The U.S. enters World War I



1. How did the United States raise an army?

In 1917 once the U.S. had declared war on Germany, they realized they were not prepared and severely lacked troops as only 200,000 men were enlisted in the armed forces. In order to fill this void, Congress passed the Selective Service Act. This act required that all men in the U.S. register with the government. Soon 24 million men had registered and of these 3 million were chosen to fight in the U.S. army.



2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?

U.S. soldiers helped to win the war by preventing German U-boat attacks by using the convoy system. With this sysytem, a group of destroyers would help escort merchant ships across the Atlantic. This greatly minimized U-boat attacks and by Fall of 1917, shipping losses were cut in half. Along with this newly introduced convoy system, the U.S. also deployed a large amount of troops in Europe who not only helped to win many decisive victories but positively impacted the spirits of the tiresome allied troops.

3. What were the estimated economic costs of the war?

The war was a very expensive one as its total cost was roughly 338 billion dollars. The United States suffered severe economic losses of approximately 32 billion dollars, 52 percent of the nation's gross national product during that time.



4. What did the war cost in terms of the number of civilian deaths; military deaths?; injuries?; and refugees?

The war was very costly in terms of deaths, injuries, and refugees. There were an estimated 22 million deaths with about half being civilian and half soldiers. In terms of injuries there were about 20 million wounded and as for refugees there were about 10 million.



5. Define armistice.

Armistice is a mutual agreement between opponents to end hostilities between them.

World war I Begins

1. What are the four main causes of World War I? Give an example for each as to why it was a cause.

Alliance System- Alliances between European nations caused a domino effect of countries declaring war when Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

Nationalism- Caused Gavrilo Pricip to assassinate archduke Franz Ferdinand which in turn began the first world war

Militarism- European nations had greatly enhanced their armies in recent years to help protect colonies they established throughout the world

Imperialism- European nations, specifically Austria-Hungary and Germany who wanted to gain territory further South in order to access warm waters and gain new trade routes, sought to expand their territories across Europe and throughout the world

2. How did the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand become the spark for WWI?
After the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary sought to declare war on their longstanding enemy, Serbia. They asked Germany to help them in this war as Germany had the strongest military in the world at the time and was an ally of Austria-Hungary. When Germany agreed this triggered all of the European alliances to declare war on each other and thus began the war.

3. What happened within the first few months of fighting?

During the first few months of fighting, trench warfare originated along with the use of heavy artillery, barbed wire, and poison gas in battle. This combination of new-age technology made crossing open ground extremely difficult and entering enemy trenches impossible without heavy casualties. Both sides soon realized that military tactics had failed to keep up with new technology and consequently an unprecedented number of men died.

4. Generally, why did the United States want to stay out of the war?

The U.S. wanted to remain neutral simply because they did not feel it was necessary to enter the war without a legitimate cause or reason. They decided to engage in a policy of isolationism, which meant that they would remain neutral while trying to bring about peace in Europe.

5. Specifically, Why did the following groups of Americans tend to oppose U.S. participation in the war? Naturalized citizens; socialists; pacifists; parents.

Naturalized Citizens- these citizens so no valid reason to enter into a war that did not involve them and did not wish to see their nation brought down by a war that really only involved Europe

Socialists-These citizens did not wish to enter the war because they also saw no valid reason for entry and therefore this would be a direct contradiction to their ideals. They also knew that it would ruin the economy and the American way of life.

Pacifists- These people did not want to enter the war simply because they saw no way in which violence could be a solution to any problems and they did not want to see their fellow Americans killed in the senseless act of war especially without good reason.

6. How did Germany respond to the British naval blockade of Germany’s ports? What was the U.S. response?
When Britain initiated its blockade on Germany, which greatly relied on imports to supply food and raw materials for its people, Germany responded by continuing its unrestricted submarine warfare and attempting to destroy British ships. The U.S. responded to this by warning Germany to abide by international submarine laws or they would have no choice but to use force.

7. What forced the United States into the war?

The U.S. sought to stay out of the war until a German U-boat sunk the British ship, the Lusitania, which had been carrying 128 Americans on board. Even after this, president Wilson was still reluctant to declare war and simply gave Germany a stern warning, but after constant pressure from former president Theodore Roosevelt, several unanswered acts of violence toward the U.S. by Germany, and the discovery of a German telegram requesting that Mexico become an ally to Germany and declare war on the U.S., president Wilson finally felt it was necessary to declare war.