10th American History

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10th American History

• Unit II- Becoming a World Power
• Chapter 8 Section 2
• The United States in World War I

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The United States in World War I

• The Main Idea
• The United States helped turn the tide for an
  Allied victory.
• Reading Focus
• Why did the United States try to stay neutral in
  the war?
• Which events showed that America was heading into
  war?
• What contributions did Americans make in Europe?
• How did the war end?

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The United States Stays Neutral

• Americans thought of World War I as a European
  conflict with little effect on their country.
• Just after the war broke out, President Wilson
  declared that the U.S. would stay neutral.
• Wilsons decision reflected the U.S.s
  longstanding policy of isolationism, or not being
  involved in foreign affairs.
• Privately, Wilson favored the Allied cause
  because Germany's tactics and invasion of Belgium
  was worrisome.
• The U.S. also had greater political, cultural,
  and commercial ties to Great Britain and France
  than to Germany.
• Financially, the U.S. did more business with the
  Allies.
• The British fleet blockaded German ports and
  transportation routes, and few American
  businesses could sell goods to German forces.
• Doing business with the Allies was easier, and by
  1917 Britain purchased nearly 75 million worth
  of war goods each week.

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U.S. Neutrality

• Aug. 4, 1914 Wilson proclaims the neutrality of
  the United States. U.S. needs to be the model for
  world peace. U.S. more interested in competing
  for markets than killing.
• 1915 Henry Ford charters a Peace Ship to
  Stockholm, Sweden conference January 1916
• Ford, then one of the richest men in the world,
  actually thought he could talk the leaders of
  Europe into stopping World War.
• Ford believed if he could only get foreign
  leaders to sit down in a room, he could make them
  listen to reason and the war would end. Straight
  talk from a no-nonsense businessman would
  persuade where diplomatic doubletalk had failed.
• A boat of pacifists-Every crackpot and nut in
  the country wanted to get on that boat, from
  socialists, to prohibitionists, to anti-smoking
  crusaders, to pro-German partisans, and people
  from every religious splinter-group in the
  country.
• The Peace Expedition became a farce, The world
  press mocked them mercilessly. It failed.

Oskar II- Peace ship
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Ties that bind

• Allies
• U.S. spoke English language.
• U.S. Laws and customs based on English
  foundations.
• All news from Europe came through British press.
  (England had cut the trans-Atlantic cable)
  British Propaganda-atrocity stories.
• Kaiser Wilhelm had made many warlike
  (militaristic) statements.
• Trade with England and Allies was enormous. 3
  Billion
• 2 billion in loans to Allies.

• Central Powers
• Millions in US favored Central powers due to
  ancestors who had been born in Austria, Germany
  or Hungary.
• Irish Americans were glad to see anyone fight the
  British.
• US had long been trading with the Germans. But
  that dropped by 1916 from 170 million to 1
  million.

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Problem of Neutral Rights

• International Law and use of the Seas
• Neutral nations still allowed to trade with both
  sides.
• Warring nations were allowed by International Law
  to stop and inspect neutral vessels at sea.
• Warring nations could seize certain war materials
  (Contraband)- explosives, guns and ammunition.
  But not other goods.
• Before sinking a commercial ship, the attacker
  had to give warning.
• No court, or police force to make nations obey
  the law.
• Freedom of the Seas

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The Problem of Neutral Rights

• British Navy
• Blockade- Control the seas and starve Germany
  into submission
• Contraband included all sorts of goods including
  food.
• All neutral ships would be searched even those
  going to neutral countries. England would seize
  any ship bound for Germany.
• North Sea was a military are and put mines down.
• All in violation of international law.
• British would pay for all goods seized after
  America protested.

• German Submarines
• 1915- fleet of 27 subs disobeyed international
  law.
• War zone- Germany declares this around the
  British Isles.
• Unrestricted sub warfare.
• Advised all neutrals not to travel there or on
  British ships.
• Wilson insists under International law Americans
  had the right to sail on any ship. And Germany
  would be accountable for all American lives.
• 1915- Germany sinks Lusitania, then Arabic and
  Sussex passenger ships. After promising not to
  sink unarmed passenger ships without warning.

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United States Stays Neutral

• Why did the United States try to stay neutral in
  the war?
• Why did President Wilson declare that the U.S.
  would remain neutral?
• Do you think that Germanys submarine warfare was
  an appropriate response to the British Blockade?

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Lusitania
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Wilsons Peace Efforts

• In the election of 1916 his slogan had been He
  kept us out of war.
• After 1916 Wilson still tried to keep the US out
  of the war.
• He asked the European powers to declare a Peace
  without victory. But Germany announces
  unrestricted sub warfare.
• Germany felt the US would be too late even if
  they entered the war.

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German Submarine Warfare

• U-Boats
• Germany suffered because of the British blockade,
  so it developed small submarines called U-boats
  to strike back at the British.
• U-boats are named after the German for undersea
  boat.
• In February 1915 the German government declared
  the waters around Great Britain a war zone,
  threatening to destroy all enemy ships.
• Germany warned the U.S. that neutral ships might
  be attacked.
• The German plan for unrestricted submarine
  warfare angered Americans, and Wilson believed it
  violated the laws of neutrality.
• Wilson held Germany accountable for American
  losses.

• Americas Involvement
• In 1915, Germany sank a luxury passenger ship to
  Great Britain called the Lusitania, killing many,
  including 128 Americans
• Americans were outraged, and Wilson demanded an
  end to unrestricted submarine warfare.
• The Germans agreed to attack only supply ships
  but later sank the French passenger ship Sussex,
  killing 80 people.
• Wilson threatened Germany again, and Germany
  issued the Sussex pledge, promising not to sink
  merchant vessels without warning and without
  saving human lives.

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Re-Election, Espionage, and War
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The United States goes to war

• Zimmerman note- German ambassador asked Mexico to
  join Central powers with promise to return all
  lands taken by the US.
• 1917-Wilson arms Merchant ships for protection
  against submarines.
• April 2, 1917 Wilson asks Congress to declare war
  on Germany.
• The world must be made safe for democracy. We
  must fight for the rights and liberties of small
  nations.
• Americans need to be soldiers of righteousness.

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Possible causes of U.S. entry

• British Propaganda and Pro-British sentiment
• Submarine Warfare
• Munitions trade and loans to Great Britain
• Zimmerman Note
• Sinking of the Lusitania

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Heading Toward War

• What events showed that America was heading
  toward war?
• Why were the Germans concerned after the Sussex
  attack?
• What view did both Wilson and Hughes hold about
  the war?
• Why did the Allies reject President Wilsons
  peace without victory plan?

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Heading Toward War

• How did the United States intend to make the
  world safe for democracy when most of European
  countries on both sides of the war were
  monarchies?
• How do you think history might have been
  different if Mexico had entered the war as an
  ally of the Central powers?

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Wilsons 14 Points- His Dream for the world

• 1. No more secret agreements ("Open covenants
  openly arrived at").
• 2. Free navigation of all seas.
• 3. An end to all economic barriers between
  countries.
• 4. Countries to reduce weapon numbers.
• 5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be
  impartial
• 6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia.
  Russia should be left to developher own
  political set-up.
• 7. Belgium should be independent like before the
  war.
• 8. France should be fully liberated and allowed
  to recover Alsace-Lorraine
• 9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in
  Italy. Italy's borders are to "alongclearly
  recognisable lines of nationality."
• 10. Self-determination should be allowed for all
  those living in Austria-Hungary.
• 11. Self-determination and guarantees of
  independence should be allowed forthe Balkan
  states.
• 12. The Turkish people should be governed by the
  Turkish government. Non-Turks inthe old Turkish
  Empire should govern themselves.
• 13. An independent Poland should be created which
  should have access to the sea.
• 14. A League of Nations should be set up to
  guarantee the political and territorial
  independence of all states.

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The American Army

• Raising an Army
• On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective
  Service Act, requiring men between 21 and 30 to
  register for a draft.
• Some asked to be classified as conscientious
  objectors, or religious people against fighting,
  but were rejected.
• In the summer of 1917, new recruits reported for
  training but found almost nothing ready.
• Soldiers slept in tents until barracks were
  built, and supplies hadnt yet arrived.
• New recruits learned military rules with sticks
  and barrels instead of rifles and horses.

• Discrimination
• African American soldiers were segregated and
  trained in separate camps.
• Many white officers and southern politicians
  feared African Americans would pose a threat
  after the war so only trained a few black
  regiments.
• Latino soldiers faced scorn from other troops and
  were often assigned menial tasks.
• The federal government, however, did accept
  non-English-speaking soldiers.
• The military had programs in New Mexico and
  Georgia to help Hispanic soldiers learn English.

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Mobilization of Men and Women

• Nation needs an army
• May 28, 1917- Selective Service Act (Draft)
• All men between 21 and 31 had to register
• No buying ones way out- 10 million were listed.
• Lottery was the fairest way to choose. Everyone
  got a number between 1 and 10,500. Numbers
  placed in a fishbowl and withdrawn enough for
  687,000 men into the army.
• 24 million men between 18-45 entered selective
  service. 3 million called into service.
• 1918- 4.8 million- enlistee, draftees, and
  national guard in armed service.

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America Joins the Ranks- 417
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Arriving in Europe

• The American Army, National Guard, and volunteer
  and draft soldiers overseas formed the American
  Expeditionary Forces (AEF), led by General John
  J. Pershing.
• The first U.S. troops arrived in France in 1917
  through a convey system, in which troop-transport
  ships were surrounded by destroyers or cruisers
  for protection, limiting the number of ships sunk
  and troops lost.
• When America arrived, Germany occupied all of
  Belgium and part of France, and Russia struggled
  against famine and civil war.
• If Russia fell, Germans would bring all their
  troops west, and the Allies needed the Americans
  to fight immediately.
• General Pershing, however, wanted American troops
  to train and to fight separately from European
  regiments.
• Pershing sent his troops to training camps in
  eastern France instead of to the battlefields.

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Mobilization

• War at Sea
• Convoy to move troops and supplies to Europe. To
  provide a bridge of ships
• Organized group of merchant and passenger ships
  surrounded and protected by naval vessels to ward
  off submarine attacks.
• US ship building- a mammoth program.
• US also seized German vessels in American waters
  and impressing US vessels the ship gap was filled.

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American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
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American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

• May 1918
• Doughboys-The name may have come from the large
  brass buttons on the uniforms of Union soldiers
  in the Civil War they were said to resemble
  doughboys, a flour dumpling cooked in soup
• 2nd and 3rd Divisions fight at Belleau Wood and
  Chateau-Thierry. Argonne Forest.
• 85,000 American help save Paris
• General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing has an army
  of 1/2 million on the Southern Front.
• Oct. 1918- Battle of Sedan- American Victory.
  British and French Lines begin to advance.
• German mistake- Americans were late but made a
  difference.
• U.S. lost 50,280 men, and 25,000 to disease.
  42,000 Black troop fought in French units.
• Russia, England and France lost over 4 million
  total. 1 million other countries.
• Armistice- November 11, 1918- 11th hour, 11th day
  of the 11th month.

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Allied Setbacks and U.S. Action

• Allied Setbacks
• While Americans trained, the Allies suffered a
  blow when a group called the Bolsheviks took over
  Russias government.
• Bolsheviks were Communists, who seek equal
  distribution of wealth and no private ownership.
• The new government, led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin,
  signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers and
  withdrew its troops.
• Germany was free to focus on the West, and in May
  1918 Germany launched a series of offensives
  against the Allies.
• Germans were backed by a large artillery, and by
  late May the Germans pushed the Allies back to
  the Marne River, 70 miles northeast of Paris.

• The U.S. Fights
• American troops began fighting 12 months after
  arriving, digging extensive trenches in the dark
  to avoid detection.
• In the trenches, troops stood in deep mud with
  rats as enemies dropped gas and explosives.
• While defending Paris in June 1918, U.S. troops
  helped the French stop the Germans at
  Chateau-Thierry.
• In northern France, a division of U.S. Marines
  recaptured the forest of Belleau Wood and two
  nearby villages.
• After fierce fighting, the Allies halted the
  German advance and saved Paris.

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Americans In Europe

• What contributions did Americans make in Europe?
• What was the purpose of the Selective Service
  Act?
• What was a conscientious objector?
• What made up the American Expeditionary Force?
• Do you think General Pershings decisions to
  train his troops in Europe rather than have them
  join the Allies who desperately needed help was a
  wise decision?

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American Military Women

• The majority of Americans who served in the
  military were men, but some women also signed up
  to serve overseas.
• During the war, more than 20,000 nurses served in
  the U.S. Army in the United States and overseas.
• Women also served in the navy and marines,
  usually as typists and bookkeepers.
• Still, some women became radio operators,
  electricians, or telegraphers.
• The U.S. Army Signal Corps recruited
  French-speaking American women to serve as
  switchboard operators.

Known as the Hello Girls, they served a crucial
role in keeping communications open between the
front line and the headquarters of the American
Expeditionary Forces.
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The War Ends
The Germans Last Offensive
Allies Push Forward
The Armistice
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The War Ends

• How did the war end?
• How did U.S. troops help defeat the Germans at
  the Second Battle of the Marne?
• What was the significance of the Battle of
  Mihiel?
• What demands did the Allies make of Germany in
  return for an armistice?
• Why do you think World War I was referred to as
  the war to end all wars?

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American Literature

• A Farewell to Arms- Page 245.