World War I Flashcards
When did World War I (WWI) start in Europe?
1914
When did Woodrow Wilson declare war on Germany, thus entering the US into WWI?
1917
When was the armistice signed that ended fighting in WWI?
November 11, 1918
The name of the treaty that ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. (June 28, 1919)
The Treaty of Versailles
What slogan helped reelect Woodrow Wilson in 1916?
“He kept us out of war.”
Name of the huge British ship sunk by a German submarine that instigated a change in US public opinion about entering WWI by Americans. More than 1,200 people died. Over 100 were Americans.
RMS Lusitania
Explain how a new strategy adopted by Allied Ships at sea led to a new strategy adopted by Germany, that led to the escalation of war in the Atlantic.
Previous strategy was for a submarine to surface and send a waring shot over the bow of the ship about to be sunk. The Germans waited 10 minutes so that crew could abandon ship. Then they sunk the boat. The Allies armed their merchant vessels with artillery and shot the submarine. So Germans stopped warning vessels. The RMS Lusitania was one of the first victims of this change in strategy.
What countries made up the Grand Alliance?
Britain
France
Italy
Russia
What countries was the Grand Alliance fighting?
Germany
Turkey
Austria-Hungary
What military disadvantage did Germany have?
They had to fight on two fronts: Britain/France in the west and Russia in the east.
Great general in WWI
General Pershing
Conscientious Objectors were not recognized during WWI. Members of several religious groups were imprisoned because their religion opposed war as unjustifiable. Name two religions. Also name a prominent person who was a pacifist, though he was not imprisoned like many in these peace churches. Who was he?
Peace religions: Quakers and Mennonites
Person: Andrew Carnegie
Why did US Bankers support entering WWI on the side of the Allies?
England was going broke and needed loans from the US to obtain food and military equipment. If the US didn’t loan to them, then US markets couldn’t sell to them and the US would lose an essential customer causing the economy to go into a recession.
Russia suffered the most fatalities during WWI. (5M) The people of Russia badly wanted out of the war. When the US entered the war, a Russian revolution occurred. A treaty was signed giving great parts of Russia to Germany and ending the war for Russia. However two factions in Russian were fighting for the control of Russia. Who were they?
Bolsheviks (communists)–who won
The White Russians–backed by the US. They supported the czar
What was the Second International?
A group of Socialists composed of two parts:
- the Marxists who believed a revolution should be fought to overthrow capitalism.
- the Socialist who believed that parliamentary procedures could weaken capitalism and lead to its end
This man organized famine relief in Europe after the war. He went on to become president from 1929-1933.
Herbert Hoover
Woodrow Wilson invited several very learned men to form a group to determine the best ways to make sure that WWI was the “war to end all wars” and that WWI made the world safe for democracy. What was its name?
The Inquiry
Woodrow Wilson approached the Treaty of Versailles with a plan called the ____________. Germany, who still had a huge fighting force, agreed to come to Versailles because they saw these as their best hope for a workable peace.
14 points.
To Woodrow Wilson the most crucial suggestion he made was to create this organization. Through it, he hoped to avoid future wars and to mitigate some of the unfair restrictions adopted in the Versailles Treaty.
The League of Nations
The Treaty of Versailles did not adopt Woodrow Wilson’s plan. The treaty demanded Germany accept guilt for starting the war. It was designed to punish Germany and break the country financially. Why was this a bad decision?
Germany was humiliated and resented the penalties imposed on it. The treaty sowed the seeds of war. Resentment built in the German population and led to the rise of Hitler and World War II. This was predicted by many who objected to the Treaty of Versailles.
What happened to Woodrow Wilson while he was in Paris that probably contributed to his lack of energy and ability to push through his plan of 14 points?
He caught the Flu of 1918-19 which killed 62 million people; 625,000 in US.
He started the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (FBI)
J Edgar Hoover
He was a leading Republican who questioned the League of Nations because he thought it would compromise US sovereignty. Wilson would not work with him or any of the Republican congress; not even allowing them to attend the meetings at the Treaty of Versailles. His conduct did not help Congress to change its mind and adopt the League of Nations.
Henry Cabot Lodge
The US fear of foreign radicals, prompted by the Russian Revolution, led to this event when Socialists and Russians were arrested and deported without trial.
Palmer Raids
How did Wilson try to get the League of Nations adopted by the US?
He conducted a 22 day, 8,000 miles train tour in which he gave speeches along the way. It broke his health. He suffered a massive stroke before the end. The League of Nations failed adoption by the US Congress.
Who were the 4Minute Women (or Men)?
People who stood up before entertainment events like movies or concerts and revved up the crowd to support the way by enlisting or buying war bonds.
What was the 17th Amendment adopted in 1913?
The Seventeenth Amendment restates Article 1 Sec 3 of the constitution to provide for the elections of senators by replacing the phrase “chosen by the legislature thereof” to “elected by the people thereof.”
Please look up the following link: https://forusa.org/forhistory/
This organization was founded because of WWI. Two very good friends–one German, the other English– vowed to each other to never let war interfere with their friendship. Then they founded an organization to oppose war and support peaceful methods to resolve conflicts. (Your grandmother is the treasurer of the local chapter.)
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR)
