SOL Review Materials for Unit Five: Slide 2 From 1914 to 1917,
the United States tried very hard to maintain neutrality in the
conflict. President Wilson advised Americans to maintain neutrality
in mind as well as in action. He even ran to be re- elected
President in 1916 with the campaign motto, He Kept Us Out of War!
By early 1917, however, it was impossible for the United States to
stay out of the conflict. Wilsons campaign bragged that the
President had kept us out of war. How does this sign show that he
supported unions, as well? Slide 3 On May 7, 1915, a German U-Boat
sank the passenger liner HMS Lusitania off the Southern Coast of
Ireland. Over 1200 people died, including 128 Americans. Citizens
of the United States were outraged and clamored for war. Slide 4
The United States had historical ties to Great Britain. The nations
shared a common heritage. They spoke the same language. They were
both believers in capitalism, and both nations practiced democracy.
They also shared a belief in individual rights and for most people
the Christian faith. The United States and England share so much in
common that we tend to be on the same side in conflicts: during
World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and even the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan today we have been allies. Slide 5 When the United
States discovered the Zimmermann Telegram in the early part of 1917
inviting Mexico to attack the United States, Americans were
outraged. The Germans had hoped that by occupying the US with a war
in North America, they would keep us out of World War I in Europe.
They were wrong! The Zimmermann Telegram Germany hoped to recruit
Mexico into the war, and occupy the US with a North American War in
1917. Instead, Mexico rejected their offer, and outraged American
were one step closer to declaring war on Germany. Slide 6 British
Empire France Russia Serbia Belgium United States NOTE: Russia quit
the war in 1917, after the Russian Revolution. The United States
did not enter the war until 1917. Slide 7 The Central Powers were
the enemy of the United States during World War II. The nations of
the Central Powers are below. The Central Powers: Germany The
Austro- Hungarian Empire Bulgaria The Ottoman Empire Slide 8 At the
end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson wrote and presented a
Fourteen Point Plan for peace in Europe. In the plan, he addressed
all of the main reasons war had started in the first place. The
plan called for the formation of the League of Nations, a
peacekeeping organization. Slide 9 The plan forbid secret treaties
like the one between Serbia and Russia which helped to cause the
war. The plan called for reduced military sizes. Freedom of the
seas was required. Free trade was encouraged. Nine new nations were
created in Europe. The League of Nations was created in order to
allow nations to resolve their disputes without resorting to war it
was a peacekeeping organization! Slide 10 THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLESTHE LEAGUE OF NATIONS The United States never joined the
League of Nations, for fear that our sovereignty would be taken
away. The Treaty of Versailles failed to keep peace in Europe for
long.
