Chapter 21Section2

The United States Goes to War

Objectives

• 1. Relate the challenges the United States faced while trying to remain neutral.

• 2. Identify the events that led to U.S. entry into the war.

• 3. Explain how the United States prepared its military for World War I.

• 4. Describe the types of experiences Americans had while serving Europe.

U.S. Neutrality

• Americans wanted and supported neutrality when war broke out in Europe. President Woodrow Wilson supported neutrality and also pursued the goal of settling the conflict.

• America was a nation of immigrants so many chose sides. The British had used propaganda to show the German in a bad light. This really increased many Americans support of the Allies.

• British navy would stop American ships, thinking they were transporting goods and services to Germany. This violated U.S. neutrality.

• 1915: Germany established a “war zone” around England any ship entering the zone were subject to attack by German U-boats.

• March 28, 1915: The sinking of the British passenger liner the Lusitania, with 124 Americans loss of lives. Wilson demanded that the Germans stop unrestricted submarine warfare against civilian ships. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned stating that the president couldn’t issue an ultimatum when remaining neutral.

The Road to War

• Sussex Pledge: Was Germans pledge to renew their promise of sinking liners without warning or ensuring passenger’s safety.

• Robert Lansing: who replaced Bryan as Secretary of State supported trade with the Allies in the area of war materials.

• [Note: Former president Theodore Roosevelt thought Wilson a coward not going after the Germans. Many thought neutrality was going by the way side. ]

• 1916-National Defense Act: a military “preparedness” project. Increased the number of army soldiers from 90,000 to 175,000 the final goal 223,000. National Guard at 450,000 troops. Congress supported and passed a bill to build up the navy.

• Wilson was up for election and hadn’t backed off the idea of neutrality. His slogan “He kept Us Out of War,” ultimately he defeated Republican Charles Evans Hughes.

• January, 1917: in a speech Wilson advocated for “peace without victory.” Even with trying to mediate peace the nations at war rejected the effort.

• February, 1917: Germany resumes full-scale U-boat warfare. The significance: Wilson breaks diplomatic ties; orders the arming of American merchant ships.

• March, 1917: American newspapers published Zimmerman Note. The significance: This note proves German hostility. Trying to persuade Mexico to side with Germany.

• April 4, 1917: The Senate declares war. The significance: United States joins the war on the Allied side.

• Representative Jeannette Rankin from Montana chose not to support war. First woman to be elected to the House. A pacifist.

Mobilizing U.S. Military Power

• Selective Service Act: May 18, 1917-require men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register to vote. Later it would change to ages 18-45. By the end of the war 24 million men had registered for the draft. 2.8 million men had drafted for war.

• [Theodore Roosevelt believed in compulsory military training for all American men. ]

Training the Troops

• Summer, 1917: Training camps were constructed in a very fast manner to house and train troops. Training of the troops was going to be accelerated, the focus was on fighting hand-to-hand combat and rifle training.

• Hello Girls: Near the end of the war the U.S. decided to send female telephone operators to France to run important military switchboards. Many were civilian women were stationed in Tours, France. When training male operators to work the switchboards on the front lines. One female said, “ I just reminded them that any soldier could carry a gun, but the safety of a whole division might depend on the switchboard.”

Over There

• John J. Pershing: The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) were under the direction of the General. When arriving in the June, 1917, Pershing insisted that the U.S. fight as a separate unit. Pershing wouldn’t allow the Allies to dictate how the U.S. troops would be utilized.

• Convoy System: U.S. warships, merchant ships transported troops, supplies, and volunteers through the submarine area of the North Atlantic.