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The Sinking of Lusitana
The British passenger liner Lusitana was torpedoed by the Germans. The ship sunk in 18 minutes off the coast of Ireland and 1198 people were killed. 128 Americans were killed and the America people were outraged by this act of terrorism. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
German official, Arthur Zimmermann asks Mexico to ally itself with Germany. By doing this, Mexico would regain its lost territory after the war. Germany was hoping that Mexico would prevent American forces from being sent to Europe. America soons finds out about the telegram and is furious so they are now thinking about declaring war. -
Declaration of War
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asks for a declaration of war against Germany. After much debate, the Senate passes the resolution on April 4 and the House agreed on April 6. Wilson signs the resolution and war is declared by the U. S.! Wilson insits by saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy." -
Food Administration
Run by Herbert Hoover, the Food Administration encouraged Americans to save food. Hoover wanted American families to have Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays, and Porkless Thursdays. By eliminating certain foods during the war, soldiers were able to have food during fighting. Victory gradens were also popular so that families could grow their own food. -
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information was in charge of selling the war to Americans. The head of the CPI was George Creel who recruited advertising executives, authors, commercial artists, public speakers, songwriters, entertainers, and motion picture companies to help advertise the public opinion in favor of the war. CPI used propaganda on posters, pamphlets, and songs to persuade people to become in favor of the war. -
Selective Service Act
The Selective Service Act was created by Congress, which required all men between 21 and 30 to register for the draft. Nearly 10 milllion men enlisted and 687,000 were chosen by the lottery to serve. Eventually, 3 million men served as draftees in the war! -
War Industries Board
In July 1917, the War Industries Board was created to coordinate the production of war materials. Bernard Baruch was in charge of running the WIB. The WIB told and appointed manufactures what they could and coundn't produce. This included the controll of the flow of raw materials, the construction of new factories, and set prices on products. -
Convoys
William W. Sims, a American Admiral, proposed that troop transports, called convoys would be escorted across the Atlantic Ocean by warships. These convoys protected doughboys or American soldiers, from attacking warships. The warships would have to get past the the warships to attack the convoys. The convoy system vastly reduced the amount of ship losses and American troops arrived safely overseas. -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
The Espionage Act established penalties and prison terms for anybody who gave aid to the enemy. This act also gave penalties for disloyalty, false reports, and interfering with the war effort. Eugene Debs was a Solialist leader who had violated the Espionage Act by speaking about the war. He was later put into jail because of this. The Sedition Act also made it illegal to criticize the government or president in public. -
The Battle of the Argonne Forest
The Battle of the Argonne Forest began with an attack from the Germans. The Germans caused many casualties upon the American forces and troops. But in early November, the Americans shattered the German defenses and the battle was over. -
Schenck v. the United States
The Supreme Court ruled that an individual's freedom of speech could be curbed when the words uttered constitute of clear and present danger. This means that people were not allowed to criticize the war, government, or president. If they did, then there would be serious punishment such as prison terms or penalties. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans in 1919. This treaty stated that Germany was stripped of its armed forces and they were made to pay reparations, $33 billion to the Allies. The Germans were recongzied for the outbreak of the war and that was the end of World War I.
