The World at War - Study Guide

armistice

a truce or agreement to end an armed conflict

Allies

group of nations in WWI that opposed the Central Powers

Central Powers

group of nations in WWI that opposed the allies

fourteen points

principles making up Woodrow Wilson’s plan for world peace following WWI

League of Nations

association established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace

militarism

policy of building up armed forces in aggressive preparedness for war and their use as a tool of diplomacy

nationalism

a devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation

propaganda

kind of biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions

reparations

compensation paid by a defeated nation for the damage or injury it inflicted during war

Rough Riders

a voluntary cavalry regiment that serves in the Spanish-American War, commanded by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt

Treaty of Paris 1898

treaty that ended the revolutionary war, confirming the independence of the U.S. and setting the boundaries of a new nation

Treaty of Versailles

treaty of 1919 that established new nations, borders, and war reparations at end of the war

trench warfare

military operations in which opposing forces attack and counterattack from systems of fortified ditches

USS Maine

U.S. warship that mysteriously exploded and sank in the Harbor of Havana, Cuba, on Feb. 15, 1898

yellow journalism

exaggerated reporting by newspapers or magazines to attract readers

imperialism

period of time when strong countries take over weak countries

3 factors for new American imperialism

desire for military strength, thirst for new markets, belief in culture superiority

money US paid for Alaska

7.2 million

original owner of Alaska

Russia

year that Congress proclaimed Hawaii

1898

the reason the US wanted to acquire Cuba

it was 90 miles south of Florida

De Lome letter

criticized McKinley calling him weak

when the USS Maine exploded

February 15, 1898

What year did the US declare war with Spain?

1898

country that the U.S. invaded first in the Spanish-American war

the Philippines

where the most famous land battle in Cuba occurred

Santiago

What did the US and Spain agree to in the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1893?

Spain freed Cuba, turned over Guam, Puerto Rico, and sold the Philippines to the U.S for $20 million

four main causes of WWI

militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism

Otto von Bismark’s first goal when he became chancellor

to isolate france

2 countries Bismark formed an alliance with

Austria-Hungary and Italy

ruled after Bismark

Kaiser Wilhelm II

the spark that began WWI

the assassination of Franz Ferdinand

Allies

France, Great Britain, Russia

Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

the Schlieffen Plan

Germany defeated France and moved to Russia

tanks

could move over No Man’s Land

planes in WWI

first time used in combat

2 reasons the US joined the war

sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram

when Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany

April 2, 1917

Selective Service Act of 1917

required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military services

training period to become a soldier

8 months

Pros to enabling the draft

fair democratic way for all Americans to serve together

Cons to enabling the draft

exploitation of poor, less educated, working class, immigrants

Liberty Bonds

american citizens lending money to the government to pay for the war

committee on public information

nation’s first propaganda agency to popularize the war

pacifist

people who refused to fight because they believed war was evil

total war

countries devoted all their resources to the war effort

War Industries Board

government told factories what to produce

Harlem Hellfighters

all volunteer African American military unit

end of WWI

November 11, 1918

Why did the US not sign the Treaty of Versailles

to keep the US free from foreign entanglement

Why did the US not join the League of Nations?

believed that it would involve the US in foreign conflicts

amount of soldier deaths in WWI

8.5 million

amount of money spent on WWI

338 billion

Treaty of Portsmouth

peace agreement that ended the Russo-Japanese war in 1905

impact of Bloody Sunday

shattered people’s trust in the Tsar

Grigori Rasputin

Russian mystic and self proclaimed holy man

Why was Rasputin so important?

held influence over the Tsarina and healed her son, resented by nobles and government officials

Why was the Romanov family executed?

fear that royalists may try to restore the monarchy

group that stormed the Winter Palace during the October Revolution

Bolsheviks

Panama Canal

51 mile long waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific

engineering problems with the building of the Panama Canal

terrain, water levels, political unrest, labor conditions, equipment

3 major tasks in the construction of the Canal

cut through mountain, dam a river, erect canal’s giant locks

When the canal opened

August 15, 1914

political effect of the Canal

increased US influence in Latina America and the world