaty on June 28
  at Versailles, the former home of French kings.
• The treaty is known as the Versailles Treaty.

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U.S. Response and Henry Cabot Lodge

• Many conservative senators, lead by Republican
  Henry Cabot Lodge, did not support the treaty
  because it committed the U.S. to the League of
  Nations.
• Lodge believed that participation in the League
  of Nations would draw the U.S. into every
  European conflict and undermine American
  independence.

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Cabot Lodge and conservative Republicans feared
the League of Nations would tie the hands of the
U.S., and undermine American independence.
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Wilsons Stroke

• Wilson gave speeches across the country to win
  support for the League of Nations.
• Suffered a serious stroke, paralyzed one side of
  his body and isolated him from political activity
  for the remainder of his term.

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Senate Vote

• Due to Wilsons illness, Cabot Lodges strong
  influence, and a Republican majority in the
  senate, the senate voted to reject U.S.
  participation in the League of Nations, 39 for,
  55 against.
• They re-voted 2 more times, and each time the
  proposal was rejected.

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The End of Debate

• The U.S. Congress voted to disregard the Treaty
  of Versailles and declare the war over.
• Wilson vetoed.
• Congress passed the movement again, and by then
  Republican President, Warren Harding, was in
  office, who signed it.

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Conclusion

• Despite the creation of the League of Nations
  being Woodrow Wilsons idea, the U.S. became the
  only country not to join.
• Some argue that a stronger League of Nations,
  with U.S. support, could have prevented or
  softened WWII.