World War I began in 1914 and involved many of the major world powers. Nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the alliance system all contributed to the outbreak of war. The US initially remained neutral but was drawn into the conflict in 1917 after German submarine attacks and the Zimmerman Telegram. Over 4 million American troops were deployed to Europe. With the addition of American troops and resources, the Allies were finally able to gain the upper hand, leading to the Central Powers' defeat in late 1918.

1. World War I

2. World War I Begins
Section 1

3. Causes of World War I
 Nationalism
 Led to competitive and antagonistic rivalries among
nations
 Feared Germany’s growing power
 Russia – protector of Europe’s Slavic peoples
 Serbs – Slavic people, under rule of Austria-Hungary
 Russia and Austria-Hungary rivals

4. Causes of World
War I
• Imperialism
• Germany competed
with France and Britain
in the contest for
colonies

5. Causes of World War I
 Militarism
 Germany - strongest nation on the European continent.
 Britain – strongest navy in the world
 1897 Germany competes to build up largest battleships
and destroyers
 France, Italy, Japan, & United States join the naval
arms race.

6. Causes of World War I
 Alliance System
 Triple Entente (AKA: Allies) – France, Britain, & Russia
 Triple Alliance (AKA: Central Powers) – Germany,
Austria-Hungary, & Italy, later Ottoman Empire

7. An
Assassination
Leads to War
• Balkan Peninsula
• Russia wanted for
Mediterranean Sea
access
• Germany wanted for
rail link to Ottoman
Empire
• Austria-Hungary taken
control of Bosnia

8. An
Assassination
Leads to War
• Archduke Franz
Ferdinand
• Heir to Austrian throne, shot
while driving through the
Bosnian capital Sarajevo by
Serbian nationalist Gavrilo
Princip (member of Black
Hand)
• One nation after another
pulled into the conflict

9. The Fighting Starts
• Three kinds of trenches – front line, support, & reserve
• First Battle of the Somme – 1.2 million casualties, only
7 miles of ground changed hands

10. Americans Question Neutrality
 Divided Loyalties
 Socialists – war as capitalist
 Imperialist – struggle between Germany and Britain to control
markets and colonies in China, Africa & Middle East
 Pacifists – war was evil and the US should set an example of
peace to the world.
 Parents – didn’t want sons to experience horrors of war
 Naturalized US Citizens – ties to nations from which the
emigrated

11. The War Hits Home
• The British Blockade
• Blockade the German coast to prevent weapons,
other military supplies & food getting through

12. The War Hits Home
 German U-Boat
Response
 U-boat = submarine –
sunk any ship in British
waters
 Lusitania - May 7, 1915 -
128 Americans killed
 Arabic – July 1915 – 2
Americans killed
 Sussex – March 1916 –
80 passengers killed

13. The War Hits Home
• The 1916 Election
• Democrat – Wilson, “He Kept Us Out of War”
• Republic – Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans
Hughes, believed he won

14. The United States Declares
War
 German Provocation
 Zimmermann note – Germany ally with Mexico
 America Acts
 April 2, 1917 – President Wilson deliver war resolution
 Neutrally finally shattered – pave way for future order of
peace and freedom

15. World War I Begins
Foldable
 Title: World War I Begins
 Helped to ignite the war in Europe
 Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliances, Assassination
of Archduke Ferdinand (pages 373-374)
 Opposed U.S. participation in the war
 Naturalized Citizens, Socialists, Pacifists, Parents (page 377)
 Encouraged U.S. participation in the war
 Britain (page 377), Germany (page 378-379) , Russia (page
379-380)
 Back cover: Alliances during World War I (page 379)
 Allies, Central Powers

16. Section 1: Primary Source
The Zimmerman note

17. Section 1: Primary Source
The Zimmerman note
 According to this telegram, what did the German
government decide to begin on February 1, 1917?
 Unlimited submarine warfare
 What did Zimmerman propose if the United States went to
war with Germany during World War I?
 He proposed that if Mexico formed a military alliance with
Germany, then Germany would help Mexico recover New
Mexico, Texas, and Arizona from the United States.
 If this telegram had not been intercepted by British agents,
what do you think might have happened? Cite evidence from
your textbook to support your opinion.

20. World War I Map Activity

21. American Power Tips
the Balance
Section 2

22. American Stories
Ace of Aces
Eddie Rickenbacker and the First
World War

23. America Mobilizes
 Raising an Army
 Selective Service Act – required men to register with the
government in order to be randomly selected for military
service
 24 million registered – 3 million called up
 Most did not attend high school; 1 in 5 foreign born
 400,000 African-Americans,
 Segregated units, excluded from navy & marines, non-
combat duties.
 Henry Johnson & Needham Roberts – first Americans to
receive France’s highest military honor – the “cross of war”

24. America Mobilizes
 Mass Production
 Exempted many shipyard workers from the draft
 US Chamber of Commerce joined in a public
relations campaign to emphasize the importance of
shipyard work
 Used prefabrication techniques – 95 ships
 Government took over commercial and private
ships, converted for war use.

25. America Turns the Tide
 Convoy system, barrier of mines
 Fighting in Europe
 Allied forces tired, Americans fresh &
enthusiastic

26. American Expeditionary Force –
General John J. Pershing
New Weapons
machine gun, tank, airplane,
observation balloons

27. Filth, lice, rats, polluted
water, poison gas,
stench of decaying
bodies, lack of sleep,
battle fatigue, trench foot
& mouth

28. American
Troops Go on
the Offensive
American War Hero
Alvin York -
Conscientious
objector – Medal of
Honor

29. American Troops Go on the
Offensive
 The Collapse of Germany
 November 3, 1918 – Austria-Hungary surrender to
the Allies
 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month of 1918 – Germany
signed armistice

30. American Troops Go on the
Offensive
 The Final Toll
 22 million deaths, 20 million wounded, 10
million refugees, cost $338 billion
 United States – 48,000 lost in battle,
62,000 died of disease, 200,000 wounded

31. Section 2: Primary Source
Patriotic Song
 Why do you think this song was used as a
marching song?
 Why did it spur people to give money for the
war effort?
 Over There

33. Oppy Wood
(1917), John Nash

34. Oppy Wood
Imagine for a moment that you are a soldier fighting in this place.
On an index card, write a journal entry about your feelings and experiences.

35. The War at Home
Section 3

36. Congress Gives Power to
Wilson
 War Industries Board
 Allocates scarce materials, establishes
production priorities, and sets prices

37. Congress Gives Power to
Wilson
 War Economy
 Wages increased
 Company stock increased
 Uneven pay between labor and management,
increasing work hours, child labor, dangerous
conditions, unions boomed.
 National War Labor Board – 1918 – established to settle
disputes between management and labor.
 Refusing meant losing draft exemptions
 Improved factory conditions, 8-hour work day, safety
inspections, and child labor ban

38. Congress Gives Power to
Wilson
 Food Administration
 Help produce and conserve
food; “gospel of the clean
plate”; one day a week
“meatless”, “sweetless”,
two days “wheatless”, two
days “porkless”.
 Victory Gardens

39. Selling the War
 War Financing
 US spent $35.5 billion on the war effort
 1/3 raised through taxes; progressive income tax,
war-profits tax, excise tax on tobacco, liquor, and
luxury goods.
 2/3 raised by selling “Liberty Loan” and “Victory
Loan” bonds

40. Selling the War
 Committee on Public Information
 Propaganda agency, designed to influence people’s thoughts and
actions.
 George Creel
 Persuaded artists and advertising agencies to create
thousands of painting, posters, cartoons, and sculptures to
promote the war.
 “Four-Minute Men” – spoke about everything relating to the war
 Printed 25 million copies of “How the War Came to America” –
which included Wilson’s war message
 Promoted patriotism, but inflamed hatred and violations of the
civil liberties of certain ethnic groups and opponents of the war

41. Attacks on Civil Liberties
Increase
 Anti-Immigrant Hysteria
 Main targets: Americans who had
emigrated from other nations, especially
Germany and Austria-Hungary
 Lost jobs, orchestras refused to play
German music, towns changed names,
schools stopped teaching German, library
books by German authors removed

42. Attacks on Civil Liberties
Increase
 Espionage and Sedition
Acts
 Violated the spirit of the
First Amendment
 Targeted socialists and
labor leaders
Video

43. The War Encourages Social
Change
 African Americans
and the War
 WEB DuBois
believed African-
Americans should
support the war to
strengthen racial
justice

44. Encourages  The Great Migration
Social  After turn of the
Change century trickle of
Southern Blacks to
Northern cities
became a tidal wave
 Contributing factors:
escape racial
discrimination, boll
weevil infestation, job
opportunities
Video

45. The War Encourages Social
Change
 Women in the War
 Moved into job
typically held by men
 Bolstered support for
woman suffrage

46. The War Encourages Social
Change
 The Flu Epidemic
 Fall of 1918,
affected about ¼ of
the US population
 Possibly spread by
soldiers, killed
500,000 Americans,
30 million worldwide

47. Methods that the
government used to
persuade Americans to
buy bonds…
Promotions by such movie
Speeches by &
Newspaper the
Sales talks
asrallies
parades
starsBond drives Fairbanks,
Douglas
between theater
Four-Minute Men
billboard ads
Mary Pickford, and Charlie

48. Section 3: Primary Source
Liberty Bond Poster
 How much money was raised for the war
through sales of Liberty Bonds?
 Bonds raised about $21 million for the war
effort.

49. Section 3: Primary Source
Liberty Bond Poster
 On average how much did every American
spend on Liberty Bonds?
 Every American spent an average of $400 on
bonds

50. Section 3: Primary Source
Liberty Bond Poster
 How did the sale of Liberty Bonds affect the
national debt?
 Heavy borrowing caused the national debt to
soar from $1 billion in 1914 to $27 billion in
1919.

51. Section 3: Primary Source
Returning Soldiers
 According to DuBois, what positive
principles did African Americans fight for
during World War I?
 For the liberations of France, for freedom, for
America’s ideals.

52. Section 3: Primary Source
Returning Soldiers
 Why does he characterize the United States
as “a shameful land”?
 Because the United States does not treat all of
its citizens fairly and subjects African Americans
to lynching, disenfranchisement, discrimination
in education, cheating, and insults.

53. Section 3: Primary Source
Returning Soldiers
 What fight does he believe should be fought
now that African-American soldiers have
returned home?
 The fight for democracy, equality, and justice in
the United States.

54. Section 3: Primary Source
Returning Soldiers
 Members of Congress accused DuBois of
inciting race riots. What evidence, if any, do
you find in this excerpt to support their
accusations?
 Some may say that DuBois uses inflammatory
language and urges his readers to fight for
democracy. Others may say that this excerpt
contains no evidence that DuBois incited race
riots.

56. Wilson Fights for Peace
Section 4

57. Wilson Presents His Plan
 Fourteen Points
 Plan for world peace; points 1-5 = to prevent
another war, 6-13 = boundary changes, 14 =
creation of League of Nations
 The Allies Reject Wilson’s Plan
 Allied leaders angry, wanted to punish Central
Powers
 Central Powers had no say
 Wilson conceded on most of Fourteen Points in
return for League of Nations

58. Debating the Treaty of
Versailles
 Provisions of the Treaty
 9 new nations
 France & Britain temporarily gain 4 areas of
the Ottoman Empire
 Germany has no army & forced to pay
reparations of $33 billion to Allies

59. Debating the Treaty of
Versailles
 The Treaty’s Weaknesses
 The severe treatment of Germany fails to
provide a lasting peace; problems eventually
led to WWII
 Germany – Humiliated; war-guilt clause; no way
to pay reparations due to lost territories
 Russia excluded – lost territory, wanted it back
 Ignored claims of colonized people for self-
determination

60. Debating the Treaty of
Versailles
 Opposition to the Treaty
 Too harsh with dire economic
consequences
 Did not end colonialism
 Treaty did not satisfy self-determination
demands of ethnic groups

61. Debating the Treaty of
Versailles
 Debate Over the League of Nations
 A few thought it threatened the US foreign
policy of isolationism
 Conservative senators were suspicious of the
provision for joint economic and military action
against aggression. Wanted the constitutional
right of Congress to declare war.

62. Debating the Treaty of
Versailles Video
 Wilson Refuses to Compromise
 Wilson set out on 8,000 mile tour giving 34 speeches
explaining why the US should join the League of
Nations; suffered a stroke, partially paralyzed for more
than 2 months
 Senate added amendments which qualified the terms
under which the US would enter the League of Nations;
Senate rejected the amendments, failed to ratify the
treaty
 Wilson refused to compromise; Senate again failed to
ratify
 US signed a separate treaty with Germany in 1921 with

63. The Legacy of War
 America – strengthened US military and power of
government; accelerated social change; fears and
antagonisms left unchanneled
 Europe – destruction and massive loss of life
severely damaged social and political systems
 Called “the war to end all wars”, however,
unresolved issues would create another war;
Treaty of Versailles solved nothing

64. Interrupting
the Ceremony
This 1918 cartoon shows
Senate opposition to U.S.
membership in the League of
Nations. At President Wilson’s
insistence, the covenant to
establish the League had
been written into the
Versailles Treaty, which
ended World War I. The
United States never signed
the Treaty, largely because of
disagreement over America’s
involvement in the League of
Nations.