World War

American Entrance

• Teams were made “Allies” vs. “Central Powers”

• U.S. is “neutral” in thought as well as in action• Fit into Wilson’s worldview• U.S. could demonstrate a higher moral position

• Economics of war• Boom during wartime• The Allies trading activities increased

Cont….

• Neutrality difficult

• The ties that bind• Economics• Common language, ancestry, and culture

• Wilson’s vision conflicted with neutrality• Fears of world ruled by German imperialism

To shape the peace U.S. would have to fight!

What exactly was it?

• Germany and England pushing and pulling U.S. into war

• 1915: Berlin proclaimed waters around Great Britain a war zone

• Wilson responds with “strict accountability”

• Lusitania sunk: 128 Americans lost

• Exposes division in public opinion• TR calls Wilson’s patience “cowardice”• National Security League established: lobby of bankers

and industrialists working to build up patriotism and promoting military training

Cont…..

• Patience and diplomacy initial success

• March 1916 Sussex sinks: several Americans injured

• In the meantime loans toward the Allies substantially outweigh that going to the Central Powers

• 1916 Wilson wins re-election with the slogan “he kept us out of war”

• On the battlefield a stalemate, back to the ocean depths

Cont….

• Zimmerman telegram• Coded message to Germany’s ambassador in Mexico• Declare war and we will help win back lost territory

• April 2, 1917 Wilson appeals for a declaration of war

• Key factors:• German attacks on American shipping• U.S. economic investment in the Allied cause• American cultural links to the Allies, especially

England

Ending the War

• Europe broken

• Wilson goes to Versailles for signing of treaty to end war, 1918

• The Big Four had little interest in Wilson reforms

• Germans left holding the bag

War Time American Events

• Groups of THREE

• Create a timeline of the following terms in relation to WWI events:• Selective Service Act• Espionage Act• WIB• Sedition Act• NWLB• League of Nations• CPI

• Provide dates and a definition/explanation of the term