USII.6J

USII.6J //Guiding Question: What were the main causes of WWI and what was America’s role in the lead up to the war?//

Many issues and events led up to America’s involvement in WWI. I. June 1914…Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne visited Sarajevo and he was shot with his wife. The alliance system kept pulling others into the conflict. By August, France, Russia, and Germany were at war.

II. America responded with neutrality. There was no immediate justification for intervention. Many Americans were divided, whereby there were divided loyalties between British, German, French and Irish immigrants in the United States. Therefore there was a divided opinion regarding intervention. America’s involvement was initially to the extent that the U.S was shiping many supplies to the Allies.

III. Naval struggle between Britain, Germany, and the America’s. a. Germany & British struggled for naval control b. Disaster on May 7, 1915 with Lusitania whereby the Germans sunk a ship with 1,198 people dying.

IV. 1916 Election a. U.S. Presidential Election where Woodrow Wilson campaigned on the U.S. freedom of the seas, neutrality and not being too tough on Germany.

V. Germany ignores Wilson’s calls for peace a. January 1917, Germany declares it will sink all British ships in British waters

VI. Zimmerman Telegram (March 1, 1917): a. Telegram sent by Germany to Mexico. Proposed an alliance between Mexico & Germany with a promise to Mexico that if war with the United States breaks our, Germany would support Mexico in recovering “lost territory in Texas, new Mexico, and Arizona.” b. Telegram is followed with 4 unarmed American ships sinking.

VII. March 1917, Russian Revolution broke out replacing the monarchy. Supporters of American involvement said there was a war between democracies against brutal monarchies.


 * Four Main Themes Leading to WWI:**
 * 1) Nationalism
 * 2) Imperialism
 * 3) Militarism
 * 4) Alliance system

Websites to explore: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0723.html#article http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0402.html#article http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0804.html#article http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/1915/strict.html (Wilson’s first warning to Germany)

http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/1915/lusitania1.html (The First //Lusitania// Note to Germany)
Bibliography Danzer, Klor de Alva, et al., G, J.J (2007). //The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21 st Century Oklahoma Teacher's Edition//. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.

Faragher, Buhle, et.al., John Mack, Mari Jo (2003). //Out of Many: A History of the American People 4th Ed., (Documents Set)//. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.