World War I Era – Key Terms (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, events, acts, and postwar consequences from the lecture notes.

Lafayette Escadrille

American volunteer pilots in a French air unit that began in 1916; about 250 volunteers; first combat in May 1916; birth of US combat aviation; mascots Whiskey & Soda.

Kiffin Rockwell

First U.S. air victory in the Lafayette Escadrille; from Newport, Tennessee; joined the French Foreign Legion in 1915; killed in action; buried in France.

94th Aero Squadron

U.S. air unit that included members from the Lafayette Escadrille; part of the U.S. Army Air Service in WWI.

Meuse-Argonne Campaign

Major Allied offensive (Sept–Nov 1918); 47 days; bloodiest U.S. campaign with about 112,000 U.S. deaths; decisive in defeating Germany.

Cantigny

First U.S. Division victory; halted seven German attacks at Cantigny.

Belleau Wood

Critical U.S. Marine assault; cleared Belleau Wood; boosted American reputation in WWI.

Château-Thierry

Line defense and offense near Château-Thierry; helped halt German advances in 1918.

St. Mihiel

First major U.S. offensive; reduced the St. Mihiel salient; demonstrated American military capability.

Alvin C. York

Famous WWI hero from Tennessee; Medal of Honor recipient; credited with taking out a German machine-gun nest and 7 attackers; later promoted as an anti-isolationist.

Cher Ami

Carrier pigeon that delivered a vital message to save the Lost Battalion; badly wounded; died 1919; now commemorated at museums.

Whiskey & Soda

Mascots of the Lafayette Escadrille; notable symbols associated with the unit.

Creel Committee (CPI)

U.S. Committee on Public Information; government propaganda agency during WWI; produced pro-war materials and encouraged censorship.

Four-Minute Men

Volunteers delivering brief pro-war speeches across the United States as part of the CPI effort.

Espionage Act (1917)

Law criminalizing aiding the enemy, spying, or interference with military operations; used to suppress dissent during WWI.

Sedition Act (1918)

Expanded penalties for anti-war speech; led to arrests and prosecutions of critics of the government (e.g., Debs).

Red Scare (1919–1920)

Postwar fear of Bolshevism and radicalism; widespread strikes and government crackdowns, including Palmer raids.

Eugene Debs

Socialist leader jailed under anti-war laws; received nearly 1 million votes in the 1920 election while imprisoned.

Great Steel Strike (1919)

Largest industrial strike of 1919; 350,000 workers sought 8-hour days; violent clashes; strike ultimately weakened organized labor for years.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

Wilson’s postwar framework advocating open diplomacy, free trade, self-determination, and a League of Nations.

League of Nations

International organization proposed to maintain peace after WWI; lacked real enforcement power; the U.S. never joined.

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty ending WWI; imposed reparations and territorial losses on Germany; established the League of Nations; U.S. Senate refused ratification.

Balfour Declaration (1917)

British statement supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine while promising to protect the rights of existing non-Jewish communities.

King-Crane Commission

U.S. inquiry (1919) into Middle East postwar wishes; Arabs favored independence; Zionists sought a Jewish state; warned against a Jewish state due to rights of non-Jewish communities.

Zionism

Movement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, rooted in late-19th-century persecution; gained support with the Balfour Declaration and postwar debates.

Mandates (Middle East)

Post-WWI arrangements giving Britain or France control over former Ottoman territories until independence; shaped borders and tensions in Syria, Iraq, Palestine.

Zimmerman Telegram

Intercepted 1917 German proposal to ally with Mexico against the United States; helped push the U.S. toward entering WWI.

Armistice Day

Commemoration of the armistice ending WWI on November 11, 1918; later renamed Veterans Day.

Spanish Flu (Influenza) 1918–1919

Global influenza pandemic following WWI; killed millions worldwide and compounded wartime casualties.

Self-Determination

Principle that nations should determine their own borders and governments; central to the Fourteen Points; difficult to implement in practice.

War Guilt Clause (Versailles 231)

Versailles provision forcing Germany to accept responsibility for causing the war; used as the basis for reparations.

Reparations (Germany)

Financial penalties imposed on Germany after WWI; intended to compensate Allies and punish Germany, fueling postwar resentment.