What does it mean for the United States when the world goes to war?

One day after school, you see two groups of fellow students fighting in the parking lot. Both sides yell to you join in and help their side. What are the advantages and disadvantages of remaining neutral and staying out of the fight? What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting involved? If you do choose to get involved, how do you decide which group to join?

Write your response to the following prompt on a new page in your notebook labeled Intro to WWI:

Was Europe’s alliance system in 1914 like a school yard fight?

Nationalism: devotion to national interests, identity, and/or independence.

Germany united in 1871 and Italy united in 1870

Nationalist ethnic minorities

Nationalism is fueled by Imperialism in Africa, the Americas, and Asia

Militarism: Glorifying the military and military power and focusing societies energies for the purpose of war fighting.

Growing military to acquire and protect colonies, as well as to defend against rivals (Imperialism).

Between 1870 and 1914 military spending in Europe increased 300%

As militarism takes hold of Europe an intricate web of alliances are formed to deter aggression from neighbors.

The Triple Alliance (Austro-Hung, Ger., Italy) 1882The Triple Entente (France, Brit, Rus.) 1907

Is Europe a “powder keg” of tensions?

As tensions erupt in Europe, President Wilson carries on the American tradition of Neutrality.

George Washington: “steer clear of permanent alliances” with European nations.

Thomas Jefferson (1801) “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”

What do you see here? How are the men dressed? What positions do you think they hold? Do you think they are from the same country?

Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Hungary and his grandnephew and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1914)

Assassination!

• People of the Balkans are largely Slavic (like Russia) ethnically but had been ruled by the Muslim Ottoman Turks for centuries

• Slavic Bosnians wish to join (nationalism) Serbia to form an all Slavic greater Serbia

• June 28, 1914 Serbian Nationalist group the Black Hand lined up along the Archduke’s parade route in an assassination plot.

• Gavrilo Princip a 19 year old member of the Black Hand shoots the Archduke and his wife when their driver makes a wrong turn.

• The Spark that ignited the powder keg

• July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after her demands for resolution to the assassination were denied.

• July 30th Russia troops move toward German and Austrian borders in support of Serbia.

• Germany sees this as an act of war and enters the fray by declaring war on Germany and France (who chose to honor their alliance with Russia rather than remain neutral).

• Honoring the Triple Entente, Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th.

• WWI had officially begun…The US declares neutrality

Describe what you see in this picture. What is the environment like? What sounds do you think they hear? Where do you think they live between attacks and what do you think the conditions are like? What impact do you think rain would have on those conditions?

A Bloody Stalemate in Europe• What everyone

anticipated was going to be a short war, the Great War quickly turned into a stalemate.

• With modern weapons like machine guns, mechanized canons, and poison gas, warfare had changed dramatically

• To address how modern wars would be fought, commanders in the field quickly began digging trenches and fighting protracted battles for little gain

• Trenches were damp, rat infested, and full of fallen comrades

One Allied Soldier recalls life in the trenches:

“The bottom of the trench was springy like a mattress because of all the bodies underneath. At night when the stench was worse, we tied (material) around our mouths and noses…The flies entered the trench at night and lined them completely with a density which was like moving cloth.”

Many Americans were appalled by the bloody stalemate. Some even volunteered with the Red Cross and French Foreign Legion.

The US maintains neutrality, but trade with both sides soon turned to trade with the Allied Powers as the British Navy blocked access to German ports.

What do you see here? What new dangers does a submarine create for the enemy? How could German U-boats (Unterseeboots) threaten the United States without being close to American shores?

February 1915 Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare to prevent supplies from reaching Great Britain.

Germany sank over 90 ships between February and May including an American Tanker, infuriating Wilson and turning American public opinion against the Central Powers.

May 7, 1915 British passenger liner the Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat killing over 1,200 passenger including 128 Americans.

Wilson maintained a policy of neutrality based on Germany’s pledge to stop violating international law at sea.

The Zimmerman Telegram-The Death Knell of US Neutrality?

• German foreign secretary Arthur von Zimmerman reaches out to Mexico January 1917

• “Make war together and together make peace.”

• The American public demanded a declaration of war after hearing of the telegram and 3 more American ships were sunk on March 6, 1917

• April 2, 1917 “the world must be made safe for democracy.”

What do you see in this picture? Where do you think is going? How do you think the family feels? Why is the little girl holding a flag? What do you think the soldier will find in Europe?

Mobilizing for War:• 9 million men signed up

for the draft-3million were immediately pressed into service.

• US industry and agriculture swings into gear to fuel the military’s demand for food, fuel, ships, and weapons.

• Committee on Public Information (CPI) created to unite public opinion.

• Sauerkraut renamed “liberty cabbage”

• And the US heads to Europe…

Glue your blank map into your Notebook, and invest it with the following information that can be found in chapters 21&22 of your textbook:-Label each country, empire, or territory-Label major geographical features (rivers, mountains, oceans, etc.)-Identify and label the alliances that existed in 1914 (Allied and Central powers, and neutral countries)-Find the estimated number of deaths for each country during WWI and represent that figure on the map-develop a Key for your map