World War I
A war fought from 1914 to 1918, in which Great Britain, France, Russia, Belgium,
Italy, Japan, the United States, and other allies defeated Germany, Austria-
Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.
Zimmerman Telegram
A 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire for Mexico to join the Central
Powers, in the event of the United States entering World War I on the side of
the Entente Powers. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British
intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in
April of that year.
Freedom of the Seas
a principle in the international law and law of the sea. It stresses
freedom to navigate the oceans. It also disapproves of war fought in water. The
freedom is to be breached only in a necessary international agreement.
Lusitania
A British ocean liner, holder of the Blue Riband and briefly the world's biggest ship. She was launched by the Cunard
Line in 1907, at a time of fierce competition for the North Atlantic
trade. In 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, causing the
deaths of 1,198 passengers.
Sussex Pledge A promise made in 1916 during World War I by Germany to the United States prior to the
latter's entry into the war. Passenger ships would not be targeted; Merchant ships would not be sunk until the
presence of weapons had been established, if necessary by a search of the ship;
Merchant ships would not be sunk without provision for the safety of passengers and crew.
Submarine Warfare
Submarine warfare in World War I was partly a fight between German U-Boats and
Atlantic supply convoys bound for Great Britain. British and Allied submarines
conducted widespread operations in the Baltic, North Sea, Atlantic, Mediterranean
and Black Seas. A type of naval warfare in which submarines sink vessels such as
freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also
known as "cruiser rules").
Selective Service Act
The Selective Service Act or Selective Draft Act authorized the federal
government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I
through conscription.
Schenck v. U.S.
Defendant's criticism of the draft was not protected by the First Amendment,
because it created a clear and present danger to the enlistment and recruiting service of the U.S. armed forces during
a state of war.
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces were the United States Armed Forces sent to
Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I
the AEF fought in France alongside French and British allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial
German forces
John J. Pershing
A general officer in the United States Army who led the American
Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be
promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies.
Battle of Argonne Forest
Part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire
western front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the
Armistice.
Alvin York
One of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an
attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132
others.
Trench Warfare
A type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each
other.
U-Boats
A German submarine used in World War I
President Woodrow Wilson
As World War I erupts in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson formally
proclaims the neutrality of the United States, a position that a vast majority of Americans favored, on August 4,
1914.
Fourteen Points
The "Fourteen Points" was a 1918 statement by United States President Woodrow Wilson that the Great War
was being fought for a moral cause and for postwar peace in Europe.
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War
I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five
years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Reparations
World War I reparations were the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of
Versailles following its defeat during World War I.
League of Nations
International organization created to ensure world stability.
Henry Cabot Lodge
An American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He is best known for his positions on foreign policy,
including his opposition to U.S. involvement in WWI, and his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over
the Treaty of Versailles. Lodge demanded Congressional control of declarations of
war; Wilson refused and the United States Senate never ratified the Treaty nor joined
the League of Nations.
Isolationism
A policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic
relations.
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