27) Causes and consequences of U.S. intervention in World War I

Question 1

American Neutrality

Answer 1

• President Wilson sought to distance US from World War I by issuing a proclamation of neutrality
• Neutrality was consistent with America’s traditional policy of avoiding European entanglements
• Insisted that all belligerents respect US neutral rights on the high seas

Question 2

German Submarine Warfare & US Neutrality

Answer 2

• Germany launched a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917

Question 3

World War I Allied Powers

Answer 3

• France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy

Question 4

World War I Central Powers

Answer 4

• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria

Question 5

Lusitania (1915)

Answer 5

• German submarine ship sank the British passenger ship, killing over 100 Americans and turning American opinion against Germany

Question 6

Zimmerman Telegram

Answer 6

• An intercepted communication between Germany and Mexico

- Germans asked for Mexican assistance in the event of an American declaration of war against Germany

Question 7

Final justification for US declaration of war in 1917

Answer 7

• Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war when Germany reinstituted unrestricted warfare
• Germany vowed to skin every ship in the waters around Great Britain which violated the principle of freedom of the seas

Question 8

How did the US government prepare the economy for war?

Answer 8

• Established various war agencies to manage the economy and prepare US industry and agriculture for the increased demands of military production

Question 9

What did Wilson’s 14 Points call for?

Answer 9

• Open diplomacy
• Freedom of the seas
• Creation of an international organization to preserve peace and security of its members
• National self-determination for oppressed minority groups

Question 10

Why did the US not join the LoN?

Answer 10

• Wilson refused to compromise on the issue of the US’s unconditional adherence to the charter of the League of Nations –> This hardened Senate opposition
• Opponents believed that the League would lead to further involvement in foreign wars

Question 11

Events that led up to WWI

Answer 11

• Assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife

Question 12

Punishments to Central Powers as a result of WWI

Answer 12

• Took away arms and territories and required payment of reparations
• Germany was punished more than the others
• Germany was forced to assume responsibility for causing the war

Question 13

Interventionists vs. Isolationists

Answer 13

• Interventionists favored all aid except war to the Allied Nations fighting Axis powers
• Isolationists were against any US aid being given to the warring nations