World War I

American Expeditionary Force and General John J. Pershing

1918 BCE

Included men from widely separated parts of the country. American infantrymen were nicknamed doughboys, possibly because of the white belts they wore, which they cleaned with pipe clay, or “dough.”

Shell Shock, Trench Foot, And Trench Mouth

1918 BCE

Constant bombardments and other experiences
often led to battle fatigue and “shell shock,” a term coined during WorldWar I to describe a complete emotional collapse from which many never recovered.Physical problems included a disease called trench foot, caused by standing in cold wet trenches for long periods of time without changing into dry socks or boots. A painful infection of the gums and throat, called trench mouth, was also common among the soldiers.

Austria - Hungary Surrenders

1918 BCE

That same day, German sailors mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly. Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary councils.

Establishment of the German Republic

1918 BCE

Socialist leaders in the capital, Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne.

Cease - Fire and Armistice

1918 BCE

Although there were no Allied soldiers on German territory and no truly decisive battle had been fought, the Germans were too exhausted to continue fighting. So at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, in the eleventh month of 1918, Germany agreed to a cease-fire and signed the armistice, or truce, that ended the war.

Food Administration

1918 BCE

Instead of rationing food, he called on people to follow the “gospel of the clean plate.” He declared one day a week “meatless,” another “sweetless,” two days “wheatless,” and two other days “porkless.” Restaurants removed sugar bowls from the table and served bread only after the first course.

Raising Money For The War

1918 BCE

The government raised about one-third of this amount through taxes, including a progressive income tax (which taxed high incomes at a higher rate than low incomes), a war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury goods. It raised the rest through public borrowing by selling “Liberty Loan” and “Victory Loan” bonds.

Committee on Public Information And Four-Minute Men

1918 BCE

Propaganda is a kind of biased communication designed to
influence people’s thoughts and actions. Who spoke about
everything relating to the war: the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens, and topics such as “Why We Are Fighting” and “The Meaning of America.”

Eugene V. Debs Arrest

1918 BCE

Eugene V. Debs was handed a ten-year prison sentence for speaking out against the war and the draft.

Emma Goldman

1918 BCE

The anarchist Emma Goldman received a two-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine for organizing the No Conscription League. When she left jail, the authorities deported her to Russia.

Big Bill Haywood And The WWI

1918 BCE

“Big Bill” Haywood and other leaders of the Industrial Workers of
the World were accused of sabotaging the war effort because they urged workers to strike for better conditions and higher pay. Haywood was sentenced to a long prison term.

National War Labor Board

1918 BCE

Workers who refused to obey board decisions could lose their draft
exemptions. “Work or fight,” the board told them. However, the board also worked to improve factory conditions. It pushed for an eight-hour workday, promoted safety inspections, and enforced the child labor ban.

Germany Blockades the north sea

1917 BCE

First, American ships carrying goods for Germany refused to challenge the blockade and seldom reached their desti- nation. Second, Germany found it increasingly difficult to import foodstuffs and fertilizers for crops. An estimated 750,000 Germans starved to death as a result of the British blockade. Americans had been angry at Britain’s blockade, which threatened freedom of the seas and prevented American goods from reaching German ports.

Wilson's "Peace Without Victory Speech"

1917 BCE

Neither side would impose harsh terms on the other. Wilson hoped that all nations would join in a “league for peace” that would work to extend democracy, maintain freedom of the seas, and reduce armaments.

Zimmermann Note

1917 BCE

A telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. The telegram proposed an alliance between Mexico and Germany and promised that if war with the United States broke out, Germany would support Mexico in recovering “lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.”

Selective Service Act of 1917

1917 BCE

The act required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service.

369th Infantry Regiment

1917 BCE

The all-black 369th Infantry Regiment saw more continuous duty on the front lines than any other American regiment. Two soldiers of the 369th, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, were the first Americans to receive France’s
highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre—the “cross of war.”

Convoy System

1917 BCE

Which a heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic in groups. By fall of 1917, shipping losses had been cut in half.

Second Battle of the Marine

1917 BCE

The tide had turned against the Central Powers. In September, U.S. soldiers began to mount offensives against the Germans at Saint-Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne area.

Conscientious Objector

1917 BCE

A person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.”

War Industries Board

1917 BCE

It was established in 1917 and reorganized in 1918 under the leadership of Bernard M. Baruch, a prosperous businessman. The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency. It also urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products—for instance, by making only 5 colors of typewriter ribbons instead of 150. The WIB set production quotas and allocated raw materials.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

1917 BCE

A person could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to 20
years in jail for interfering with the war effort or for saying anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or the war effort.

Bolshevik Revolution

1917 BCE

The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, overthrew the provisional government. They set up a Communist state and sought peace with the Central Powers.

Anti-German Sentiment In America

1917 BCE

Many Americans with German names lost their jobs. Orchestras refused to play the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Some towns with German names changed them. Schools stopped teaching the German language, and librarians removed books by German authors from the shelves. People even resorted to violence against German Americans, flogging them or smearing them with tar and feathers.

Battle of the Somme

1916 BCE

Lasted until mid-November—the British suf- fered 60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 mil- lion, yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands.

Trench Warfare

1916 BCE

This bloody trench warfare, in which armies fought for mere yards of ground, continued for over three years.

Sinking of French Passengers Liner Sussex

1916 BCE

Germany broke its promise and torpedoed an unarmed French passenger steamer, the Sussex. The Sussex sank, and about 80 passengers, including Americans, were killed or injured.

Sinking of British Liner Lusitania

1915 BCE

when a U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the 1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans.

Sinking of British Liner Arabic

1915 BCE

A U-boat sank another British liner, the Arabic, drowning two Americans. Again the United States protested, and this time Germany agreed not to sink any more passenger ships.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

1914 BCE

As the royal entourage drove through the city, Serbian nation- alist Gavrilo Princip stepped from the crowd and shot the Archduke and his wife Sophie. Princip was a member of the Black Hand, an organization promoting Serbian national- ism. The assassinations touched off a diplomatic crisis.

Schlieffen Plan

1914 BCE

This plan called for a holding action against Russia, combined with a quick drive through Belgium to Paris; after France had fallen, the two German armies would defeat Russia.

Allies

1907 BCE

The Triple Entente, later known as the Allies, consisted of France, Britain, and Russia. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Central Powers

1907 BCE

Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the Ottoman Empire—an empire of mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks—were later known as the Central Powers.