1. Week 4 – The End of the War,
and the Big 3

2. Reading Quiz 3 – End of WWI
1. Which US President used neutrality as a strategy
to help win re-election in 1916?
2. What is 1 reason the US joined the Great War?
3. What is the name of the treaty that ended the
Great War?
4. What new international organization was
created to maintain peace after World War I?
5. List one specific result of the Great War (human
cost, economic cost, political changes, or unrest
in colonies)

3. The End of the Great War
• American Neutrality
– Many Americans had not wanted to get involved
in a war in Europe, including President Woodrow
Wilson

4. The End of the Great War
• American Neutrality
– Woodrow Wilson used neutrality as a strategy to
win re-election in 1916 – “He kept us out of war”

5. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
1. The Sinking of the Lusitania – May 7, 1915
a) Germany had developed the submarine (called a U-
Boat), and was using a policy called “unrestricted
warfare”, in which they sank every ship that came
near the UK
b) The Lusitania was a passenger ship, but it was
believed that the British government was hiding war
supplies on this ship

6. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
1. The Sinking of the Lusitania – May 7, 1915

7. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917
a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war,
because Germany was already having difficulty
fighting against the UK, France and Russia

8. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917
a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war,
because Germany was already having difficulty
fighting against the UK, France and Russia

9. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917
a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war,
because Germany was already having difficulty
fighting against the UK, France and Russia
b) Zimmermann Note – secret message from German
diplomat to the government of Mexico, asking for
Mexico to start fighting the US and suggesting that
Mexico would gain Texas, Arizona and New Mexico
back from the US as a result

10. The Zimmermann Note – February
1917

11. The End of the Great War
• Reasons the US did join the Great War
3. Other reasons
a) Many Americans’ families had originally come to the
US from Great Britain, and both the US and the UK
shared many cultural traditions (and language)
b) Strong financial ties – the US had borrowed millions
of dollars to Great Britain, and that money would
have been lost if Great Britain were destroyed in WWI

12. The End of the Great War
• The Treaty that ended the Great War
– Treaty of Versailles – for more information about
the treaty, read in your book for week 5
• The international organization created to
preserve peace after World War I
– The League of Nations

13. The End of the Great War
• The Cost of the War
1. Human Cost – nearly 9 million people died
2. Economic Cost – France, Belgium and Russia were
devastated, lost a major portion of farmland
3. Political Changes – Communists took control of
Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire
collapsed, and Germany had a new government
4. Unrest in colonies – many colonists had fought to
defend the European empires they were a part of
(Vietnamese for France, Irish for Britain), and they
wanted the “self-determination” and independence
that Woodrow Wilson promised in the 14 Points