AP US History 7.4-7.5: World War I

When did the United States declare war on Germany in World War I, and when did the conflict end for the United States?

The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. American involvement lasted more than 19 months, ending with the armistice on November 11, 1918.

What forms of support did the United States provide the Allies before entering World War I?

The United States supplied Britain, France, and other Allied powers with raw materials, food, money, and munitions. American banks also made large loans that financed Allied purchases.

How many American military personnel were mobilized during World War I, and how many served in the American Expeditionary Force?

The United States mobilized more than 5 million military personnel. More than 2 million American soldiers served in the American Expeditionary Force, or AEF, in France.

Term: American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

The U.S. military force sent to Europe during World War I, commanded by General John J. Pershing. Most of its ground combat occurred on the Western Front.

What was the role of the U.S. Navy in World War I?

The Navy helped protect Allied shipping through the convoy system and fought German submarines. Its contribution was especially important in countering the U-boat campaign.

How quickly did American troop arrivals in Europe increase during World War I?

Troop arrivals were initially slow, but by the summer of 1918 approximately 10,000 American soldiers were reaching Europe each day.

How many American servicemen died during World War I?

More than 116,000 American servicemen were lost during the war.

Why did the United States initially favor neutrality in World War I?

Many Americans opposed involvement in a European conflict, including large portions of German American, Irish American, and Scandinavian American communities. Clergy, women’s organizations, pacifists, and many farmers and workers also favored staying out.

What events gradually weakened American neutrality before 1917?

Reports of German atrocities in Belgium, the sinking of the Lusitania, suspected German sabotage in the United States, unrestricted submarine warfare, and the Zimmermann Telegram increased anti-German sentiment and support for intervention.

What was the significance of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915?

When a German U-boat sank the British passenger liner Lusitania, killing 128 U.S. citizens, American outrage increased. President Wilson demanded that Germany stop attacking passenger ships and warned that American rights had been violated.

Why did Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resign during the Lusitania crisis?

Bryan believed Wilson’s forceful protests against German submarine attacks conflicted with the United States’ official policy of neutrality.

What was the Preparedness movement?

The Preparedness movement argued that the United States needed stronger land and naval forces to defend itself and prepare for possible war. It was led largely by Republicans, military figures, bankers, industrialists, and Northeastern internationalists.

What military weakness did Preparedness advocates emphasize before U.S. entry into World War I?

They argued that the roughly 100,000-man U.S. Army and the 112,000-member National Guard were far smaller and less experienced than the armed forces of the major European powers.

Term: universal military training (UMT)

A preparedness proposal requiring young men turning 18 to complete military training, after which they would enter reserve units. The proposal was not adopted in its full form before U.S. entry.

Why did many Democrats oppose the Preparedness movement?

Democrats viewed it as a Republican political threat and feared that military expansion would strengthen wealthy elites and centralized federal power. They also tended to favor the locally rooted National Guard over a large federal reserve.

What military shortcomings did the United States possess in 1916 despite public claims of preparedness?

The Army and Navy lacked sufficient manpower, equipment, and combat experience. The armed forces were also poorly prepared for trench warfare, poison gas, tanks, and modern aerial warfare.

How did President Wilson respond to the preparedness debate in 1916?

Wilson supported a compromise that doubled the regular Army over time, expanded the National Guard, authorized officer-training camps, and funded a government nitrate plant. He also backed a long-term naval expansion program.

What did the Battle of Jutland contribute to the American naval preparedness debate?

The inconclusive 1916 clash between Germany’s High Seas Fleet and Britain’s larger Grand Fleet was used by navalists to support the importance of a powerful surface fleet and battleships.

How did the United States formally enter World War I?

After Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram became public, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. Congress approved war against Germany on April 6, 1917.

What was Germany’s strategic purpose in resuming unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917?

Germany hoped to blockade Britain into surrender or peace negotiations by attacking ships approaching British waters. German leaders recognized that this policy might bring the United States into the war but believed American military power could not intervene quickly.

Term: Zimmermann Telegram

A secret German message proposing that Mexico ally with Germany if the United States entered the war. Germany promised financial aid and support for Mexico’s recovery of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Why did the Russian Revolution make U.S. intervention alongside the Allies more acceptable to Wilson?

The February Revolution replaced the Russian tsar with a provisional government. This reduced Wilson’s concern that the United States would be fighting alongside an absolute monarch and made the Allied cause appear more compatible with representative government.

Against which Central Powers did the United States declare war during World War I?

The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, and Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. It did not formally declare war on the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, or several smaller Central Power allies.

What did Wilson mean by describing the war as a way to make the world safe for democracy?

Wilson presented U.S. intervention as a defense of democratic principles and as an opportunity for the United States to help shape the postwar international order, including the proposed League of Nations.

What did the Selective Service Act of 1917 do?

The Selective Service Act authorized a military draft for World War I. Rather than relying only on volunteers, it required eligible men to register and allowed the federal government to select soldiers for military service.

Why did World War I require extensive mobilization on the American home front?

The government had to organize the population and economy to produce soldiers, food, weapons, supplies, and financing. Mobilization took about a year to reach an effective level.

What was the function of the temporary federal agencies created during World War I?

The federal government created numerous agencies staffed by roughly 50,000 to 1,000,000 new employees. These agencies coordinated production, food distribution, finance, labor, and wartime propaganda.

What was the Committee on Public Information (CPI)?

The CPI was a federal propaganda agency created in 1917 to build public support for the war. Led by George Creel, it used posters, films, pamphlets, newspapers, and public speakers known as Four-Minute Men.

How did wartime propaganda affect American society during World War I?

Government propaganda encouraged enlistment, Liberty Bond purchases, food conservation, and support for the war. It also portrayed Germany as a dangerous enemy, contributing to anti-German sentiment and pressure for conformity.

What did the Espionage Act of 1917 prohibit?

The Espionage Act punished interference with military operations or recruitment, attempts to aid the enemy, and actions that obstructed the war effort. It was used to prosecute antiwar activists and others who opposed the draft.

What did the Sedition Act of 1918 add to wartime restrictions on speech?

The Sedition Act expanded the Espionage Act by criminalizing disloyal, profane, or abusive language about the government, Constitution, flag, or military. Together, the laws sharply limited dissent during the war.

How did World War I affect civil liberties in the United States?

The federal government suppressed antiwar speech and prosecuted critics under the Espionage and Sedition Acts. The period demonstrated the conflict between wartime security and First Amendment protections.

What was the significance of Schenck v. United States (1919)?

The Supreme Court upheld Charles Schenck’s conviction under the Espionage Act for opposing the draft. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes introduced the clear-and-present-danger test, allowing speech to be restricted when it posed a serious threat to the war effort.

What methods did the United States Food Administration use to conserve food during World War I?

Under Herbert Hoover, it encouraged Americans to reduce household food consumption, grow victory gardens, and support organized distribution and price controls.

How did the federal government finance U.S. participation in World War I?

It greatly increased income and business taxes, imposed excise and excess-profits taxes, and sold Liberty Bonds to the public. The Federal Reserve helped banks lend money to families purchasing bonds.

What was the approximate total cost of World War I to the United States?

The war cost about $33 billion, approximately 42 times the Treasury’s total receipts in 1916.

How did U.S. income-tax rates change during World War I?

For a family, taxable income above a $2,000 exemption began at a 2% rate in 1917 and rose \to 12% in 1918. With surcharges, the highest rate reached 65% on incomes above$1,000,000.

What role did Liberty Bonds play in World War I financing?

Liberty Bonds borrowed money from the public to fund the war and were promoted through posters, speakers, and celebrities. More than $21 billion in bonds were sold, with interest rates ranging from 3.5% to 4.7%, and they were repaid with interest after the war.

How did World War I affect American labor unions?

The American Federation of Labor supported the war, discouraged strikes, and accepted arbitration in exchange for greater recognition and influence. Wages increased as wartime production created near-full employment.

What was the National War Labor Board, and why was it created?

Created in 1918, the National War Labor Board required management to negotiate with existing unions and mediate labor disputes. Its purpose was to prevent disruptions in factories essential to war production.

Why did the AFL oppose the Industrial Workers of the World and radical antiwar groups during World War I?

AFL leaders believed that pacifists, the IWW, and radical socialists threatened military recruitment and wartime production. They therefore encouraged enlistment and opposed efforts that could reduce the labor force or interrupt production.

What were Wilson’s Fourteen Points?

The Fourteen Points were Wilson’s proposed principles for a postwar settlement. They called for measures such as open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, reduced armaments, national self-determination, and the creation of a League of Nations.

Why did Wilson support the League of Nations?

Wilson believed an international organization could provide collective security, prevent future wars, and give the United States a permanent role in shaping global affairs.

Why did the Senate oppose ratification of the Treaty of Versailles?

Many senators feared that the League of Nations, especially its collective-security obligations, would limit Congress’s constitutional power to declare war and entangle the United States in foreign conflicts. Republicans also opposed the treaty’s terms and Wilson’s refusal to compromise sufficiently.

What was the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles debate in the United States?

The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles, including versions with reservations. The United States therefore never joined the League of Nations and negotiated a separate peace with Germany.