WW1 Vocab Flashcards
1
Q
Allied Powers
A
- consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain (later: Italy, USA)
- diplomatic
- created in 1907, called the “Triple Entente”
- opposed central powers
2
Q
Central Powers
A
- consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
- created before Triple Entente in 1879 → “Triple Alliance”
- diplomatic
3
Q
Neutrality
A
- trouble for US arose as belligerent powers tried to stop supplies from reaching the enemy
- Britain declared naval blockade against Germany, but it also affected US ships, violating their neutrality
4
Q
Submarine Warfare
A
- major part of German naval effort against the allies during WW1
- lead to American participation into war
- Germany threatened any ships that tried to cross their barrier w/ submarine warfare
5
Q
Lusitania
A
- British passenger ship
- it was sunk by German submarine on May 7, 1915
- 123 Americans died
- “unrestricted submarine warfare” → caused US to enter WW1 AGAINST Germany
6
Q
Sussex Pledge
A
- Berlin promised not to sink unarmed and unresisting passenger ships without warning
- violated when German torpedoed a French passengers steamer, the Sussex
- Wilson threatened to break diplomatic relation if they didn’t stop
- Germany agreed and pledged not to
- US could have to persuade the Allies to modify what Berlin regarded as their illegal blockade; Wilson accepted pledge without strings
- Germany broke this in 1917 after jerking strings to get to England before USA entered
- Wilson broke diplomatic relations but refused.
7
Q
Propaganda
A
- Britain commanded war news carried daily to USA newspapers + magazines
- Influencing US public opinion was important → British government ensured supply of stroies of German soldiers committing atrocities in Belgium + German-occupied part of eastern France in American press
8
Q
Russian Revolution (1917)
A
- Russia experiencing huge, crippling social problems due to:
○ these troops being massacred on eastern front
○ lack of contempt leadership
○ shortage of necessities among the Russian people - Russia people overthrew the Czat + his ministers + set up a provisional government
- Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks took over Russia in 1912 → Russia withdrew from war + settled w/ Central Powers
- socialist government was created with Lenin @ top → Americans felt + feared the spread of Communism
9
Q
Zimmerman Note
A
- telegram from Germany’s foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German minister in Mexico City
- Zimmerman urged Mexico to join the Central Powers + in return would help Mexico get territory back that US had acquired
- telegram caused US to enter WW1
10
Q
Fourteen Points
A
- Fourteen items that Pres. Wilson wanted passed in Treaty of Versailles
- called for:
○ open diplomacy
○ self-determination (redraw map, dissolve Ottoman + Austro-Hungarian empires)
○ absolute freedom of negotiation upon the seas → International Relations (open covenants, reduce arms, free trade, meditation of colonial claims)
○ League of Nations (organization of nations meant to prevent future war through international cooperation)
○ Got the commitment of League of Nations + helped to make independent states
11
Q
Committee on Public Information
A
- headed by George Creel
- Purpose: to mobilize peopleś minds for war (USA + abroad)
- tried to get entire US public to support US involvement in WW1
- Creelś organization employed 150,000 workers @ home + overseas
- proved words = weapons
12
Q
Food Administration
A
- administration created to feed wartime America + ally nations
- leader: Herbert Hoover → Quaker-humanitarian
○ mostly because his already-extrovert title of “hero” he acquired by leading a massive charitable drive he fed starving people of war-racked Belgium
13
Q
Selective Service Act (1917)
A
- 1917 law provided for the registration of all USA men between ages of 21 + 30 for military draft
- end of WW1: 24.2 million had registered → 2.8 million inducted into army
- age limit changed later to 18 - 45
14
Q
Espionage Act (1917)
A
- US fed. law passed shortly after entering WW1 → Will’s B Day 1917
- made it a crime for a person to convey infor with intent to interfere with opperation / success of armed forces of US / to promote success of its enemies
- legislation passed @ urging of Pres. Woodrow Wilson (feared widespread dissent in wartime) thinking that it constituted a real threat to an American victory
15
Q
Schenk Vs. US (1919)
A
- decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during WW1
- Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a “clear and present danger” of substantive evils
16
Q
War Industries Board (July 1917)
A
- controlled raw materials, production, prices, and labor relations
- intended to restore economic order + make sure the US was producing enough @ home + abroad
- Pres. Wilson appointed Bernard Baruch to head the Board in March 1918 (WW1)
- disbanded a few days after the armistice
17
Q
Nat. War Labor Board
A
- composition of representatives from business and labor designed to arbitrate disputes between workers + employees
- settled any possible labor difficulties that might hamper the war efforts
- settled disputes between businesses and labor without strikes so production wouldn’t be interrupted + morale would be high.
18
Q
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
A
-members called “Wobblies”
- international, radical labor union founded 1905
- described as having “revolutionary industrial unionism” → ties to both socialist and anarchist labor movements
- aimed to unite American working class into one union to promote labors’ interests → unskilled, foreign-born laborers; stressed solidarity
19
Q
19th Amendment (1920)
A
- amendment passed in 1920 under Pres. Wilson
- extended the right to vote to women in federal or state elections
20
Q
Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act (1921)
A
- designed to appeal to new women voters
- provided federally financed instruction in maternal and infant healthcare _ expanded the role of government in family welfare
- provided funds for medical clinics, prenatal education programs + visiting nursed
- first federally funded healthcare legislation
- improved healtchare for poor + lowered infant mortality
21
Q
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
A
- consisted of the US Armed Forces sent to Europe under the command of General John J. Pershing in 1917 to help fight WW1
- during the campaigns in WW1, the AEF fought in France alongside French + British allied forces in the last year of the war, against German forces
22
Q
Battle of Chateau-Thiery (1918)
A
- American troops fought w/the French to turn back a determined German offensive
- fought July 18, 1918 one of the first actions of AEF
- part of the Second Battle of the Mame? → initially prompted by a German offensive launched July 15 against AEF
23
Q
Meausse-Argonne Offensive
A
- part of the allied offensive of WW1 that stretched along the entire western front
- planned by Marshall Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line + ultimately force the opposing German forces to surrener
- 47-day battle; objective: cut German rail lines
24
Q
League of Nations
A
- 1919 → Wilson proposed LoN in his 14th point of peace plan
- US voted not the join the League because doing so would have taken away our self-determination; Congress could not decide whether to go to war or not
25
Irreconcilables
- (mostly Republican) Senators who opposed the treaty of Versailles regardless of any reservations or not
- they didn't want America to play any role in a world power; extreme isolationists
26
Treaty of Versailles
- created to solve problems made by WW1
- Germany was forced to accept the treaty; composed of only four of the OG points made by Wilson
- punished Germany + did nothing to stop the threat of future wars
- maintained the pre-war power structure
