World War I

1. Militarism: The policy of glorifying military power and keeping an army prepared for war. - In the 1890s, many European nations began building large armies which increased tension and suspicion between states 2. Alliances: System of Alliances that divided Europe into two blocks and turned conflicts into wars 3. Imperialism: a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. - Many states were wanting to expand which increased tension and rivalry between them and led to conflicts 4. Nationalism: patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts.

Neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned.

It is because we are indebted to our ancestors who all sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom time and time again. In each generation, they answered when their country called. War for them is a blessing because it is an opportunity to right a wrong that is why it is a blessing not a curse.

- After two years of warfare, France, Britain, and Germany slowly ground down and each of those powers knew the US entering on the side of the Allies would condemn Germany to defeat. So Germany sought to find Allies in the Americas who might tie up US resources in the event of war. So German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman sent a coded message to Mexico, proposing an alliance between the two of them. British spies picked up on the telegram and passed it along to America. - The Zimmerman Telegram's interception by Britain eventually led the USA to declare war on Germany, changing the tide of the First World War.

The use of technology during WW1 played a significant role in who won. It changed the entire face of battle. The new technologies led to trench warfare ( warfare in which opposing armed forces attack, counterattack, and defend from relatively permanent systems of trenches dug into the ground. Trench warfare is resorted to when the superior firepower of the defense compels the opposing forces to "dig in" so extensively as to sacrifice their mobility in order to gain protection.) and the lack of new tactics led to massive slaughter at the hands of the new technology. The machine gun and the tank were new technologies that influenced WW1 the most.

President Woodrow Wilson put forth his 14-point proposal for ending the Great War in his War Aims and Peace Terms speech to Congress on January 8, 1918. The 14 points included proposals to ensure world peace in the future: open agreements, arms reductions, freedom of the seas, free trade, and self-determination for oppressed minorities. The 14 points served as a basis for the terms of German surrender negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, but most of Wilsons 14 points were abandoned in the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.

The Treaty of Versailles was the Peace Settlement between the Allies and Germany at the end of the First World War. The Treaty had clauses that resulted in areas of land being taken from Germany, causing them to suffer large territorial losses. The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the First World War. As a result of this Germany was also held accountable for the cost of the war and the Treaty dictated that compensation would have to be paid to the Allies. These payments, called reparations. In addition, Germany had lost some of her most precious sources of Raw materials as her colonies, and some of the areas ceded to other countries, were rich sources of income. These factors would make it harder for the German economy to cope. Its terms brought poverty and animosity to Germans who became united in return, having the same nationalistic consecration of rebuilding Germany as a major power once again

The League failed to win Senate approval and is remembered as a major example of a communications breakdown between the president and the Senate. Wilson believed that he did not need to bring anyone from the Senate to the Paris Peace Conference with him. The Senate is in charge of approving treaties, and because they were bitter about the Treaty of Versailles, they rejected signing it, which in turn rejected the League of Nations. The League of Nations called for collective security, that when one nation harassed another, all the nations would act. The United States at that time did not want to be connected to other nations' affairs.

America had emerged as a world industrial leader and the US economy was booming, profits were increasing which led to the period in American history called the Roaring Twenties with a massive rise in consumerism for the wealthy. On the negative side, inflation was high and companies and corporations started the reduce wages and lay off workers to keep down operating costs. During WWI (1914-1918), large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 made it illegal to exclude women from jobs because of their gender. Educated, middle class women found that doors to the professions previously closed to them were suddenly opening. But there was an economic downside. The 1919 Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act forced most women to leave their wartime roles as men came home and factories switched to peacetime production.