World War I

World War I

Long term causes (1) Nationalism

◦ Strong sense of pride and loyalty to one’s nation or culture

Imperialism◦ Wanted more and more land and

fought over colonies Militarism

◦ Aggressive strengthening of armed forces to prove who is strongest

Alliances◦ Even though the initial spark was

only between two countries, all the other countries were dragged into the war because of Alliances

Tensions in Europe

Hostility was growing even more between the European countries. Everyone expected a war

Bosnia and Herzegovina tried to break away from Turkish rule and join Serbia, but Austria Hungary annexed them first, causing animosity

WWI spark came with the Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand heir to Austria-Hungary throne by a Serbian nationalist (2)

The Spark

Peace Shattered, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

Up to this time period there were alliances

Reasoning? Problem? Sides

◦ Central Powers- Austria-Hungary and Germany (3)

◦ Allied Powers-France, Russia, Britain, and Italy (1915) (4)

Beginning of the Great War

Germany marched through Belgium to France

Kept advancing until the Marne River (25 miles from Paris) where they were able to push the Germans back after several days

This created the Western Front (from North Sea to Switzerland

The Eastern Front was between Russia and Germany (from Black Sea to Baltic Sea)

War is longer than planned

First Battle of the Marne

Trench Warfare (5)◦ Defending positions by

fighting from the protection of deep ditches

◦ Instead of retreating far away, trenches were dug and were hid behind.

◦ Trenches were cold, wet, muddy, disease ridden holes

New Warfare

Machine guns Huge Artillery guns Poisonous gases that

sunk into trenches◦ Banned at the beginning,

but were used by both sides at the end

U-boats- submarines used by Germans

Tanks Airplanes

Modern Technology (6)

Neither side could declare a victory

Both sides attacked and counter attacked trying to break the stalemate◦ Central Powers attacked

Verdun◦ Allies attacked Somme

River◦ 1 million men died at

these two battles

Stalemate (7)

Because of the stalemate, sea battles were growing more and more important

Britain blockaded and mined the Central Powers sea ports stopping supplies

Germany responded with U-boats sinking ships (8)◦ Unrestricted submarine

warfare- sinking any boat (even neutral countries) that was helping the Allies

This eventually pulled the US into WWI

Sea Battles

At the beginning of WWI, the US declared itself neutral because it had immigrants from both the Central Powers and Allied Powers, and it considered the war a European problem (9)

US ships supplied the war, and banks invested money into Liberty Bonds (war bonds)- however it was mostly to the Allies

German U-boats attacked trying to stop supplies from reaching the Allies

US position during WWI

Germany sank the Lusitania (British Passenger liner) killing 1,200 people (128 of whom are Americans)

Angered Americans. America’s official response was a protest note from Wilson

Germany sank the Sussex, and the US stated that if attacking non-military ships was not stopped, the US would enter the war

Sussex pledge was an agreement that Germany would not attack non-military ships without warning

US in the War

Wilson was reelected with promise of neutrality Germany broke the Sussex pledge- even directly

attacked US ships Wilson broke diplomatic relations with Germany Zimmerman Note- telegram sent to Mexico from

Germany urging Mexico to join WWI against the United States. Germany promised Mexico getting back land that they lost to the US during the Mexican War.

US outraged, and declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917

Declared “The World must be made safe for democracy

US entering the War (10)

Committee on Public Information (CPI) formed to get support for the war effort

Public speakers spoke supporting the war Propaganda- opinions expressed for the

purpose of influencing the actions of others Limitations on US freedoms

◦ Anti-espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 both restricted free speech and allowed the government to arrest people

◦ 900 people arrested for violating these laws◦ Sedition Act was repealed, but Anti-Espionage is

still in effect

Getting Support for War (11)

War Industries Board oversaw the production and distribution of steel, copper, cement, and rubber

Food Administration worked to increase food supplies to the troops

Citizens (still in the US) were encouraged to have “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays”

Victory Gardens grown for veggies (to support the War)

Support Continued (11)

Selective Service Act (1917) was passed (12)◦ Required men from 21-30 register

to be drafted◦ 3 million men were drafted to

fight WWI African Americans who were

drafted were segregated into their own troops, but led by white commander

Training was expensive so Liberty Bonds were issued to pay for it (billions raised for the Allies) (13)

Getting Troops

Women’s War Efforts◦ 1 million women joined the

labor force◦ 25,000 worked in European

war effort as nurses, telephone operators, signalers, typists, and interpreters (in France)

◦ No combat jobs, but could be ambulance drivers

◦ Jane Addams and Jeanette Rankin spoke against war effort

Wartime Opportunities (14)

Even with the women, more workers were needed

Minorities (Mexican Americans, African Americans, etc.) moved north to find jobs

Union membership increased 4 million workers went on strike

during the war, and the owners had to agree to the demands because of the labor shortage

National War Labor Board (April 1918) tried to help avoid strikes and reach agreement, they were able to settle more than 1,000 labor disputes (15)

Establish minimum wage and limited work hours and fair pay for women

Labor (14)