Why The United States Entered the War:
In 1912 when Woodrow Wilson was elected as President, the American people initially opposed any sort of participation in a European War. The American companies started out by supplying goods, weapons, and numerous amounts of supplies to their allies. In 1917, the allies were pretty deep into World War l, that they realized the allies’ ability to repay the loans depended on the victory. When America first entered the war, many were not very fond of the idea at first but the Submarine warfare swayed the American public opinion of whether they should get involved or not. This was when Germany first declared war on the British Isles as they attacked merchant ships that carried a lot of the supplies that the US had provided. The incident prompted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to send a strongly worded note to the German government demanding an end to German attacks against unarmed merchant ships. By September 1915, the German government had imposed such strict constraints on the operation of the nation’s submarines that the German navy was persuaded to suspend U-boat warfare altogether. This is what ultimately decided whether or not the US would get involved in World War I. The biggest act of casually in this case was the Germans sinking the Lusitania, a British passenger liner, killing 1,198 passengers. 128 of the passengers were American. United States officially declared war on Germany of April 6, 1917
How did The United States Shape the End of the War:
When the war had first started America had a strong country and government but were lacking in their army. Only about 370,000 men were in all of the branches combined, however that number swelled to 4.8 million by the end of the war because of drafts and enlistments. At home the wars 33 million dollar price tag was met through taxation of the people. This was something different that the people hadn’t fully seen since the American Revolution with the British, and because of this there were several riots. Labor shortages drove wages up, which in turn drove prices up. But demand for goods and services because of the war soared, and the economy hummed along, despite government efforts to “organize” it. The first U.S. troops were fed into the lines as much to shore up the morale of the Allies as anything else. But by the time the Germans launched their last desperate offensive, in the spring of 1918, more than 300,000 American troops had landed in France. By the war’s end in November, the number of Yanks had swelled to 1.4 million.
Led by Major General John “Black Jack” Pershing, a celebrated veteran of the Spanish-American and Philippines wars, the U.S. forces, known as the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) fought off efforts by Allied commanders to push the AEF into a subordinate role as replacement troops. In September 1918, the Americans launched an attack on a German bulge in the lines near Verdun, France. U.S. and French troops captured more than 25,000 prisoners, and the German military’s back was all but broken. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, Germany called it quits, and the fighting stopped.
Led by Major General John “Black Jack” Pershing, a celebrated veteran of the Spanish-American and Philippines wars, the U.S. forces, known as the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) fought off efforts by Allied commanders to push the AEF into a subordinate role as replacement troops. In September 1918, the Americans launched an attack on a German bulge in the lines near Verdun, France. U.S. and French troops captured more than 25,000 prisoners, and the German military’s back was all but broken. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, Germany called it quits, and the fighting stopped.
How The United States was Affected by War:
America had lost 48,000 men in battle and 56,000 were lost to disease. At the time of the war in the early 1900s, the industry production boomed. There was a high demand for faster production in factories to provide supplies and weapons to troops and allies overseas. There was also an increase in jobs which allowed many African-Americans to start gaining jobs. Women were also able to step up to the plate during this time while many of men were off at war. Previous to the war, many women had embarked on campaigning for universal suffrage, but unfortunately America’s politicians were not ready to give women the right to vote. However, that attitude changed after the war, because so many women had shown that their strength and independence was equal to men, and they had helped the war cause in so many ways, President Wilson urged congress to give women the same rights as men because they deserved it. “We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnerships of privilege and right?” (Woodrow Wilson). However, as the war ended, and soldiers started to return home, the industry production began to slow, and there was less need for workers in factories. Many women stopped working, but even so there were not enough jobs for the men returning home from Europe. This rising unemployment after a time of industry and economic prosperity, planted the seeds of the coming Great Depression.
Propaganda Techniques Used
App: Thinglink
This link shows additional causes of World War I which can also attribute to why the US had decided to join.
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/629781950072094722
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/629781950072094722