First World War and Women's Suffrage Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, events, leaders, and domestic developments of the First World War and Women's Suffrage era.

"Neutrality" (1914–1917)

The official policy stance held by the United States from 1914 until its entry into the Great War in 1917.

The Great War (1914–1918)

The major global conflict spanning from 1914 to 1918, also recognized as the First World War.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Austro-Hungarian heir whose assassination on June 28, 1914, set off a chain reaction causing 'the dominoes [to] fall' and triggering World War I.

Central Powers

One of the two primary opposing coalitions during the First World War, which fought against the Allied Powers.

Allied Powers

The coalition of nations opposing the Central Powers in World War I, later joined by the United States.

Western Front

The primary battle zone in Western Europe characterized as a 'New War' dominated by trench warfare and modern military technologies.

Trench Warfare

A defensive military tactic and system of combat widely used along the Western Front in the First World War.

German U-boats

German submarines utilized for naval operations and commerce raiding in the Atlantic.

The Lusitania

A passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, significantly escalating tensions between the United States and Germany.

1916 Election Slogan

"He Kept Us Out of War," the political campaign slogan associated with Woodrow Wilson's reelection bid in 1916.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

A German naval policy announced on January 31, 1917, declaring that submarines would sink merchant and passenger ships without warning.

Zimmermann Telegram

A secret diplomatic communication from Germany proposing a military alliance with Mexico, intercepted prior to U.S. entry into the war.

April 1917 War Declaration

The official declaration of war by the United States Congress, justified by Woodrow Wilson's proclamation that 'The world must be made safe for democracy.'

War Industries Board (WIB)

A United States government agency established to coordinate domestic economic mobilization and war production for World War I.

The Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities during the wartime period to seek industrial work and escape racial oppression.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

Federal wartime legislation passed to criminalize anti-war dissent, interference with military recruitment, and disloyal speech.

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

The military formation of the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe under independent command during the First World War.

Bolshevik Revolution

The 1917 revolution in Russia that overthrew the provisional government, leading to Russia's exit from the war and the rise of a communist state.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's peace proposal outlining principles for the postwar world, centered on his prized proposal for a League of Nations.

November 11, 1918

The date of the armistice that brought an end to active fighting on the Western Front in the Great War.

The Big Four Leaders

The primary Allied statesmen who directed the peace negotiations: Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), Georges Clemenceau (France), David Lloyd George (Britain), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy).

Treaty of Versailles

The primary peace treaty that formally concluded the First World War and established the terms of postwar settlement.

Alice Paul

A key suffrage leader whose militant activism and protests on the home front helped secure the passage of the 19th Amendment.

19th Amendment

The constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage, ratified in 1920 following wartime mobilization and suffrage campaigns.

First Red Scare

A period of intense anti-communist hysteria and fear of political radicalism in the postwar United States that spurred restrictive immigration reform.