WWI: Causes and Start

Causes of WWI

• Militarism involved aggressively building up a nation's armed forces in preparation for war, as exemplified by Germany's desire to construct a navy comparable to Great Britain's, leading to a Naval Arms Race and distrust.
• The alliance system was a complicated network intended to provide aid in case of attacks, illustrated by the division between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers.
• Imperialism, or the takeover of other nations for territorial and economic expansion, fueled competition as countries like Britain, Germany, and France sought to expand their trade markets and land in Asia and Africa.
• Nationalism, embodying pride in one's nation, sparked conflict, such as France's desire for revenge after losing the Franco-Prussian War against Germany, contributing to overall competition.

Start of the War

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian associated with a Serbian nationalist society known as the Black Hand.
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, following the Archduke's death, which heightened tensions within Austria-Hungary as Bosnians sought independence.

Alliances

• The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.
• The Allied Powers included Serbia, Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy (initially part of the Central Powers), and later, the United States in 1917.

Foreign Involvement

• Germany's invasion of France in August 1914 required passing through Belgium, violating Belgium's neutrality treaty, leading Great Britain to declare war on Germany.
• Italy joined the Allies in 1915 after being offered parts of Austria and the Ottoman Empire if they won the war.
• A stalemate emerged in France, while Great Britain assisted in battling Germany, resulting in bloody engagements.

War Info

• The average age of soldiers was approximately 19, with some as young as 14 or 15.
• New weapons such as machine guns, rapid-fire artillery, grenades, poison gases, tanks, submarines, and planes resulted in air fights and dogfights.
• Trench warfare led to new battle strategies, types of war, and diseases, with "No Man's Land" marking the hazardous area between trenches.
• Key battles included The Battle of Verdun in 1915 and The Somme in July 1916, where ~60,000 British soldiers died in a single day, adding up to over 1 million deaths in 5 months.

American Involvement

• The U.S. declared neutrality on August 4, 1914, under President Wilson, but often blurred the lines by providing loans to the Allies.
• Isolationists thought the U.S. should avoid all foreign disputes, internationalists wanted the U.S. to actively pursue peace without war involvement, and interventionists thought the U.S. should intervene in the war on the side of the Allies.
• President Wilson hesitated to join the war due to the diverse loyalties of the U.S. immigrant population.
• In 1915, the U.S. initiated the drafting and training of soldiers.
• Unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany impacted U.S. trade and resulted in U.S. navy member deaths.
• The sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, resulted in many passenger deaths and the U.S. was concealing weaponry aboard the ship.
• The Zimmermann Telegram, sent in January 1917, proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if the U.S. entered the war, which Britain intercepted and decoded, leading the U.S. to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

Poster War

• Enlistment propaganda, including images like Uncle Sam and symbols like eagles, was used to rally support, with Germans referred to as Huns due to their actions in Belgium and a speech by Kaiser Wilhelm.
• "Over There" by George Cohan was a popular song.

Selective Service Act

• The Selective Service Act of 1917 led to 24 million men being registered for the draft by 1918.
• 4.8 million men served in WWI.
• Around 400,000 African-Americans served in segregated units and around 15,000 Native-Americans served as scouts, messengers, and snipers in non-segregated units.
• A "Great National Lottery" was used to select draftees, who then filled out war draft cards.

Govt Expansion

• The War Industries Board, led by Bernard Baruch, determined the products industries would make, their destination, and their cost.
• The Food Administration, led by Herbert Hoover, sought to encourage farmers to increase production while ensuring food conservation for soldiers.
• The National War Labor Board, led by William Howard Taft, assisted in resolving disputes between workers and employers, leading to wage increases, more common eight-hour days, and increased union membership.
• George Creel headed the Committee on Public Information (CPI), which sought to encourage support for the war through pamphlets, press releases, speakers, and anti-German campaigns.
• Unemployment decreased, big government expanded, there were excessive government regulations, there was a close cooperation between the public and private sectors, there were more opportunities for minorities, there was an increase in the number of women in the workforce, and African Americans migrated North.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

• The Espionage Act of 1917 forbade actions obstructing recruitment or efforts promoting military insubordination, with penalties including fines up to $10,000 and/or 20 years in prison.
• The Sedition Act of 1918 made it a crime to speak against war bonds or say anything negative about the U.S. government, Constitution, or armed forces.

Schenck Case

• Socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer distributed leaflets encouraging people to disobey the draft, arguing it violated the Thirteenth Amendment.
• Charged with violating the Espionage Act, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes upheld Schenck's conviction, comparing his actions to shouting "fire!" in a theatre.
• Schenck was sentenced to 6 months of prison.

Aftermath

• Germany increased U-boat attacks, so British and American ships started to travel in convoys.
• Allies became stronger at sea while The Central Powers strengthened on land
• Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin gained control of Russia
• In spring of 1918 Germany began an all-out offensive strategy on the Western Front.
• General John J. Pershing trained millions of American men to fight in France, which allowed the Allies to win a military advantage.
• Germany surrender to the Allies in Compiegne, France on November 11, 1918.
• 5 million Allied soldiers , 8 million Central Power soldiers, and 6.5 million civilians died. President Wilson traveled to Versailles, France for a peace conference in 1919 and presented his Fourteen Points (place for peace).

Wilson’s Fourteen Points (General Overview)

• Practice open diplomacy, allow freedom of the seas, and encourage free trade.
• Reduce arms stockpiles, scale back colonialism/imperialism, and encourage self-determination of nations.
• Establish a League of Nations.

Other Post-War Notes

• Allied Leaders wanted reparations - Germany had to pay $33 Billion back for war damages.
• Dawes Plan was when the U.S. loaned money to Germany to help them pay.
• Took 91 years for Germany to pay back.
• Wilson’s Fourteen Points were rejected, leaving only the League of Nations was added to Treaty of Versailles.
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, which redrew the map of Europe and broke up the Ottoman Empire.
• In September 1919: Wilson went on a speaking tour to promote the League/14 points in the U.S.
• The senate voted, refusing to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.