Why is 1917 considered the turning point of WWI?

• “Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationalism”

• There were two revolutions in 1917:

• The February (March-western calendar)

• The October (November…)

The November 6th Revolution…

• The second revolution was instigated and inspired by a radical socialist party then known as the Bolsheviks. Its leader was Vladimir Lenin.

How did the Russian army perform when war broke out?

Czar Nicholas II's government ended in 1917 when both soldiers and civilians united after riots on food lines broke out

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The Provisional government of Alexander Kerensky continued the war ….. big mistake that led to his undoing

The greatest challenge to his authority came from the Bolsheviks

Founder of the Bolshevik Party which was outlawed in Russia.

Upon returning to Russia, What did Lenin promised?

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918

• Why might this be called a bad treaty of Russia?

• Why did Lenin sign it?

Woodrow Wilson’s

Proclamation of Neutrality

Allied propaganda:

Americans felt a kinship with the British and friendship with France since the American Revolution

What changed for Americans?

• German unrestricted submarine warfare: • attacked ships of neutral nations without warning and

without attempting to save the crew and passengers• May 7, 1915: The Lusitania – 128 Americans died

American economic interests

• American agricultural and manufactured goods were sold almost exclusively to the Allies.

• American investors extended substantial loans to the Allies

American idealism

• “a war to end all wars” - Woodrow Wilson

• “the world must be made safe for democracy” - Woodrow Wilson

• The March Revolution in Russia: a Provisional government with strong democratic tendencies.

April 6, 1917 America goes to war…

• The formal end to neutrality came when Congress passed a formal declaration of war

• Wilson offered a peace plan: The Fourteen Points

• It took about a year for the U.S. to recruit, train, supply and transport a modern army to Europe

Significance of American entrance into the war:

• Broke sharply with America’s traditional avoidance of foreign entanglements – the policy of isolation – George Washington

• Turned the tide of battle in favor of the Allies

• America’s emergence as a world power and eventually a world leader

Hostility towards Germany

• Autocratic Kaiser William • Invasion of neutral Belgium• Allied propaganda• Economic interests• American idealism• The Lusitania• Cont’d submarine warfare• The Zimmerman telegram

Any questions?