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BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
All images on this page can be found at this link from the Library of
Congress.
WWI
Historical Overview
"World War I killed more people--9 million combatants
and 5 million civilians--and cost more money--$186 billion in direct
costs and another $151 billion in indirect costs--than any previous war
in history.
Triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir
to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, World War I began in
August 1914 when Germany invaded Belgium and France. Several events led
to U.S. intervention: the sinking of the Lusitania, a British passenger
liner; unrestricted German submarine warfare; and the Zimmerman note,
which revealed a German plot to provoke Mexico to war against the United
States. Millions of American men were drafted and Congress created a War
Industries Board to coordinate production and a National War Labor Board
to unify labor policy" (www.digitalhistory.com).
President Wilson came up with a plan called the Fourteen Points
to end the war. All fourteen points of the document revolved
around creating peace in the world. This was an extension of
Moral Diplomacy, which is an idea that countries should do what is
best for the world, not just what is best for themselves. The Big
Four--America, Italy, Great Britain, and France--met to discuss an end
to the war. At this time, Wilson's Fourteen Points were not
well-received. The only point that the other nations agreed to was
the fourteenth point, which was called the
League of Nations.
The idea of the League of Nations was to create a council consisting of
the major countries of the world where issues could be discussed and
resolved without going to war.
The document that ended the war was
The Treaty of Versailles
(named for the city in France where it was signed). When Wilson
brought the treaty back to America, the Senate wouldn't
ratify, (approve)
it. It did not like the part about the League of Nations. It
feared that entering into that kind of agreement would take away it's
power to declare war and would force the United States into many foreign
conflicts it didn't want to be in. The United States then had to
negotiate peace treaties with each of the countries it fought against in
the War, and the League of Nations went forward without the United
States. The League of Nations ultimately failed.
The US Home Front during WWI
There is more to the story of World War 1 than just the battles,
causalities and peace treaties. There is the effect that the war
has at home. Suddenly, Americans were involved in a world-wide
scale conflict. The US was not prepared with enough weapons, food
and supplies to fight a major war overseas ~ so there were a lot of
adjustments that had to be made. People had to start
rationing food. This
was so that there was enough food to supply the war effort. Women
began to go work in factories in large numbers to supply the labor to
produce ammunition, guns, tanks, airplanes, uniforms, etc.
Community Service became a major way of life. This was headed up
by the
Red Cross. The
Red Cross supplied nurses and medical supplies to the war effort, but
also got groups together to sew socks for the soldiers, collected books
for the soldiers to read, they made masks to help protect against the
flu (influenza) while soldiers were abroad and more! World War I
gave women in America new opportunities in life. Children were
also called upon to save nickels and quarters to donate towards
war bonds and stamps.
By selling war binds and war stamps, the government was able to get
enough cash to pay for all the expenses of the soldiers fighting
overseas.
Remember that when World War I broke out, the United States did not have
the massive and powerful military that we do today. We had a small
army of regular soldiers. When World War I started, many of the
new recruits were trained with wooden rifles because there were not
enough real rifles to always go around. This was a much different
time in American history than now!!!
There are several pictures pasted below to help give you an idea of the
efforts that were made to help the war effort from home.
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The picture of
the large man in a chair represent s a US soldier fighting World War
I in Europe. The people around him represent how much effort
it takes at home to support the soldiers so that they have the
supplies, equipment, food, ammunition, weapons and clothing to do
their job as safely as possible. |
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This is a
powerful picture of a girl whose boyfriend or husband is fighting in
World War I in Europe. Notice how his silhouette makes it look
like he is looking out for her and that by fighting in the
war, he is helping to protect America and the families from our
enemies. The land army refers to growing food products at your
home or in the community so that farmer grown food could be sent to
the soldiers. |
Part of the
campaign to get people to create home and local gardens. This
way, food being grown by farmers could go towards the soldiers in
Europe because people would be raising their own fruits and
vegetables. |
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Appealing to
children to be patriotic and to help contribute to the war effort at
home. |
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A woman at the
side of a car trying to collect change for war bonds. |
Red Cross
Volunteers making influenza masks for the soldiers to keep them from
catching the flu. |
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School children
plant a garden on a vacant lot to help provide food for the
community so that more food from farmers may be sent overseas to the
soldiers. |
Boy Scouts
dressed up as soldiers selling war bonds. Look at the signs
and think about the entire effort at home and how it took men, women
and children to be successful in World War I. |
Reading Selections
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