Woodrow Wilson Fights for Peace

1. What was Wilson's 14th Point?
Wilson's 14th Point was to call together an international organization, The League of Nations, which would address diplomatic cries.


2. What terms of the treaty specifically affected Germany?
A) restricted from maintaining an army
B) return the region of Alsace-Lorraine back to France to repay war damages
C) forced to sign a war-guilt clause stating Germany takes all responsibility for the war

3. What were the weaknesses of the treaty?
Germany was humiliated and this will not provide lasting peace. They were humiliated by the treaty requiring them to sign the war-guilt clause. Also there was no way Germany could repay a war debt of $33 billion. The Germans did not only suffer; the Russians did too. Russia had fought for the Allies for three years, suffering the highest amount of casualties by a nation in the war and they ended up losing more territory than Germany.Finally the treaty ignored the idea of self-determination.


4. Why did Henry Cabot Lodge object to the treaty?
Henry Cabot Lodge objected the treaty because he thought it threatened the U.S. foreign policy of isolationism. He was also suspicious the provision for joint economic and military action against aggression, even though it was voluntary




5. How did Wilson help bring about the Senate's rejection of the treaty?





6. What circumstances at this time would eventually lead many Germans to support Adolf Hitler?
The Treaty of Versailles was unable to solve anything, which resulted in unresolved issues within Europe. The treaty humiliated Germany and basically ripped of Russia. Hitler was a Austrian veteran of WWI and demanded vengeance for all Germans.


7. Who is George Clemenceau?

George Clemenceau was a French premier who had lived through two German invasions of France and was determined to prevent further more invasions from occurring.


8. Who is David Lloyd George?
David Lloyd George was the British prime minister who wanted Germany to pay for all their destruction because he he had just won the reelection with the slogan "Make Germany Pay".


9. Describe the participation of Russia at the peace conference.
Russia was excluded from the peace conference which led to it losing more territory than Germany did.

WWI - The War at Home

What were some things accomplished by the following wartime agencies and laws?

1. War Industries Board
Encouraged companies to use mass production techniques to increase efficiency and to eliminate waste by standardizing products. They set production quotas and and allocated raw materials. They also applied price control only at the wholesale level which resulted in retail prices soaring as well as corporate profits.

2. Railroad Administration
They controlled the railroads.

3. Fuel Administration
They monitored coal supplies and rationed gasoline and heating oil. This resulted with gas less Sundays and light less night. Another effect was day-light savings time being reintroduced.

4. National War Labor Board
The board worked to improve factory conditions and pushed for an eight hour work day, labor ban for children, and better safety conditions.

5. Food Administration
It was set up to help produce and conserve food. This resulted with "the gospel of the clean plate" and certain days in a week in which a certain type of food was not rationed. Also American shipments to the Allies tripled.

6. Committee on Public Information
It was formed to polarize the war and was the nation's first propaganda agency. Led by Creel, they persuaded the nation's artists and advertising agencies to create thousands of works of art promoting the war. He distributed 75 million phamplets and such including the book "How the War Came to America".

7. Espionage and Sedition Acts
Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts a person could be fined up to 10,000 dollars and sentenced to 20 years in jail for interfering with the war effort or saying anything disloyal to the government. or war effort. It targeted socialists and labor leaders.

Briefly explain why Bernard M. Baruch and George Creel are significant historical figures.
Bernard M. Baruch established and reorganized the WIB. He was a prosperous businessman. George Creel was the head of the CPI was a former muckraking journalist. His propaganda campaign was highly effective. While his campaign promoted patriotism, it also inflamed hatred and violations of the civil liberties of certain ethnic groups and opponents of war.

The U.S. enters World War I

1. How did the United States raise an army?

The U.S. raised an army by passing the Selective Service Act. It required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service. It resulted with 24 million men registering with the government.



2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?

U.S. soldiers help win the war by arriving just in time to stop the German army from advancing any further at Cantigny, France. A few weeks later, the American troops played a major role in throwing back german attacks at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood. Next they helped win the Second Battle of Marne. The tide was turned and now the U.S. soldiers could begin to attack the Germans offensively.



3. What were the estimated economic costs of the war?

The estimated economic costs of the war were about $338 billion.



4. What did the war cost in terms of the number of civilian deaths; military deaths?; injuries?; and refugees?

Deaths were about 22 million and half being civilians. 20 million people were wounded and 10 million became refugees. The U.S. lost 48,000 men in battle and another 62,000 died because of disease.



5. Define armistice.

Armistice is a truce.

World War I Begins

1. What are the four main causes of World War I? Give an example for each as to why it was a cause.

1. Nationalism-it often led to competitive rivalries between nations. Serbia was an independent nation which was made up of millions of Serbs who lived under the rule of Austria-Hungary. Russia regarded itself as the protector of the Slavic people and Serbs were considered to be Slavic. This resulted in Russia and Austria-Hungary becoming rivals for influence over Serbia.
2. Imperialism- as nations industrialized they continued to expand their power over by extending their economic and political control over various peoples of the world. It soon became into a competition.
3. Militarism- with an increased interest in nationalism and imperialism it led to increased spending on military. Nations competed to make better armies and especially navies to be more successful like the British.
4. System of Alliance- the alliances were used to provide a measure of international security because nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. A minor outrage could cause a major problem.

2. How did the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand become the spark for WWI?

With all the alliances in a system when Austria-Hungary decided to declare war on Serbia, Germany had to back Austria-Hungary up because of a treaty the two had made earlier. Next Germany declares war on Russia. This inevitably forced Germany to declare war on Russia's ally France. After the British swore to protect Belgium, the German army attacked the country. Then Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.

3. What happened within the first few months of fighting?

Within the first few months Germany came up with the Schleiffen Plan. It required holding action against Russia and a quick drive through Belgium to Paris. After France has fallen the two German armies would return and defeat Russia. Too bad this plan failed miserably.

4. Generally, why did the United States want to stay out of the war?

The United States wanted to stay out of war because it was not a threat to America. Also Americans saw no reason to get involved in a struggle 3,000 miles away.

5. Specifically, Why did the following groups of Americans tend to oppose U.S. participation in the war? Naturalized citizens; socialists; pacifists; parents.

Naturalized citizens didn't tend to necessarily oppose U.S. participation but they did follow the war closely. They felt some connection to the countries which they emigrated from so they sympathized for all these different nations. Socialists opposed U.S. participation because they thought the war to be a capitalist imperialist struggle between Germany and England to control markets and colonies in Africa, China, and the Middle East. Pacifists opposed U.S. participation because they believed it to be evil and that the U.S. should set an example of world peace. Parents opposed U.S. participation because they simply did not want their sons experiencing the horrors of warfare.

6. How did Germany respond to the British naval blockade of Germany’s ports? What was the U.S. response?

Americans responded in outrage and declared that it threatened freedom of the seas and prevented American goods from reaching German ports. Germany responded by a counterbloackade using U-boats.

7. What forced the United States into the war?

The German decision that their U-boats will sink all ships, hostile or neutral, in British waters on sight. This was after President Wilson called for peace.