United States Involvement in WW1

and Home Front Hannah VickersDestiny Lawson

U.S. View on WW1 When war erupted in 1914, the U.S. attempted to remain neutral and was a supporter of neutral states. The U.S. tried to prevent war due to unrestricted submarine warfare, which meant they had no boundaries and were able to sink the U boats they felt were hazardous towards them. Espionage- spying to acquire secret government information- penalties and prison terms for anyone who gave aid to the enemy

SINK THAT SHIP!

Woodrow Wilson asked to declare war on Germany

In May of 1915, Germany sunk the British ocean liner Lusitania, causing the loss of 1,200 lives. Germans were trying to block supplies that were being shipped to Britain.

The Germans warned the U.S. of the sinking, but the U.S. continued selling anyway.

THE LAST STRAW Zimmerman note- The Germans sent a note to Mexico saying Mexico needed to invade the United States.

The Germans were known as a “dirty word”. There was to be no German study. If you were German you had to buy liberty bonds to prove your loyalty to the U.S.

What is happening in the U.S.

During the War, Wilson stated that intolerance increased for the Germans because of WW1. • Overseas trade became more

complicated • War bonds and Liberty bonds were

bought to show patriotism and they were loaning the government money

• Americans made movies so men would dislike the Germans enough to fight them. Some names of the movies were Kaiser and To Hell with the Kaisers. The plan worked.

• Wartime job openings and high wages drew 1,000s of people to America.

• One of the first agencies established was the War Industries Board- it was used to coordinate the production of war materials.

• To conserve energy and shorten weekdays daylight savings time was created by Harry Garfield.

• Herbert Hoover ran the most successful agency of food administration- increase food supply and decrease the consumption