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Four Causes of WWI
Militarism, Nationalism, Imperialism, and Alliance System. Militarism-development of armed forces and their use as tools of diplomacy
Nationalism-Devotion to the interest and culture of one nation
Imperialism-extending economic and political control over weaker nations
Alliance System-formal agreement or union between nations -
Map Before the War
This picture is a picture of a map before WWI ever happened. As you can see there were a lot bigger countries that had more power over more territory. You will see after the war how that changed dramatically. -
Assasination of Franz Ferdinand
To watch a video on the assassination click this link.
Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip who was one of a group of six Bosinan Serb assassins. The objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be made into Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia. -
Allies vs Central Powers
The Allies consisted of: Serbia, Russia, Britian, France, and the U.S.
The Central Powers were: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. -
British Blockade
The purpose of this blockade was to stop the shipping of "war supplies" to the Germans. The effect was that 750,000 German troops starved. -
Fighting Begins
Austria-hungary invaded Serbia, Germany invades Belgium, Luxemburg, and France on this date. -
Trench Warfare (1)
Click here to watch a short clip on trench warfare.
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consiting of mostly trenches, in which troops are fairly immune to the enemy's small fire arms and are substantially sheltered from artillary.
In WWI both sides would dig trenches and dugout systems, protected by a line of bardwire. The open area between opposing sides was called "no man's land". -
Trench Warfare (2)
The conditions of trench warfare were filthy, and it was hard to get around in the trenches. The troops had heavey packs on their backs, that carried everything they needed, that made it hard to get around and make quick movements. The trenches would be very wet and cold, and the troops would get little to no sleep. There were lots of diseases floating around in the trenches along with fleas. -
Lusitania
Click here to see a clip of what happened to the Lusitania.
The Lusitania, a british ocean liner, sank on May 7, 1915 in eighteen minutes. It was hit by a torpedo fired by a German U-boat. The ship was carrying passengers who departed from New York. All the blame fell on Germany. -
Great Migration
Click here for more information on The Great Migration.
In January of 1916 about 1.5 million African Americans moved North into cities hoping to escape tenant farming, sharecropping, and peonage. Chicago's African American population grew by 148%, Cleveland's by 307%, and Detroits by 611%. -
Election of 1916
Woodrow Wilson won re-election because his campaign slogan was "He kept us out of the war." Lots of people thought because he did this that he wouldn't lead us into another war. -
Zimmermann Note
The Zimmermann Note was written by Andrew Zimmermann. This note was written as a way of saying Germany had declared war on the U.S. In this note it says that Germany wants Japan and Mexico to join in on their side of the war, and in return Mexico will aquire land in America. -
America Joins the Fight
The reason for the U.S. joining the war was because the Germans were killing Americans that were passengers on ships traveling to Europe. Many Americans wanted to join the war because they had ties to people in Britain, and German immigrants had family in Europe. -
Women's roles
Click here for more information on women's roles during WWI
Even though men were the ones out there fighting in WWI the women had lots to do at home that helped the war effort. Some women did non-traditional jobs like railroad workers, miners, bricklayers, and dockworkers. Others did the traditional work. They were cooks, nurses, clerks, and teachers. They planted gardens to feed people and sold bonds. -
Committee on Public Information
Click this link to watch a video on WWI propaganda.Click here for more information on the CPI.
The CPI was created by President Woodrow Wilson. It was created to build public unity in America so that everyone would be supporting the war. The CPI used advertising as well as human pschology to make posters, cartoons, pamphlets, booklets, sculptures, and paintings. They also used speakers to get their message out. The main leader of the CPI was a former muckraker of the name George Creel. -
Selective Service Act
For more on this act click this link.
This act was put in place so there would be enough men to fight in WWI. This act drafted men to fight in the war. 24 million men signed up for the draft and 3 million were actually drafted. Some men were not drafted because they either had medical issues that wouldn't allow them to be fit for fighting or they had jobs at home that helped the war cause. -
War Industries Board
Click here for more information on the WIB.
The WIB persuaded companies in the U.S. to increase the manufacturing of products used in war. The organization set up quotas that were to be reached and provided the raw materials to make the products so fast. The most effective leader of this organization was Bernard M. Baruch who took over in January of 1918. After the WIB took over there was a 20% increase in production because they gave workers higher wages like they asked for. -
Three New Weapons
Click here for more information on weaponry from World War One.Mustard Gas- actually a liquid, burns and destroys skin, eyes, and lungs. It is usually a clear color and room temperature, but when used during warfare it can be a yellow-brown color. This weapon changed the war by making it more dangerous and more innovative.
Flamethrower- this weapon, mostly used by the Germans in WWI, was created to spread fire by launching burning fluid. Even though it wasn't very innovative the Germans still got effective use out of it. -
Three New Weapons
The flamethrower caused a lot of damage in the war and caused there to be a lot of rebuilding the areas it affected.
Tanks- had a huge impact on WWI. They made it easier to get across the battle felid and cause a lot more damage than regular guns. -
The Fourteen Points (3)
Click here for more information on Wilson's 14 points.
11. Balkan nations should rely on common Slavic history to have peace within them.
12. Turks should be free to control their land and Dardenelles should have free passage and be free of Turkish control.
13. Bigger states and smaller ones should have equal power.
14. We as a whole need to be strong and fight for what is right.
Those are Wilson's 14 points. -
The Fourteen Points (1)
Click here for information on Wilson's 14 points.
The Fourteen Points was an address by President Woodrow Wilson suggesting possible peace terms to end the four year conflict in Europe. The Fourteen Points were:
1. Arrive at some sort of a peace treaty.
2. Freedom of the seas to all.
3. Remove economic barriers and establish equality of trade conditions to all involved in the peace.
4. Garuntee that no violence will take place after with weapons of war.
5. All involved in the war should have equal rights and power. -
The Fourteen Points (2)
Click here for more information on Wilson's 14 points.
5. We want the outcome of the war to be peaceful.
6. Leave Russia alone and let them govern themselves.
7. Evacuate Belgium and let it enjoy its sovreignity with other free nations.
8. French territories should be freed, and invaded portions restored.
9. Readjust the fronteirs of Italy along the lines of Italian nationality,
10. We want to see Austria-Hungary safe, and given the right to govern itself while in another country. -
Espionage & Sedition Acts
Click here to view a video about these acts.To find out more about these acts click this link.
The purpose of these acts was to keep soldiers loyal to their country and not turn against it. The acts stated that conveying information that interfered with the operation of the military was illegal. The amendment also banned Americans from using language against the government, flag or armed forces. -
Armistice
Click here for more information on The Armistice.
An armistice is a cessation of hostilities as a prelude to peace negotiations. The armstice of 1918 in WWI was the agreement between the Allies and Germany to end the war. -
League of Nations
The purpose of the organization was to maintain world peace and work out international disputes. It was an intergovernmental organization and its main points were to end international disputes. -
The Big Four
Click here for more information on the Big Four.
The Big Four refer to the top Allied leaders who met at the Paris Peace Conference. They consist of Woodrow Wilson from the U.S., David Lloyd George of Britian, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and Georges Clemenceau of France. -
Schenck vs United States
Click here to view more information on Schenck vs the United States.
The final decision, made by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, was that Charles Schenck was guilty of intentionally trying to weaken the soldiers loyalty and obstruct military recruiting. -
Schenck vs United States
Click here for more information on Schenck vs United States.
In the Supreme Court case Schenck vs the United States, Charles Schenck was accused of violating the Espionage Act. Schenck had sent out pamphlets in 1917 to soldiers insisting to them that they couldn't be forced to kill people because their government said so. When the court case was judged in 1919 the judge decided that Schenck was at fault for trying to weaken the loyalty of the soldiers. Schenck thought they were wrong because he had freedom of speech according to the First Amendment. -
Treaty of Versailles
Click here for more information on the Treaty of Versailles.
This peace treaty was created by the Allies and was sent to Germany for them to look it over. Germany had three days to give a response on whether or not they accepted the terms. In the treaty it stated that Germany would be deprived of 13.5% of their territory and all of its possessions over seas. The German army was limited to 100,000 men and had a ban placed on the use of heavy artillary, gas, tanks and aircrafts. Similar bans were placed on the Navy as well. -
Map After the War
This is a picture of a map after WWI. As you can see there are a lot more smaller countries. That is because the Treaty of Versailles took away territory from Germany and gave these other countries new boundaries so they could rule themselves. -
Final Statistics
The Allies lost about 6 million soldiers during the war, and the Central Powers lost about 4 million. The total number of military and civilian casualties were over 35 million. The amount of money America spent on WWI was about 35 million dollars.
