Chapter Twenty-Two

World War I
1914-1918
 Causes
• Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated
• Austria invades Serbia
• Germany declares war against Russia
• Germany declares war against France and
invades Belgium
• Great Britain declares war on Germany
• 
 Neutrality
• The US wanted to remain neutral in the war
 Submarine Warfare
• The Lusitania Crisis
– Germany sunk the British Lusitania, and 128
Americans died
• The Arabic was also sunk by Germans
• The Sussex was shot by German torpedoes,
injuring more Americans
Economic Links with Britain and France
• Trade with the Allies multiplied four fold,
while trade with Germany disappeared
• Loaned 3 billion dollars to Great Britain
The War Debate
 Preparedness
• Even after the sinking of the Lusitania, the US
was unprepared for war
• Wilson called for expansion of the Armed
Forces
• National Defense Act, passed in June 1916,
increased the army force to 175,000
 Opposition to War
• The Midwest and West were staunch
opponents to war
• Populists, progressives, socialists opposed war
 The Election of 1916
• Wilson’s slogan, ‘He kept us out of war’
secured his reelection
Peace Efforts
 Decision for War
• Germany entered Unrestricted Submarine
Warfare
• The Zimmerman Telegram asked Mexico to
help Germany in return for their conquered
lands
• Russian Revolution
– The czar was overthrown
 Declaration of War
• On April 2nd, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to
declare war
• On April 6th, the majority of Congress voted to
declare war on Germany
 Public Opinion
• Many people disapproved of the war, which lead to the
Espionage and Sedition Acts
• Espionage Act in 1917
• Sedition Act in 1918

– Imprisonment up to 20 years for anyone who tried to obstruct

the draft.
– In addition, disparaging remarks about the Nation were also
illegal
– Eugene Debs was sentenced to ten years in prison
• Schenck vs. United States
– The right to free speech could be limited when it represented a
danger to the public
 Armed Forces
• Selective Service Act of 1917
– 2.8 million men called at random
• African Americans
– 400,000 blacks served in segregated units
 Effects on Society
• Women took the place of men in the work
environment
• Mexicans crossed the boarder to the
southwest, and African Americans moved up
north
 Fighting the War
• The Navy protected merchant ships bound for
Britain
• American Expeditionary Force
– Commanded by General Pershing
• Last German offensive
– At Chateau Thierry on the Marne River, the German
advance was stopped, and the Germans driven back
to their border
• On November 11th, 1918, an armistice was signed
• More US troops died of disease than combat
 Wilson’s Fourteen Points (Important)
• The return of Alsace and Lorraine to France
• German evacuation of Belgium, Romania, and
Serbia
• Freedom of seas
• No more secret treaties
• Reduction of armaments
• Impartial adjustments to colonial claims
• Self determination for Austria-Hungary
• General Association of Nations (The League of
Nations)
Treaty of Versailles (Pronounced Versai
:P)
• Germany was disarmed and stripped of its
colonies
• Also forced to admit guilt and pay for the war
• Colonies were given to the allies, and
independence give to Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Finland, and Poland
• The League of Nations was established by the
signers
 Postwar Problems
• The US never ratified the Treaty of Versailles,
or joined the League of Nations
• Palmer Raids
– AG Mitchell Palmer
– Arrested people based on nationality and little
evidence
• Strikes of 1919
– Wanted higher pay
– Troops called, but no violence occurred