Unit 14 Lesson 1: From Neutrality to War

Question 1

How did most Ameircans feel about entering the war

Answer 1

The American public had mixed opinions about entering the war. Many resisted the idea of American intervention and loss of American lives, no matter how bad the circumstances.

Question 2

What were some questions Americans had to answer when determining whether to enter World War I?

Answer 2

Should the U.S. should be involved in the war? Are we a country that stays out of world issues, or gets involved in them?

Question 3

What were some questions Americans had to answer when it entered the war?

Answer 3

How do we get ready for the war? How big should our government be? What can the government ask of its citizens? Does that change during wartime?

Question 4

What were some questions Americans had to confront when the war was over?

Answer 4

What is our role in that world now? What kind of leader will the United States be?

Question 5

For nearly a century, European nations had negotiated a series of

Answer 5

of alliances, or formal agreements between nations for mutual support in case of war, to secure themselves against their imperialist rivals.

Question 6

To expand German interests, German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to

Answer 6

obtain overseas colonies.

Question 7

By 1914, Europe had become divided into two competing sides. What was the riple Entente

Answer 7

The Triple Entente included France, Great Britain, and Russia.

Question 8

By 1914, Europe had become divided into two competing sides. What was the Triple Alliance

Answer 8

. Opposite them, the Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and initially Italy.

Question 9

How did militarism influence Europe

Answer 9

At the same time European rivals were committing themselves to these defense pacts, they were competing for power and glorifying their own military might, an idea known as militarism.

Question 10

What did Gavrilo Princip do on June 29, 1914,

Answer 10

On June 29, 1914, a man named Gavrilo Princip and his accomplices assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand,during a trip to Bosnia.

Question 11

Who was Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

Answer 11

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne in Austria-Hungary,

Question 12

Who was Garvrilo Princip

Answer 12

Princip was a Serbian nationalist who believed that all Slavic people should have their own homeland. Serbia and Bosnia had been annexed by Austria-Hungary. This annexation had angered Serbian nationalists.

Question 13

How did WWI start

Answer 13

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This is considered the major triggering event of World War I because of the alliances that already existed.
• Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination. Russia was allied with Serbia.
• Austria-Hungary asked its ally, Germany, for help if Russia attacked them on behalf of Serbia.

Question 14

How did imperialsim influence WWI

Answer 14

During this time, the world was becoming more industrialized. This led to a quest for more territory, raw materials, and new trade routes to sell manufactured goods. Kaiser Wilhelm II’s desire to expand Germany’s empire by adding more overseas colonies fueled diplomatic tensions in Europe and imperialism worldwide.

Question 15

How did Militarism influence WWI

Answer 15

: Countries built up their warships, armies, and other armaments in order to appear prestigious and powerful. This led to a general feeling of unease and caused more secret alliances to form. Some countries hosted grand parades that showcased their military might. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare is an extreme form of militarism.

Question 16

How did nationalism influence WWI

Answer 16

Nationalism is not just pride in one’s country, but exalting it above all others. With shifting borders, immigration, and increased abilities to travel and trade, pockets of nationalists cropped up prior to World War I. Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.

Question 17

How did Alliance influence WWI

Answer 17

: A tangled web of treaties and alliances was woven throughout Europe in the late 1800s. Countries were obligated to defend each other based on these agreements. The Triple Alliance (later called the Central powers) included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and initially Italy. The Triple Entente included France, Great Britain, and Russia.

Question 18

What is militarization and what role did it play in WWI

Answer 18

Militarization, or the buildup of warships and other armaments in preparation for war, played a significant role in World War I.

Question 19

What did the GErman navy send to Great Britain to attack mercahnt and mililtary ships?

Answer 19

By early 1915, the German navy had dispatched a fleet of U-boats, or submarines, around Great Britain to attack both merchant and military ships.

Question 20

How did Britain repsond to Germany’s U-boasts?

Answer 20

Britain had already blockaded Germany when the war first broke out in order to prevent Germany and its allies from receiving imports of food and war materials.

Question 21

How did Germany respond to Brtain blockading Germany

Answer 21

. In retaliation, Germany declared the North Sea a war zone.

Question 22

Germany declared the North Sea a war zone. What does this mean

Answer 22

These German U-boats acted in direct violation of international law, attacking without warning from beneath the water instead of surfacing and permitting the surrender of civilians or crew. Such attacks are known as unrestricted submarine warfare.

Question 23

unrestricted submarine warfare

Answer 23

a naval strategy in which submarines attack ships without warning; first seen during World War I

Question 24

What happened to the British passenger ship RMS Lusitania on May 7 1915

Answer 24

On May 7, 1915, the British passenger ship RMS Lusitania was attacked on its way from New York City to Liverpool, England.

Question 25

Did the German Embassy give a warning to RMS Lusitania

Answer 25

The German Embassy in the United States had warned that this ship would be subject to attack because it was carrying ammunition, an allegation that later proved true

Question 26

Waht was the result of the RMS Lusitania bombing

Answer 26

Nonetheless, almost 1,200 civilians died in the attack, including 128 Americans. The attack shocked the world and tested President Wilson’s desire to stay out of what had been a largely European conflict.

Question 27

How did PREsident Wilsion react ot the RMS usitania incident

Answer 27

Despite the loss of lives on the RMS Lusitania, President Wilson stuck to his path of neutrality, or refusal to take part in a war between other powers.

Question 28

Why did Wilson want to say neutral accodring to his political beliefs

Answer 28

Wilson believed that the United States should set a good example for the world.
In one of his 1912 election messages, he promised a foreign policy that was based on morality and the common good rather than American self-interest. This became known as moral diplomacy. He felt that American interference in another nation’s affairs should occur only when the circumstances rose to the level of a moral imperative.

Question 29

Why did Wilson want to stay netural in terms of American citzens

Answer 29

Wilson feared that engagement in the war would divide the loyalties of American citizens.
In his Declaration of Neutrality in 1914, he said, “The people of the United States are drawn from many nations, and chiefly from the nations now at war.” By the turn of the twentieth century, Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe surpassed Northern Europe as the source of new immigration to the United States. Wilson questioned how these different cultures would react to U.S. involvement in a war that set their countries of origin against each other.

Question 30

Why did Wilson want to stay neutral in terms of plublic opinion

Answer 30

Wilson’s position of neutrality was also motivated by public opinion.
Most Americans did not want to go to war unless America’s interests were directly threatened. He did not want to risk losing his reelection by ordering an unpopular military intervention.

Question 31

Despite the reasons for neutrality, Wilson felt increasing pressure to make sure the country was ready in the event the U.S. had to enter the war. He agreed to a preparedness campaign. What is a prepardeness campaign

Answer 31

. A preparedness campaign is the steps a country takes to ready itself for war, including collecting weapons and strengthening armed forces.

Question 32

Preparedness campaign included the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916. What did this Act do

Answer 32

This campaign included the passage of the National Defense Act of 1916, which more than doubled the size of the army to nearly 225,000.

Question 33

What was the The Naval Appropriations Act of 1916

Answer 33

The Naval Appropriations Act of 1916 called for the expansion of the U.S. naval fleet, including battleships, destroyers, submarines, and other ships.

Question 34

In January 1917, British intelligence intercepted and decoded a top-secret telegram that Arthur Zimmermann, the German State Secretary for Foreign Affairs—similar to the U.S. Secretary of State—sent to the German ambassador to Mexico. What was in the telegram

Answer 34

In the telegram, Zimmerman instructed the German ambassador that if the U.S. entered the war, he should convince Mexico to join the war effort on the German side. The telegram also encouraged Mexico to invade the United States if this happened. German intelligence thought that if Mexico invaded the U.S., it would create a diversion and provide Germany a clear path to victory in the war. In exchange for Mexico’s help, Zimmermann offered to help Mexico regain land that it had lost to the U.S.

Question 35

Who Mexico actually help Germany

Answer 35

At the time, Mexico was battling its own revolution and civil war. Its likelihood of waging war against the U.S. and recovering lost territory was remote at best.

Question 36

What did Germany hope would happen despite its use of unrestricted submarine warfare?

Answer 36

Germany hoped that the United States would remain neutral.

Question 37

The Zimmerman telegram was a key factor that pushed the United States away from neutrality and into the war. Another key factor was division in the United States. Elaborate

Answer 37

There were deep ethnic divisions between native-born Americans, mostly from Northern Europe, and more recent immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. For those of Anglo-Saxon descent, the nation’s historic and ongoing relationship with Great Britain was paramount. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Americans considered Great Britain a natural ally and demanded the U.S. go to war in its support.

Question 38

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson formally asked Congress to declare war on Germany and fight on the Allies’ side. How did this go

Answer 38

. Congress debated for four days. Several congressmen were concerned that the push for engagement was more about U.S. economic interests than strategic need or democratic ideals. When Congress voted on April 6, 56 members voted against the resolution. This was the largest “no” vote against a war resolution in American history. The measure still passed, however, and the United States entered the war against many of its citizens’ wishes.