World War 1 Vocabulary

Conscription

Forced service in the military

No Man’s Land

Land between trenches with barbed wire, landmines, and dead bodies.

Interventionist

Favors intervening in foreign affairs.

Isolationism

Favors removing themselves from foreign affairs

Blockade

Stops the delivery of goods and supplies; performed by the navy

U-Boats

German submarine

Neutrality

Staying out of war, not picking a side

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Sinking of any and all ships by submarines

Lusitania

British owned ocean liner that was sunk by a u-boat, killed 123-128 Americans

Zimmerman Telegram

Sent from Germany to Mexico asking Mexico to attack the US; US joined the war shortly after this was made public

Liberty Gardens

Grown by Americans to feed themselves and troops

Selective Service Act 1917

All men were registered for the draft for military service

Espionage Act 1917

Sought to crackdown on disloyalty during World War I in the US

Sedition Act 1918

Made it a criminal offense to speak out, protest, or write in opposition of the US government and wartime policies

Doughboys

Nickname for American soldiers

14 Points

Proposed by Woodrow Wilson which outlined America’s war aims during WWI

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that ended WWI; led to many problems that started WWII

League of Nations

World body created after WWI to secure mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity 

Central Powers

Made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire

Entente Powers

Made up of England, France, Italy, Russia, and later the US

Great Migration

Movement of African Americans from the South to the North

Reparations

Payment for war damages