WWI History notes

1. World War 1 (1914-1918) Notes:
Section 1. Causes of WW1
1. Nationalism=________________________________________________________________________
a. Where did ethnic groups look for protection?
b. Example: ____________ was the protector of the Europe’s Slavic peoples.
___________ was an independent nation but millions of ethnic Serbs
were under rule of ____________________________.
c. Result: _______________ & ______________________ were rivals over influence
in Serbia.
2. Imperialism=________________________________________________________________________
a. Who competed with France and Britain in the contest for colonies?
3. Militarism= ____________________________________________________________________
a. Who had the strongest military in Europe?
b. Who had the strongest navy?
c. What was the naval race?
4. Alliance System= _____________________________________________________________
a. Triple Entente (Allies)=
b. Triple Alliance=
5. The Spark
a. Where was the “powder keg” of Europe?
b. Why was this a hot spot of conflict?
6. The Assassination that Led to a War
a. Who was assassinated?
b. Who assassinated him?
c. Who was the first to declare war?
d. How long was the war expected to be?
7. Great War Begins
a. Why were so many countries brought into the war?
b. Give an example of how one European country was brought into the
war?
8. Trench Warfare
a. Where is “no man’s land” in trench warfare?
b. What were the 3 kinds of trenches?
c. What were “dugouts” used for?
d. Pictures: What is one characteristic that stood out for me when seeing
pictures of trench warfare?
e. Why do you think soldiers were rotated between the different
trenches?
9. Americans Question Neutrality
a. What was the American opinion about the war?
b. Why did they believe this (list at least one reason)?
c. Did Americans care who won the war?
10.American Feelings
a. Why would Americans care to follow the war in Europe?

2. b. What side did most American agree with? Why?
c. Economically, who were Americans more tied to?
d. In 1915, the US experienced a labor shortage? What does this mean?
11. The War Hits Home
a. What 2 reasons led the US to mobilize against the Central Powers?
i. ________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________
12.British Blockade
a. Whose coasts were blocked by the British?
b. What was a result of the British Blockade?
c. How did the American react?
13. German U-Boat Response
a. What are U-boats?
b. What were they used for?
14.Lusitania
a. Who attacked the boat, Lusitania?
b. How did the Americans react?
c. How did the Germans respond to America’s threats?
d. How did the German U-boat campaign affect US public opinion?
15. 1916 Election
a. Who beat Charles Hughes win in the 1916 election?
b. What was his slogan?
16.Wilson
a. What did Wilson try to do between the warring alliances?
b. How did Germany respond?
c. What did Wilson say he’d wait for before declaring war?
17.Zimmermann Note
a. What was the Zimmerman note?
b. Why would this note be considered a threat?
18. America Acts
a. What year did America enter the war?
b. In Woodrow Wilson’s declaration of war, what did he say was the
reason the US entered the war?
Section 2. American Power Tips the Balance
19. America Mobilizes
a. Was the US prepared to enter the war?
b. How many men enlisted in the army when the US declared war?
20.Raising An Army
a. What was the Selective Service Act?
b. By 1918, how many men had registered for the army?
c. How many of those men were called up to serve?
21. Many Enlist
a. How many African Americans served?
b. What branches of the military could African Americans not enlist in?
c. Were army units segregated still?
22.Training

3. a. How long was training?
b. Where was training?
c. What were soldiers trained to do?
23.Women
a. Could women enlist?
b. What could women do during the war?
24.Mass Production
a. What is mass production?
b. What became difficult to do because of German U-boats?
c. What is one thing (step) that was taken to show that an emphasis was
put on mass production?
25. America Turns the Tide
a. What is the convey system?
26. Fighting in Europe
a. What did American soldiers provide for the tired Allied soldiers?
27. Fighting “Over There”
a. Who were nicknamed the doughboys?
28.New Weapons
a. List 2 large scale weapons used during WW1?
29. War Introduces New Hazards
a. List 2 hazards experienced during WW1?
30. American Troops go on the Offensive
a. When did Russia pull out of the war?
b. Americans arrived in time to help who fight the Germans?
31. American War Hero
a. Alvin York is considered an example of a WW1 hero. What did he do
to earn that title?
32. The Collapse of Germany
a. Who revolted against the German government, that finally exhausted
Germans from continuing to fight?
b. When did Germany sign a truce (armistice) to end the war?
c. What do we celebrate on this same day today?
33.Final Toll
a. What was the final death total?
b. How many were wounded?
c. How many became refugees (someone who flees from their home
country)
d. Chart: What side lost more people (the Central Powers or Allies)?
e. Chart: What ally country had the most deaths?
f. Chart: What central power country had the most deaths?
g. How many US soldiers were killed?
h. Most US soldiers died from _______________ than from combat.
Section 3. The War at Home
34. Congress Gives Power to Wilson
a. What switch did the US economy make during WW1?

4. b. Who was given the power to have direct control over much of the US
economy during the war?
35. War Industries Board
a. What did the WIB do?
36. War Economy
a. What is a characteristic of a war economy?
37. Food Administration
a. What was the job of the Food Administration during the war?
b. What would families do to help with the war efforts from home?
38. Selling the War
a. After fixing the economy, what were the 2 major tasks the
government had to do?
i. ___________________________________
ii. ___________________________________
39. 1. War Financing
a. How did the government raise money for the war?
40. 2. Committee on Public Information
a. What is propaganda?
b. Your opinion: How is propaganda used today?
41. Attacks of Civil Liberties Increase
a. What immigrant groups were persecuted against during the war?
b. Give an example of how this group was persecuted?
42.Espionage and Sedition Acts
a. =
b. What did some say these laws violated?
43. War Encourages Social Change
a. What did African Americans think about the war?
44. Great Migration
a. Who was involved in this migration?
b. Where did they move do?
c. Why did they move north?
45. Women at War
a. What jobs did women have that were previously held only by men?
b. What helped the women’s suffrage movement?
46.Flu Epidemic
a. How much of the US population was affected by the 1918 flu
epidemic?
b. How many Americans were killed?
c. How many people in the world were killed?
d. What killed more? WW1 or the Flu Epidemic?
47. “War to End all Wars”
a. How long did the war last?
b. Where did Wilson go after the war ended?
c. Why?
Section 4. Wilson Fights for Peace
48.Wilson’s Plan

5. a. What was Wilson’s plan for peace called?
b. What did the first 5 points deal with?
c. What did the next 8 points deal with?
d. What did the 14th point deal with?
49. Allies Reject Wilson’s Plan
a. What did the French want?
b. What did the British want?
c. What did the Italians want?
d. Who were the “Big Four?”
50.Treaty of Versailles
a. What were the 3 main results of the treaty?
i. ___________________________________________
ii. ___________________________________________
iii. ___________________________________________
51. Treaty’s Weaknesses
a. What were the 3 weaknesses of the treaty?
i. ___________________________________________
1. War-Guilt Clause=
ii. ___________________________________________
iii. ___________________________________________
52. Opposition to the Treaty
a. What did many Americans things of the treaty?
53. Debate Over the League of Nations
a. What did the US not enter the League of Nations?
54.Legacy of War
a. List 2 consequences of WW1 on the US:
i. _________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________
b. List 2 consequences of WW1 in Europe?
i. _________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________
32 key concepts
US History Crash COURSE video on WWI