Week 4 – The End of the War, and the Big 3

Reading Quiz 3 – End of WWI

1. Which US President used neutrality as a strategy to help win re-election in 1916?

2. What is 1 reason the US joined the Great War?3. What is the name of the treaty that ended the

Great War?4. What new international organization was

created to maintain peace after World War I?5. List one specific result of the Great War

(human cost, economic cost, political changes, or unrest in colonies)

The End of the Great War

• American Neutrality– Many Americans had not wanted to get involved

in a war in Europe, including President Woodrow Wilson

The End of the Great War

• American Neutrality– Woodrow Wilson used neutrality as a strategy to

win re-election in 1916 – “He kept us out of war”

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War1. The Sinking of the Lusitania – May 7, 1915

a) Germany had developed the submarine (called a U-Boat), and was using a policy called “unrestricted warfare”, in which they sank every ship that came near the UK

b) The Lusitania was a passenger ship, but it was believed that the British government was hiding war supplies on this ship

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War1. The Sinking of the Lusitania – May 7, 1915

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917

a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war, because Germany was already having difficulty fighting against the UK, France and Russia

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917

a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war, because Germany was already having difficulty fighting against the UK, France and Russia

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War2. The Zimmermann Note – February 1917

a) Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war, because Germany was already having difficulty fighting against the UK, France and Russia

b) Zimmermann Note – secret message from German diplomat to the government of Mexico, asking for Mexico to start fighting the US and suggesting that Mexico would gain Texas, Arizona and New Mexico back from the US as a result

The Zimmermann Note – February 1917

The End of the Great War

• Reasons the US did join the Great War3. Other reasons

a) Many Americans’ families had originally come to the US from Great Britain, and both the US and the UK shared many cultural traditions (and language)

b) Strong financial ties – the US had borrowed millions of dollars to Great Britain, and that money would have been lost if Great Britain were destroyed in WWI

The End of the Great War

• The Treaty that ended the Great War– Treaty of Versailles – for more information about

the treaty, read in your book for week 5• The international organization created to

preserve peace after World War I– The League of Nations

The End of the Great War

• The Cost of the War1. Human Cost – nearly 9 million people died2. Economic Cost – France, Belgium and Russia were

devastated, lost a major portion of farmland3. Political Changes – Communists took control of Russia,

Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and Germany had a new government

4. Unrest in colonies – many colonists had fought to defend the European empires they were a part of (Vietnamese for France, Irish for Britain), and they wanted the “self-determination” and independence that Woodrow Wilson promised in the 14 Points