WWI Timelines 2

1
WWI Timelines (2)

• 1915-1917 British naval blockade of Germany
  cuts off food and supplies to Germans. 750,000
  Germans starve to death
• 1915-1917 German counter-blockade German
  U-boats sink many Allied ships including the
  Lusitania passenger ship
• March 1917 Germans sink 4 US ships
• March 1917 Zimmerman telegram is
  intercepted/decoded
• April 6, 1917 US congress declares war

2
Outcomes Unit 7 (WWI)

• Why did the US get involved in WWI?
• What impact does the war have on life in
  the US?
• What role did US foreign policy play in the
  aftermath of the war?

3
Why did the US get involved in WWI?
(Outcome 1)
4
1914-1917 America remains neutral
-At first, Americans see the conflict as a
European War, dont want to get directly
involved
-President Wilson keeps an isolationist policy
tries to remain neutral is re-elected in 1916
under the campaign slogan He Kept
Us Out Of War
5
However... Are we really neutral?

• We have more cultural ties with Britain
• We have more economic ties with the Allies
• We loan lots of money and give supplies to the
  Allies

6
And...

• The Germans were being belligerent and
  expansionist they killed many Belgian civilians
  and invaded France
• They also sank ships like the Lusitania and the
  Sussex with their
  U-boats

7
The Last Straw(s)

• Zimmerman telegram Germans try to make secret
  alliance with Mexico promise to get back lands
  lost in Mexican-American War
• Germans begin sinking more US
  ships bringing supplies and
  food to the British

8
So, on April 6, 1917, the US declares war
against the Central Powers
9
What impact does the war have on life in the US?
(Outcome 2)
10
What impact does the war have on life in the US?

• Mobilization
• Rationing
• Discrimination against German-Americans
• Espionage Act
• Sedition Act
• Selective Service Act
• The Red Scare / fear of Communism

11
What impact does the war have on life in the US?

• Minorities, especially African Americans
• Women