The United States in WWI
M-A-N-I-A
 Militarism
 Alliance System
 Nationalism
 Imperialism
 Assassination
 Nations begin to build
up their militaries
 Usually in response to
what other nations were
doing
 “Keeping up with the
Jones’s”
 Nations make
agreements to protect
each other in case they
are attacked
Triple Alliance
 Austria-Hungary
 Germany
 Italy (will join
Allies in 1915)
Triple Entente
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Great Britain
Russia
France
Unites States (will
Join in 1917
 Loyalty to your nation,
belief that your nation is
the best and strongest
 Countries in Europe (Just
like in the US) desire
more land, wealth and
colonies. Nations
compete to see who can
get the most colonies
 Sparking Event
 (June 28, 1914)
 The assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his
wife Sofia by a member of the Black
Hand
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Central
Powers
AustriaHungary
Germany
Bulgaria
Ottoman
Empire
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Allied
Powers
Serbia
Russia
France
Great
Britain
1915 – Italy
The United States is neutral for the first three years of the
war and many Americans want to stay out of the war.
 Submarine Warfare —
Germans warn that all ships
entering the waters around
the British Isles are subjected
to be sunk
German Unterseeboot (U-Boat)
 Lusitania (May 1915)
passenger ship sunk by
German U-boat
 May have been carrying
ammunition as well as
passengers -- passengers
warned not to travel on
Lusitania
 Wilson protests -nothing happened
 Unrestricted
Submarine Warfare
(Jan. 1917)
 Early January 1917 --
Germany decided to
pursue “unrestricted
submarine warfare”
 Tell Wilson on January
31st, he cuts off
diplomatic ties
 Zimmerman Telegraph
(March 1, 1917)
 Coded message from
Germany to Mexico.
 Says if Mexico attacks US,
Germany will help Mexico
take back Arizona, New
Mexico and Texas.
 British intercepted,
decoded and sent to the US
 Russian Revolution
(March 15, 1917)
 Czar Nicholas II of
Russia is toppled from
power and Russia is
taken over by a
republican government
(no communists yet)
Russia not a monarchy - now it is a war between
democracy & autocratic
rule
 Wilson asks Congress
for a declaration of war.
 What impact did US
soldiers have on the
war?
 America’s military
resources of soldiers and
war materials tipped the
balance of the war and led
to Germany’s defeat.
 The Paris Peace
Conference and the
Fourteen Points
 Fourteen Points are Wilson’s
plan to eliminate the causes
of war
 Key ideas
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Self-determination
Freedom of the sea
League of Nations
Mandate system
 French and English insisted
on punishment of Germany.
 Treaty of
Versailles
 Germany accepted
responsibility for
starting the war
 A League of Nations
was created.
 National boundaries
were redrawn,
creating many new
nations.
 The United States
did not ratify the
Treaty of Versailles
 Did not like the
League of Nations
 Did not want to be
involved in European
Affairs