WW1 Flashcards
Who was woodrow wilson and what did he do before WW1
In 1914, he sent Edward House to Europe to learn of their rising tensions, reported back that they only needed a “spark”
what was the spark of ww1
the assasination of franz Ferdinand
who was franz ferdinand
heir to the Austro-HUngarian Empire,
who and what group assasinated ferdinarnd/ who all died
Serbians, Gavrillo Princip, Franz and his wife died
who declared war on who first?
A-H declared war on Serbia.
after the initial war declaration, who were the first countrys to join in on war / who did they side with?
Russia, sided with Serbia, declared war on A-H/ Germany declared war on Russia and France. Britian then defended France and declared war on Germany.
main causes of war
- alliance system
- nationalism
- militarism
- Imperialism
who were the central powers?
Germany, A-H
Who were the allied powers?
Ottoman empire, France, Britian, Russia
nationalism/ what did it create
a strong feeling of pride in and loyalty to a nation or ethnic group/ led countries to put nationalism interests first, regardless of consequences (Germany Expanding, rapid growth, wanted Germ to be a world leader)
militarism
policy of glorifying military powers and values (trying to match other countrys army sizes)
imperialism
Britian and France making colonies in Africa and Asia, provided raw materials and markets for their products.
what did germany want?
territory and colonies, to share in lucrative trade, only way to do this was to take from someone else
Wilsons neutrality policy, what was it?
US would not take sides in the war. but would offer loans and sell good/ weapons to both sides.
belligerent
taking part in war
how did neutrality help americans?
bankers, farmers, business man could recover from economic slowdown
how was neutrality complicated?
a 1/3 of the country was foreign and had ties to countrys fighting.
statement
situation in a conflict in which neither side can make a useful move.
rape of Belgium
when germany went through belgium to attack france
shleiffen plan
germany was in between Russia and France, would first defeat France by going through Belgium, then attacking Russia with whole German army, would do this to avoid 2 fronts
what was the problem with the shleifen plan?
Germany would have to declare war after “striking the first blow”
what did Germany and Britian do after they couldn’t defeat either enemy on land?
Germany tried to starve enemies into submisson, to do this they needed to win control of the sea’s
how did the war at sea start?/ what did they do?
British blockaded ships that were headed to Germany/ turned back any ships carrying guns/ food/ vital supplies to central powers.
what did wilson say about the war at sea?
complained that they were neutral and should be allowed to trade, but did not threaten
why did Wilson not want to threaten britian?
they had strong economic ties, trade with britian boosted US economy, businessmen openly supported the Allies
what were U-boats used for?
Germany used them to break through british blockade, they were submarine attacks
what waters were considered a warzone?/ why?
waters surrounding Britian, U-boats could sink enemy ships without warning, neutral ships were at risk in this zone.
what was the international law on smuggling guns and stuff for other sides
that all crew must be removed first, if the ship is sunk, also any merchant ship is allowed to be searched
what was the lusitania?
a british liner that was sunk without warning by a U-boat, that killed americans. Germanys response was that the ship was armed.
unrestriced submarine warefare
Germany military policy to sink/ attack allied and neutral ships without warning
sussex pledge
an agreement with Germany to stop suprise attacks on neutral ships, germany signed this only if the British stopped their illegal blockade. Wilson did not accept their condition
Preparedness movement
Led by Ted Rosevelt, pointed out that US was ill-prepared for war
propaganda
info or rumors spread by a gov. to promote thier ideas or causes, or to damage an opposing cause. used to persuade
Peace without victory
proposed by wilson, wanted to end the war by settling conflicts peacefully.
what happened after wilson proposed peace without victory?
Germany planed to launch an “all out war effort” US broke off diplomatic relations with germany
zimmerman telegram
Britian had gotten a code by the german foreign minister (zimmerman) that was sent to the german minister in mexico
what was said in the zimmerman telegram?
suggested that if theUS entered the war, Mexico and Germany should become allies, Germ would help Mex. recover lost territory
what did the zimmerman note cause in the US?
stirred an anti- german feeling across the nation.
why did the US enter war?
wilson made a speech about war, and said now he ispro war because of american causalities from german u- boats
selective service act
law passed by congress to create a national draft 21-30
american expeditionary force
first military to be deployed in France
infantry
soldiers who fought on foot
369th regiment
african american regiment of the US army
what treaty removed Russia from the war?
Brest-Litovsk, Russia gave up large amounts of territory
what was the 369th regiment nick named?
the hell fighters
combatant
a person who physically fights in a war
what were howitzers
a type of cannon
trenh warefare
form of fighting fought in trenches
big bertha’s
largest mobile guns ever used in battle, GERMANY’S,
convoy
group of vessels or vehicles that travel together, often under the protection of an armed escort
chemical weapons
germany was first to use weapon containing a poisonous substance
tanks invented
used to crush barbed wire, and cover allies on the ground as they moved into enemy territory
fighting in the sky
airplanes used to scout enemy territory , to drop bombs,
zepplins/ how did allies defeat them?
Germans, cigar shaped air ships filled with gas, allies made fighter planes that blew up the zepplins
dreadnaught
first modern battleship
battleships
largest and most heavily armored type of warship
Meuse Argonne Offensive/ what did it lead to?
Allies attack, goal was to break through the german line and reach the Sedan railroad in france. This was germanys army’s main line of supply, with it cut off, the Germans would fall.
led to an armistice by germany
what is an armistice?
a truce
what were the war casualities?
Russia- most deaths total, and most for allies(9,150,000)
Germany- most deaths for Central powers (7,142,558)
USA- 323,018
what did war do to europe?
caused damage to farms, forests, factories, towns, and homes, roads, bridges, railroads
ezra pound
American poet that spoke for war- weary populations in US and Europe
Elsie Janis
an actor that entertained troops and helped raise money for the war
womans peace party
wanted the US to limit arms, and mediation of the European conflict. they thought this would eliminate economic causes of the war. led by Jane Addams
pacifists
people for political or moral reasons, oppose all wars
conscientious objectors
someone that opposes war for religious or political or moral reasons, and refused to serve in armed forces
comitte on public information
created by Wilson, to “sell” the war to the public. was a Gov. propoganda agency
George Creel/ what did he do
was chosen by Wilson to be the head of the committee on public information/ he sold the war to the americans, he made movies, blaming germans and making them sound more dangerous than they actually were
what were some changes that patriotic fever made (anti-german views)
stopped listening to german music, changed german foods to other names “liberty cabbage”- sourkraut, “liberty sausage” - liverwurst
four minute men
tried to build support for the war, wherever they could. geroge creel was head of committee on public information.
what is a bond?
certificate issued by gov. the promises to pay back the money that was borrowed, at a fixed rateof intrest on a specific date
liberty bonds
bond during ww1 that raised money for the allied forces, to fight the central powers
war industries board/ who created it?
Wilson created it to direct industrial production. made sure supplies and equipment were produced and delivered to the military
food and fuel administrations / what were they urged to do?
US had to feed the armed forces, americans were urged to conserve food and reduce waste. Also by planting victory gardens (places to grow crops) also urged to conserve energy, by turning off heaters/ not using gas
W.E.B. Du Bois
urged blacks to serve in the military to show their loyalty and help to gain greater equality
Great Migration (pushes/ pulls)
new jobs in the north. bc of industrialization and less immigrants from europe
great migration
mass movement of million of blacks to move up north to get jobs
red summer
riots over race, because of the great migration
what did americans do to immigrants?
targeted them, believing them to be spies.
who else was targeted other than immigrants
anyone that spoke out against the war
espionage act
law that made it illegal to interfere with gov. foreign policy, or resisting military draft. “obstruction of war effort”
sedition act
made it illegal to say anything disloyal, or abusive about the Gov. or war effort
wobblies
nickname for industrial workers of the world, an anti-capitalist labor organization founded in 1905.
what often happened to wobblies?
they were harassed and called them disloyal, were often arrested and sent to prison for not fighting or supporting war.
schenk v US
said that schenck’s propaganda against military draft was illegal under espionage act and wasn’t protected under 1st amendment (distributed leaflets to recent draftee’s urging them to resist the draft. interfered with war efforts)
symbolic speech
conduct that conveys a message without the use of words
types of speech that are protected
- pure speech
- speech-plus (action) (protest, marching, strike)
- symbolic speech
US vs O’brien
burning draft cards, (symbolic speech), guilty, can’t do that bc the gov. has “substantial” interest in the cards (made the selective service program work properly)
Texas vs johnson (flag burning)
(symbolic speech) set an american flag on fire, was convicted of intentionally burning a national flag. was ruled to be protected symbolic speech.
what act was declared unconstitutional
flag protection act
who made the 14 points plan?
14 part plan for peace by wilson, to congress
what were the goals of the 14 point plan?
- freedom of the sea’s
- reduce armaments
- ensure rights to self-determination for ethnic groups
-set up of league of nations
-
armament
a weapon of equipment used in war
league of nations
international organization, established by allied powers at the end of ww1 to promote international peace and security
territorial integrity
a diplomatic principle in which nations respect on anthers borders and to not try to gain territory by force from another country
big four
there countries made almost all decisions in the treaty of versailles Wilson - US David Lloyd - Britian George clemenceau - France Vittorio Orlando- Italy
war guilt clause
held germany responsible for ww! and required them ti make reparations to the allies to pay for loses and damages suffered during war.
reparations
payment demanded of a nation defeated in war by a victorious nation
mandates
former colonies given over by the league of nations
collective security
a system in which a group of countries commit to jointly dealing with a nation that threatens the peace or security of any one of the countries
treaty of versailles
peace treaty signed by allies and germany.
- made Germ. reponsible for the war
- required Germ. to pay reparations to allies
- reduced Germ. territory
reservationists
would vote yes to treaty, only if changes were made: they were concerned with article 10, on collective security, they said that we could be drawn into war w/ out congress approval
irreconcilables
opposed the treaty, and said no to ratification
internationalists
supported treaty, thought that greater cooperation among nations could work for the benefit of all. also thought that the US should take its place in the league of nations
partianship
rivalry between political parties
what did wilson do that made him fall ill?
he toured america, talking about ratification of the treaty of versailles
who talked for wilson while he was sick?
his wife edith, she was believed to make all presidential decisions
what did the 1920 election show?
wether americans wanted the league of nations or not.
why was the US not a part of the league of nations?
there were more pressing matters for americans to worry about at the time. thought they should worry about themselves first.
who won 1920 election?
Harding
what did the US do about the peace treaty? / league of nations
signed a separate peace treaty w/ Germ. / league of nations had begun, without the US. 2 decades would pass before americans would think about collective security
