-
1.) Allies
also known as the triple entente, consisted of France, Britain, Russia. -
2.) Central Powers
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. -
3.) 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to
the Austrian throne, visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. As
the royal entourage drove through the city, Serbian nationalist
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 nationalism.
The assassinations touched off a diplomatic crisis. On
July 28, Austria-Hungary declared what was expected to be a
short war against Serbia. -
4.) Schlieffen Plan
On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, following
a strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan. 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. As German
troops swept across Belgium, thousands of civilians fled in
terror. In Brussels, the Belgian capital, an American war
correspondent described the first major refugee crisis of
the 20th century. -
7.) Germany Blockades the North Sea
Any British or Allied ship found in the
waters around Britain would be sunk—and it would not always be possible to
warn crews and passengers of an attack.
One of the worst disasters occurred on May 7, 1915, when a U-boat sank the
British liner Lusitania. Of the
1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. The Germans defended their action on
the grounds that the liner carried ammunition.
Americans became outraged with Germany, American
public opinion turned against Germany and the Central Powers. -
8.) Sinking of the British Liner Lusitania
One of the worst disasters occurred on May 7, 1915, when a U-boat sank the
British liner Lusitania (lLQsG-tAPnC-E) off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the
1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. The Germans defended their action on
the grounds that the liner carried ammunition. Despite Germany’s explanation,
Americans became outraged with Germany because of the loss of life. American
public opinion turned against Germany and the Central Powers. -
9.) Sinking of the British Liner Arabic
Despite this provocation, President Wilson ruled out a military response in
favor of a sharp protest to Germany. Three months later, in August 1915, 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. -
5.) Battle of the Somme
The scale of slaughter was horrific. During the First Battle of the Somme—
which began on July 1, 1916, and lasted until mid-November—the British suffered
60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 million,
yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands. This bloody trench
warfare, in which armies fought for mere yards of ground, continued for over
three years. Elsewhere, the fighting was just as devastating and inconclusive. -
6.) Trench Warfare
There were three main kinds of trenches—front line, support,
and reserve. Soldiers spent a period of time in each kind of trench. Dugouts,
or underground rooms, were used as officers’ quarters and command posts.
Between the trench complexes lay “no man’s land”—a barren expanse of mud
pockmarked with shell craters and filled with barbed wire. Periodically, the soldiers
charged enemy lines, only to be mowed down by machine gun fire. -
10.) Sinking of the French Passenger Liner Sussex
But in March 1916 Germany broke its promise and torpedoed an unarmed
French passenger steamer, the Sussex. about 80 passengers,
including Americans, were killed or injured. Once again the United States warned
that it would break off diplomatic relations unless Germany changed its tactics.
Germany agreed, but there was a condition: if the United States could not
persuade Britain to lift its blockade against food and fertilizers, Germany would
consider renewing unrestricted submarine warfare. -
11.) Wilson's "Peace Without Victory" Speech
After the election, Wilson tried to mediate between the warring alliances. The
attempt failed. In a speech before the Senate in January 1917, the president called
for “a peace without victory. . . . a peace between equals,” in which 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. -
12.) Zimmerman Note
The overt acts came. First was the
Zimmermann note, 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.” Next came the
sinking of four unarmed American merchant
ships, with a loss of 36 lives. -
13.) Bolshevik Revolution
Finally, events in Russia removed
the last significant obstacle to direct
U.S. involvement in the war. In March,
the oppressive Russian monarchy was
replaced with a representative government. Now supporters
of American entry into the war could claim that this was a
war of democracies against brutal monarchies. -
Selective Service Act of 1917
To meet the government’s need for more
fighting power, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in
May 1917. The act required men to register with the government
in order to be randomly selected for military service. By the end
of 1918, 24 million men had registered under the act. Of this
number, almost 3 million were called up. About 2 million troops
reached Europe before the truce was signed, and three-fourths of
them saw actual combat.about one in five was foreign-born. -
15.) 369th Infantry Regiment
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.” -
16.) Convoy System
German U-boat attacks on merchant ships in the Atlantic were a serious threat
to the Allied war effort. American Vice Admiral William S. Sims convinced the
British to try the convoy system, in 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 -
17.) American Expeditionary Force and General John J. Pershing
American Expeditionary Force led by
General John J. Pershing included men from widely
separated parts of the country. American infantrymen
nicknamed doughboys, because of the white belts
they wore, they cleaned with pipe clay, or “dough.”
Most doughboys had never ventured far from the farms/towns where they lived, sophisticated sights
and sounds of Paris made a vivid impression. However,
were shocked by unexpected horrors of
the battlefield, astonished by new weapons/tactics
of modern warfare. -
18.) Shell Shock, Trench Foot, and Trench Mouth
Constant bombardments
often led to battle fatigue and “shell shock,” a complete emotional collapse from which many never recovered.
disease called trench foot, caused by standing
in cold wet trenches for long periods of time without changing into dry socks
or boots. First the toes would turn red or blue, then they would become numb,
and finally they would start to rot.solution: amputate the toes,
and in some cases the entire foot.painful infection of the gums and throat,
called trench mouth, -
19.) Second Battle of the Marne
In July and
August,U.S. Troops helped win the Second Battle of the Marne. 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. -
20.) Conscientious Objector
conscientious objector, a person who opposes warfare
on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” -
21.) Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies
On November 3, 1918, AustriaHungary
surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors
mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly.
Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary
councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
22.) Establishment of the German Republic
On November 3, 1918, AustriaHungary
surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors
mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly.
Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary
councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
23.) Cease-Fire and Armistice
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. -
24.) War Industries Board
The main regulatory body was the War
Industries Board (WIB). It was established in 1917 and reorganized in 1918
under the leadership of Bernard M. Baruch (bE-rLkP), 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. -
25.) National War Labor Board
To deal with disputes between management and labor, President Wilson established
the National War Labor Board in 1918. 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 -
26.) Food Administration
To
help produce and conserve food,
Wilson set up the Food Administration
under Herbert Hoover.
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. -
27.) Raising Money for the War
The United States spent about $35.5 billion on the war effort.
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. -
31.) Eugene V. Debs Arrest
Eugene V. Debs was handed a ten-year prison sentence for speaking out
against the war and the draft. -
28.) Committee on Public Information and the "Four Minute Men"
To popularize the war, the government
set up the nation’s first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public
Information The head of the CPI was a former muckraking
journalist named George Creel.
Creel persuaded the nation’s artists and advertising agencies to create thousands
of paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures promoting the war. He
recruited some 75,000 men to serve as “Four-Minute Men,” who spoke about
everything relating to the war -
19.) Anti-German Sentiment in America
The most bitter attacks were directed against the
nearly 2 million Americans who had been born in Germany, but other foreignborn
persons and Americans of German descent suffered as well.
Many Americans with German names lost their jobs. Orchestras refused to
play the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.
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 -
30.) Espionage and Sedition Acts
In June 1917 Congress passed the
Espionage Act, and in May 1918 it passed the Sedition Act. Under the Espionage
and Sedition Acts 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.
Violated first amendment -
32.) Emma Goldman
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. -
33.) Big Bill Haywood and the IWW
“Big Bill” Haywood and other leaders of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) 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. (He later skipped bail and fled to
Russia.) Under such federal pressure, the IWW faded away. -
34.) Victor Burger
NO INFORMATION GIVEN LIKE CMON -
35.) Wilson's 14 Points
8, he
delivered his now famous Fourteen Points speech before
Congress. The points were divided into three groups. The
first five points were issues that Wilson believed had to be
addressed to prevent another war:
The next eight points dealt with boundary changes.
The fourteenth point called for the creation of an international
organization to address diplomatic crises like those
that had sparked the war. -
37.) Reparations and the War Guilt Clause
First, the treaty humiliated Germany. It contained a war-guilt clause
forcing Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting World War I. Although
German militarism had played a major role in igniting the war, other European
nations had been guilty of provoking diplomatic crises before the war.
Furthermore, there was no way Germany could pay the huge financial
reparations. Germany was stripped of its colonial possessions in the Pacific, which
might have helped it pay its reparations bill. -
36.) Agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles established
nine new nations—including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—and shifted
the boundaries of other nations. It carved five areas out of the Ottoman Empire
and gave them to France and Great Britain as temporary colonies.
The treaty barred Germany from maintaining an army. It also required
Germany to return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France and to pay
$33 billion to the Allies.
