World War I
Never before had so many countries in the world become involved all at once in the same war. World War I was called "The War to End All Wars" or the "Great War" by some. People were frightened. Although it was fought mostly in Europe, the United States was pulled into the war because Great Britain, France, and Russia needed help against Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary. Another reason that led the United States into war was because a German U-boat (submarine) bombed a passenger ship sailing to England from the United States. The ships name was the Lusitania. The bomb sunk the ship killing many people, including over 100 Americans. Another reason the United States became involved in World War I was when a telegram was intercepted (Zimmerman telegram) sent from Germany to Mexico. In the telegram, because Germany was certain they would win the war, Germany promised to give areas of U.S. land that Mexico once controlled back to Mexico if they would fight on the side of Germany in the war. Oh dear! Now Americans were mad at Germany.
Many World War I battles were fought through trench warfare, with soldiers digging deep ditches or trenches. The trenches extended for miles, especially along the French border and they helped to keep the enemy from moving forward. Aside from a ground war, fighting also took place in the skies. Airplaneswere simple and mostly fought by shooting down the enemy planes. These air fights were called dog fights.
The fighting was long and hard, costing many, many lives. New weapons were introduced, such as gas warfare. The Allies had to supply the soldiers with gas masks. Eventually, by 1918, the Allies (United States, Great Britain, and France) won the war against Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary.
The treaty to end the war, signed in 1919, was called the Treaty of Versailles. President Woodrow Wilson went to Versailles (a city in France) to sign the treaty taking with him a list of 14 points that he considered to be very important for keeping a lasting peace. He especially wanted free trade (no tariffs), and an end to secret pacts between nations, freedom of the seas, arms reduction, and the forming of a world organization called the League of Nations to keep the peace among all the countries. Now, because of the war, people understood the real danger of not getting along and being peaceful with other countries. The peace treaty was signed but some of the 14 Points were thrown out. The 14th point, The League of Nations, was saved. However, Americans were tired of foreign involvement and just wanted to keep to themselves, so they opposed the League of Nations and the United States of America did not join because they wanted to stay isolated from the rest of the world.
When a war is over, who is going to pay for all the damage? Paying for the damage is called war reparations. (Do you hear the word repair within that word?) The Treaty of Versailles declared that Germany and its allies were responsible for all the loss and damage suffered in the war, and they had to pay billions of dollars. Those payments caused Germans to feel frustrated and angry because they were so poor. That is probably what made it easy later in time for the dictator Adolf Hitler to rise to power. All he had to do was promise them a better life and they would follow him. We’ll see him again in World War II.
World War I changed a few things back in America. Toward the end of World War I, especially in 1918, the Spanish Flu which started during the war followed the soldier’s home to the United States where it became a terrible epidemic. The Spanish Flu killed ten times more people than World War I. Control of disease became a very important issue for Americans and all scientists and doctors.
Also women had been given more responsibility since the men were away fighting. Now they were accustomed to more responsibility and independence. When the war was over, women felt more motivated than ever to become full citizens by having a vote in all elections. The suffragettes (women who supported a law that would give women the right to vote) worked harder than ever, and finally, in 1920 achieved ratification of the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment states that voting cannot be denied on the basis of gender (male or female.) Before, people could not be denied a vote on the basis of race. What a major change! Women could now vote in the United States of America. Some results of the war created positive changes.
Many World War I battles were fought through trench warfare, with soldiers digging deep ditches or trenches. The trenches extended for miles, especially along the French border and they helped to keep the enemy from moving forward. Aside from a ground war, fighting also took place in the skies. Airplaneswere simple and mostly fought by shooting down the enemy planes. These air fights were called dog fights.
The fighting was long and hard, costing many, many lives. New weapons were introduced, such as gas warfare. The Allies had to supply the soldiers with gas masks. Eventually, by 1918, the Allies (United States, Great Britain, and France) won the war against Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary.
The treaty to end the war, signed in 1919, was called the Treaty of Versailles. President Woodrow Wilson went to Versailles (a city in France) to sign the treaty taking with him a list of 14 points that he considered to be very important for keeping a lasting peace. He especially wanted free trade (no tariffs), and an end to secret pacts between nations, freedom of the seas, arms reduction, and the forming of a world organization called the League of Nations to keep the peace among all the countries. Now, because of the war, people understood the real danger of not getting along and being peaceful with other countries. The peace treaty was signed but some of the 14 Points were thrown out. The 14th point, The League of Nations, was saved. However, Americans were tired of foreign involvement and just wanted to keep to themselves, so they opposed the League of Nations and the United States of America did not join because they wanted to stay isolated from the rest of the world.
When a war is over, who is going to pay for all the damage? Paying for the damage is called war reparations. (Do you hear the word repair within that word?) The Treaty of Versailles declared that Germany and its allies were responsible for all the loss and damage suffered in the war, and they had to pay billions of dollars. Those payments caused Germans to feel frustrated and angry because they were so poor. That is probably what made it easy later in time for the dictator Adolf Hitler to rise to power. All he had to do was promise them a better life and they would follow him. We’ll see him again in World War II.
World War I changed a few things back in America. Toward the end of World War I, especially in 1918, the Spanish Flu which started during the war followed the soldier’s home to the United States where it became a terrible epidemic. The Spanish Flu killed ten times more people than World War I. Control of disease became a very important issue for Americans and all scientists and doctors.
Also women had been given more responsibility since the men were away fighting. Now they were accustomed to more responsibility and independence. When the war was over, women felt more motivated than ever to become full citizens by having a vote in all elections. The suffragettes (women who supported a law that would give women the right to vote) worked harder than ever, and finally, in 1920 achieved ratification of the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment states that voting cannot be denied on the basis of gender (male or female.) Before, people could not be denied a vote on the basis of race. What a major change! Women could now vote in the United States of America. Some results of the war created positive changes.