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Created by Lauren Manikis and Alex Zaharinov

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Tensions around the world were rising. America was creating their own empire while European empires were allying themselves and war broke out in 1914. Americans wanted to stay out of the conflict occurring across the world, but this proved clearly difficult. Debate came on about the US's need for involvement in foreign affairs.

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Generally, four major causes of the war were recognized to have had great impacts. Nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and formation of alliances.

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Nationalism was the idea that one was devoted to their own nation. This led to competitiveness between nations and rivalries as well. Numerous ethnic groups feared being dominated by large nations and lose their identities. Empires sometimes overlapped and competed for influence over ethnic groups or small nations.

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Imperialism was the ethnocentric idea of colonizing other countries or "unclaimed" territories. Countries around the world were competing by creating empires for their own benefit. Some, like the US, used the newly colonized countries as a market for their overproduction and over manufacturing. Since the US was completing their expansion inside the country, they decided to move outwards to other areas across the globe.

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While growing empires, countries also had to defend them. This increased military spending and even more competition. Each country wanted their military to be stronger than any possible enemy's. In 1890, Germany had created the strongest military on its continent. A naval arms race occurred as the European countries tried to keep up with eachother.

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The two main alliances in 1907 were the Allies and the Central Powers. Allies, composed of France, Britain and Russia. Central Powers, compiling Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was insisted that this system would instill fear in any one country for attacking and causing conflict, since the attacked nation's allies would join. There was hope that the alliance system created a balance of power in Europe.

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In June of 1914, while visiting Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. He was heir to the Austrian throne. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, but it was not as simple as they had believed it to be. Nation after nation was dragged into battle. Soon after, Germany declared war on Russia, and their ally, France. War had struck Europe hard.

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Germany's Plan to Win WW1 and Why it Failed

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The war was brutal on soldiers. A stalemate was caused by trench warfare, where battling armies would fight for very small advancements. According to an account from William Brown of the 9th Infantry, "When we were in the front line trenches our rations and 'chuck' came up to us at 10:00 pm and 2:00 am -just four hours apart and that had todo us for the whole next day -so we always ate the 'chow' at night and saved our rations for the daytime." Soldiers were also continually surrounded by filth, rats, lice and polluted water. Trench life was less than ideal.

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Considering the fighting was overseas, President Wilson along with many Americans did not see a reason to be involved in this war. However, sympathetic citizens were still feeling close to their roots in European countries from which they immigrated. Also American businesses were being negatively impacted, and this made it difficult to stay neutral. Trade was incredibly risky with Britains strong naval presence. Majority of Americans favored Allied victory since American banks had loaned billions to their cause.

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American goods being shipped to Germany were being stopped and raided by the blockade the British has set up. Germany and the United States were angered by the blockade, but Germany’s response had Americans infuriated. Germany used U-boats, or submarines, to counterattack the British. U-boat’s had sunk many British liners and Americans on board lost their lives. Germany announced on Jan. 31 that they would sink all ships in British waters on sight. Four US merchant ships were sunk, resulting in 36 lives lost.

To top it off, A telegram from Germany to Mexico was intercepted from the British and information was received that Germany wanted to help Mexico gain back their territory lost to the U.S., in hopes that a Mexican - American war would keep the U.S from metaling in WW1.

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On April 2, 1917, President Wilson delivered his war resolution. Congress passed it shortly after. Wilson and many Americans viewed the U.S. as a country to lead by example and help create peace in the world again. Troops would be sent overseas to fight the Central Powers along side the Allies.

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The U.S. government was seeking more power for the military, so the Selective Service Act was passed in May 1917. It required male citizens to sign up to be randomly selected for the military. About 2 million troops were sent over. According to a statistical summary by Colonel Leonard P. Ayers, “Two out of every three American soldiers who reached France took part in the battle… 1,390,000 saw active service in the front line”.

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The war effort wanted a diverse military to fight the Central Powers. There was no discrimination for who could or could not join the military. Minorities hoped that by showing their loyalty to America that they would finally be respected and shown equal rights. Over 400,000 African Americans soldiers fought. They were still in segregated units and overall were not treated the same.

Also, some women also were in non combat positions overseas. They were nurses, secretaries, telephone operators and even ambulance drivers.

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Ships carrying materials and troops were going back and fourth between continents and the U.S. had to protect them from U-boats. They used the convoy system, which used a large  boundary  of destroyers to escort merchant ships. This protected many U.S ships and reduced shipping loss by half.

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World War 1 saw new technology being used at large scales for the first time, and it changed the way the war was fought completely. The two most recognized and helpful were the tank and airplane. Tanks were made of steel and the enemy bullets just bounced off the sides. As for planes, America had never really used them in the past. At first, they were used for scouting or dueling the enemy’s pilot. Once advancements were made, they were able to carry heavy bombs to attack German army bases and weapon factories from above. Also, Chemical warfare during WW1 was still allowed. Today it is considered a war crime.

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The 2nd battle of the Marne was a big turning point in the war because the Allies were able to defeat Germany as well as continue advancing. Germans had around 150,000 casualties and had retreated in August. In November, Allied troops had the hills around Sedan.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Towards the end of the war, Germany was in shambles. There were riots and people were starved due to lack of food and lack of supplies in general. Austria-Hungary also had a revolution occurring. Austria- Hungary surrendered and Germany agreed to a cease fire and signed a truce on Nov. 11, 1918.

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At the time, WW1 ended up being the bloodiest war to date with deaths up to 22 million, 20 million wounded, and 10 million being displaced and becoming refugees. The overall cost was around $338 billion which was mostly held up to Germany to reimburse.

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World War l created many conflicts causing the entire economy to shift towards war efforts. Due to the complications, it was necessary for many governments and businesses to collaborate in order to help with the shift from producing consumer goods to producing war supplies. Congress shifted power to President Wilson to have control over the economy, allowing him to fix prices and to nationalize war-related industries.

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The War Industries Board was established in 1917 and reorganized in 1918 under businessman Bernard M. Baruch. It encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency and urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products. The WIB helped industrial production to increase by about 20 percent in the United States.

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President Wilson established the National War Labor Board in 1918 which was created to deal with disputes between management and labor. Consequences of disobeying board decisions could lead to a loss of workers’ draft exemptions. The board would say either “work or fight.” The board also had positives. It helped improve factory conditions such as a limit of an 8 hour work day, promoted safety inspections, and enforced the child labor ban.

Another agency that regulated the economy during the war was the Railroad Administration which controlled the railroads, the Fuel Administration monitored coal supplies and rationed heating oil and gasoline. Wilson set up the Food Administration to conserve and produce food.

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In order to conserve fuel, people adopted “gasless Sundays” and “lightless nights”. In place of rationing food, there was a proposal for people to follow the “gospel of the clean plate”. Herbert Hoover declared one day a week “meatless,” “sweetless,” two days “wheatless,” and two days “porkless.” People planted “victory gardens” in their yards and children in school spent their after school hours planting vegetables in public parks. From these efforts, American food shipments to the Allies tripled

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The US spent about $35.5 billion on war efforts. The government raised about one third of $35.5 billion through taxes. These taxes included a progressive income tax, war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury goods. The rest were raised through public borrowing by selling Liberty and Victory loan bonds.

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Ways to gain attention and change perspective on the war was through propaganda. Propaganda is a form of biased communication designed to influence thoughts and actions. The Committee on Public Information was an agency led by muckraking journalist, George Creel. Thousands of posters, cartoons, sculptures and paintings were created regarding the war: the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens, and topics such as “Why We Are Fighting” and “The Meaning of America.” Creel’s campaign was effective which informed and shifted views towards the war.

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While propaganda campaigns have promoted patriotism and war efforts have been sources to help the country during war, the United States faced loathing and violations towards the civil liberties of certain ethnic groups and opponents of the war. These attacks created sentiments of fear but was also an outlet of people’s opinions

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As soon as war was declared, the attacks on civil liberties began. The main targets were Americans who emigrated from other nations, especially from Germany and Austria-Hungary. The worst attacks were directed to nearly 2 million Americans who were born in Germany, along with those of German descent. German’s faced harsh conditions, verbal and physical. Some were lynched, people refused to play music by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms. Those with German last names lost their jobs, and Americans went to the extent of throwing tar and feathers on the German Americans. Words descended from Germany or words named after German cities were changed because of the hatred against them.

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The Espionage Act was passed by Congress in June of 1917 and the Seditions Act was passed in 1918 which meant that a person could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to 20 years in jail for any interference of war efforts or for disproving loyalty towards government efforts. Similar to the Alien and Seditions Act, this clearly violated the First Amendment: freedom of speech. This act targeted labor leaders and socialists.

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Wars often release strong social forces. Through the war efforts and attacks, there was an evident social change. Lives were transformed and there were new opportunities available for African Americans, immigrants, and women.

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The greatest impact of World War l on the lives of African Americans’ was that it accelerated the Great Migration. Between the first and second decades of the nineteenth century, almost half a million blacks left the South to move to cities in the Midwest and Northeast. The North promised more than the South ever had to offer. From the North being classified as the land of freedom, to the land of refuge, to the land of opportunity, a better life was guaranteed.

There were more economic opportunities up North due to its land of cities. Besides the enhancement of economic development, black men and women wanted to escape the fear they faced in the South. Men wanted to leave the constant fear of lynching and women wanted to escape the fear of sexual abuse. African Americans sought freedom and that could not be found in the South (Hine).

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=6UmERSpTtJc

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The United States suffered from an epidemic in the fall of 1918. This had an impact on about one fourth of the US population and negatively affected the economy. Factories and office working hours had to stagger in order to avoid contagion, mines shut down, and telephone service was cut in half. There were no other suggestions recommended other than constant sanitizing and quarantining. From this, many people died and there was a lack of sufficiency of coffins. This impacted soldiers because their living conditions allowed the disease to spread easily. Eventually the flu epidemic came to an end, along with the war. President Wilson went to Europe to ensure that it was all over.

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After President Wilson arrived in Europe, he received so much praise. He was welcomed everywhere he went. His picture was displayed on windows, Parisians scattered flowers in the street, and representatives of groups spoke to him one after another to thank him for helping to set up independent nations.

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On January 8, 1918, Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points plan to Congress. These points came well before the war ended. His Fourteen Points established basic principles for making peace. The first five points proposed general rules governing the behavior of all warring parties. They called for "open covenants of peace, openly arrived at" (as a protection against secret treaties), freedom of the seas, free trade among nations, smaller armies, and new negotiations on colonial holdings that respected the people in those colonies. Points six through thirteen proposed specific territorial adjustments, most of which were interpreted as punishments for members of the Central Powers. The fourteenth point called for the creation of an international organization to settle disputes between countries (Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points).

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The Paris Peace Conference is where Wilson planned to present his Fourtenn Points. This conference had leaders from 32 nations attend. From the start, negotiations were dominated by the major Allied countries: the United States, France, Italy, and Great Britain. Those leaders became known as the “Big Four.” French premier George Clemenceau, British prime minister David Lloyd George, Italian prime minister Vittorio Orlando, and Wilson had different plans at the conference. Their differences in opinions created tension within the Big Four. To establish the League of Nations —Wilson’s final point— and a peace treaty, Wilson had to give up the majority of his Fourteen Points.

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The Big Four and leaders of the defeated nations gathered together in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles to sign the peace treaty on June 28, 1919. In hopes to create stability for a newly built Europe, there was a lot of anger instead. The Treaty of Versailles established nine new nations: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and more. The treaty prevented Germany from maintaining an army and required Germany to return to the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France. Germany also had to pay reparations of $33 billion to the Allies.

Lasting peace in Europe was difficult to achieve due to the treatment of Germany which weakened the Treaty of Versailles’ ability to provide for Europe. The treaty contained many basic flaws which created postwar international problems eventually leading to the Second World War. The treaty contained a war-guilt clause which forced Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting World War l and causing all damage. It was also impossible for Germany to pay all of the reparations. There was also unfair treatment towards Russia and they suffered higher casualties than any other nation. Lastly, the treaty ignored the claims of colonized people for self-determination. Many people opposed the treaty because they believed it was too harsh. Others believed it was a sell-out to imperialism. The United States ended up signing a separate treaty with Germany in 1921 after Wilson was no longer president. The US never joined the League of Nations.

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After the chaos caused by World War l, American citizens expected the world to go back to “normal”. However, the United States along with the rest of the world had completely transformed from the war. The war illuminated the military and industrial potential in the United States along with its new wave of world power. Power of the government strengthened and social changes amplified for women and African Americans. World War l was “the war to end all wars.”