The US’ Involvement in WW1

World War 1 Begins

• On August 4, as World War I erupted across Europe, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America’s neutrality and policy of nonintervention, stating that the nation
• “Must be neutral in fact as well as in name during these days that are to try men’s souls.”
• Many Americans supported this position.

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World War 1 Begins

• Additionally, the U.S. was home to a number of immigrants from countries at war with each other and Wilson wanted to avoid this becoming a divisive issue.

World War 1 Begins

• American companies, however, continue to ship food, raw materials and munitions to both the Allies and Central Powers, although trade between the Central Powers and the U.S. was limited by Britain’s naval blockade of Germany.

The Lusitania Sinks

• On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the British ocean liner Lusitania, resulting in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people, including 128 Americans.
• President Wilson demanded that the Germans stop unannounced submarine warfare; however, he didn’t believe the U.S. should take military action against Germany.

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American Attitudes Towards WW1

• After campaigning on the slogans “He Kept Us Out of War,” Wilson was elected to a second term in November 1916.
• Meanwhile, some Americans joined the fighting in Europe their own, such as the French Foreign Legion

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The Sussex Pledge

• In March 1916, a German submarine torpedoed a French passenger ship, the Sussex, killing many people, including several Americans.
• Afterwards, the U.S. threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Germany.
• In response, the Germans issued the Sussex pledge, promising to stop attacking merchant and passenger ships without warning.

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The Zimmerman Telegram

• Meanwhile, in January 1917, the British intercepted and deciphered an encrypted message from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister to Mexico.
• The Zimmerman telegram proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if America joined the war.

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The Zimmerman Telegram

• As part of the arrangement, the Germans would support the Mexicans in regaining the territory they’d lost in the Mexican-American War—Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
• The Germans thought it would help them win the war before the US, which was relatively unprepared for battle, could join.

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Response to the Zimmerman Telegram

• The American public was outraged by the news of the Zimmerman telegram and Germany’s resumed submarine attacks on US and Allied ships.
• In response, the U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Germany on February 3.

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The US Declares War on Germany

• On April 2, 1917, Wilson went before a special session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany, stating:
• “The world must be made safe for democracy.”
• On April 4, the Senate voted 82 to 6 to declare war.
• Two days later, on April 6, the House of Representatives voted 373 to 50 in favor of adopting a war resolution against Germany.

The US Declares War on Germany

• In early 1917, the U.S. Army had just 133,000 members.
• That May, Congress reinstated the draft for the first time since the Civil War and led to some 2.8 million men being inducted into the U.S. military by the end of WW1.
• Around 2 million more Americans voluntarily served during the war.
• 30,000 women served as nurses and telephone operators in the war.

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The American WW1 Experience

• Many Americans thought it was their civic duty to support the war.
• The US government used propaganda to mobilize Americans through appeals to patriotism and linking US democracy with European democracy.

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The Effect of WW1 on American Culture

• World War I saw women taking traditionally men's jobs in large numbers for the first time in American history.
• Many women worked on the assembly lines of factories, producing trucks and munitions, including African American women for the first time.
• After an Armistice agreement ended the fighting on November 11, 1918, the postwar years saw a wave of civil rights activism for equal rights for African Americans, the passage of an amendment securing women’s right to vote, and a larger role in world affairs for the United States.

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If Spain went to war, would you want to go fight for Spain?