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World HISTORY World War I

World HISTORY World War I. SECT. 1: THE STAGE IS SET. The early 1900s saw many efforts to end all wars and promote understanding between nations: The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896

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World HISTORY World War I

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  1. World HISTORYWorld War I

  2. SECT. 1: THE STAGE IS SET • The early 1900s saw many efforts to end all wars and promote understanding between nations: • The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896 • Alfred Nobel (invented dynamite) set up the Nobel Peace Prize to reward people working for peace • Growing belief in pacifism- opposition to all war • First Universal Peace Conference was held and they created the Hague Tribunal- world court designed to settle disputes between countries

  3. WORLD WAR I BEGINS • There are four long term causes and one immediate cause to the start of WWI. They can be remembered by the acronym MANIA: • Militarism • Alliance systems • Nationalism • Imperialism • Assassination

  4. MILITARISM • Militarism- the glorification of armed strength and the continued building of armed forces • This led to an arms race (creating/making of excessive numbers of weapons in order to have more than another nation) between the major European powers of Great Britain, France, and Germany

  5. Alliance System a. By 1914, two major alliance systems had formed in Europe: • Allies- France, Great Britain, and Russia (U.S. joined in 1917) • Central Powers- Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (now known as Turkey)

  6. NATIONALISM • Aggressive nationalism by the major European powers was causing great tension • Germany and France had grown to simply distrust/dislike one another • Russia sponsored Pan-Slavism- said all Slavic people shared a common nationality and Russia vowed to protect all Slavic nations • The region known as the Balkans (to the east of Italy across the Adriatic Sea and north of Greece) was mostly Slavic and was unstable… Was called “the powder keg of Europe” by many European nations

  7. IMPERIALISM • The continued and growing competition for colonies worldwide had brought France and Germany to the brink of war • The Germany/France dislike and distrust had allowed for closer ties to be formed between France and Great Britain (alliance)

  8. 5. Assassination a. In June, 1914, Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand. b. This was the spark, the igniting incident , that started WWI. The Balkans had been a very volatile, unstable region of Europe, to the extent that it was nicknamed “the powder keg of Europe.”

  9. By early August the alliance system had kicked in and Europe was engulfed in war. • WWI will usher in a new style of fighting called trench warfare- fighting, in some cases, over mere yards of land from a series of snaking, dug out positions in the ground. a. No man’s land- barren expanse of muddy, shell cratered land between trenches covered in barbed wire and landmines b. Machine guns- the introduction of the machine gun made trenches necessary, as exposed soldiers were ripped to shreds by machine gun fire c. Stalemate- Essentially a tie b/c neither side could advance due to the trenches. d. New war technology- Made WWI the deadliest war up to that point in history. (Poison gas, tanks, automatic machine guns, zeppelins, airplanes)

  10. AERIAL VIEW OF TRENCHES

  11. Initially, President Wilson chose to follow the United States’ traditional policy of neutrality in regard to WWI. Our interests were not at stake. • Neutrality- the policy of not aligning with, supporting, or favoring one side in a war, dispute, or contest • The U.S. did openly trade with both Allied and Central Power nations. Over the course of time though, trading with the Allies became much greater and much more common. ($$$$$) • The war is going to hit home with the U.S. in May, 1915. German U-boats (submarines) sank the passenger ship Lusitania killing almost 1,200 people of which 128 were Americans. The U.S. sternly protested such acts of warfare claiming it violated the concept of “freedom of the seas.” Brought us to the brink of war with Germany; but did not push us over the edge!

  12. President Wilson attempted to negotiate peace among the warring nations, but to no avail. Several events then occurred that forced the U.S. into WWI: a. In January, 1917, Germany resumed (after expiration of the Sussex Pledge) unrestricted submarine warfare. Four unarmed U.S. merchant ships will be sunk by German U-boats. b. Zimmermann Note- German foreign minister Alfred Zimmermann sent a note to the German ambassador of Mexico that said the following: • Proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico • Mexico was to attack the U.S. to keep us out of Europe • Once Germany won the war in Europe, they would come and help Mexico fight the U.S. in order to reclaim lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. c. Russia dropped out the war (thanks to the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) due to the Bolshevik Revolution, which made many Americans view this as a war of democracies against brutal monarchies/dictators.

  13. The U.S. declared war on Germany and the Central Powers in early April, 1917. There were two main reasons the U.S. ultimately entered WWI and on the side of the Allied powers: a. Our efforts to remain neutral continued to be threatened by German submarine warfare. We wanted to maintain free and open seas to continue trade. b. The U.S. felt our rights as a neutral nation had been stripped away by Germany and the Central Powers. *** The tipping point to us joining the war was the Zimmerman Note.***

  14. AMERICAN POWER TIPS THE BALANCE • The U.S. needing soldiers to fight, passed the Selective Service Act- required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service. (Registration by all 18 yr. old men is still required today, even in peace time.) • The U.S. fighting force sent to Europe was called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) and was led by General John J. Pershing. • The AEF had an immediate and powerful impact on the war. Central Powers were tired and were no match for the U.S.A’s “fresh legs.”

  15. THE WAR AT HOME • The US quickly entered into Total War- the gov’t., citizens, businesses, and military all working together to win the war. • The war was funded in large part by war/victory/liberty bonds. A bond was essentially U.S. citizens loaning the U.S. govt. $. 3. The U.S. government created several regulatory groups to oversee certain aspects of the war. Some of them are: a. War Industries Board (WIB)- urged companies to use mass production techniques to increase efficiency (make war goods). b. Committee on Public Information (CPI)- artists and advertising agencies were persuaded to create posters, paintings, cartoons, speeches, etc. that promoted the war effort (This was a form of propaganda- biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions.)

  16. c. Food Administration- this was an effort to help produce and conserve food by using such techniques as the following: • Meatless Mondays • Wheatless Wednesdays • Encouraging homeowners to grow “victory gardens” • Congress also passed the Espionage and Sedition Acts -a person could be fined and/or imprisoned for interfering with the war effort or saying anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the govt. or war effort. - Critics believed it violated the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech). - Schenck v. the United States challenged the act in 1919. • Under wartime conditions, free speech rights are NOT protected. • Any words or circumstances that create a “clear and present danger” in/to society, Congress and the law have a right to prevent.

  17. 5. Social changes in America during WWI: • Great Migration- the large-scale movement of hundreds of thousands of Southern blacks to cities in the North for jobs • There were more job opportunities in the northern cities, especially in the factories • These factory jobs had been vacated by soldiers headed to fight in Europe 6. Women also began moving into jobs, particularly in factories, vacated by soldiers headed to Europe. This lead to the following for women: • It helped generate even more support for women’s suffrage. • The passage of the 19th amendment. • Presidential election of 1920 showed women’s impact on the election process as over 8 million more votes were cast than in the 1916 Presidential election.

  18. WILSON FIGHTS FOR PEACE 1. Before WWI had even ended, President Wilson presented his plan for peace called the Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points were proposals that Wilson felt would usher in a fair and lasting peace for all nations. 2. Key proposals of the Fourteen Points: • No secret treaties among nations • Constant and continuous freedom of the seas • Arms reduction based on domestic safety • Distinct ethnic groups should be allowed to form their own nations/states or be allowed to decide to which nation they belong • Creation of the League of Nations- international organization where countries could discuss and settle issues without having to resort to war (main goal was promoting and maintaining peace)

  19. On November 11, 1918, at 11 am, Germany agreed to and signed an armistice (truce) ending WWI. (Signed at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.) 4. On June 28, 1919, the “BIG FOUR” (leaders of the victorious nations)met with the leaders of the defeated nations to sign the official peace treaty. The official peace treaty was the Treaty of Versailles. 5. The “BIG FOUR” had attended a peace conference together prior to June 28. Here they made the Treaty of Versailles, in which Wilson had to concede (give up or relinquish) most of his Fourteen points, but only in return for the establishment of the League of Nations.

  20. 6. Provisions of the Treaty of Versailles: • Nine new nations were created (ex.- Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) • Virtually redrew the map of Europe. (Germany and Central Powers lost land & territories) • Germany had to accept full blame/responsibility for the war (guilt clause) • Germany had to pay reparations (war damages) in the sum of $33 billion to the Allies • Establishment of the League of Nations 7. Both the U.S. Congress and many American citizens objected to parts of the Versailles Treaty, but especially to the League of Nations. • Congress- did not want us to join the League of Nations as they thought it might cause us a loss of sovereignty (independence) • American citizens- feared that joining the League of Nations would drag our country into future wars/conflicts. Wanted to return to a policy of isolationism.

  21. 8. The U.S. Congress will deeply embarrass Wilson by not ratifying the Treaty of Versailles and for not joining the League of Nations. 9. Similarities between the Fourteen Points and the Versailles Treaty: • Adoption of the League of Nations • Creation of new nations 10. Differences between the Fourteen Points and the Versailles Treaty: • Versailles Treaty called for huge reparations from Germany while Fourteen Points did not. • Versailles Treaty was meant to punish Germany and the Central Powers in a humiliating way while the Fourteen Points were not designed for that.

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