Chapter 9: The United States in World War 1 Vocabulary

Alliance System

a system in which countries agree to defend each other or to advance common causes

Militarism

A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

Archduke Francis Ferdinand

the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary whose assassination started World War One

Serbia

On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.

Austria- Hungary

On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War.

Allied Powers

term for Great Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia in World War I

Central Powers

Germany and its allies (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire) in World War I.

Trench Warfare

a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other.

Airplanes

Airplanes were a new invention, used for reconnaissance- to see what was happening on the battlefield below.

Chemical Warfare

warfare using chemical agents to kill or injure or incapacitate the enemy. Perhaps the most feared new weapon introduced during WW1 was poison gas.

Naval Blockade

the use of a fleet of ships to prevent ships carrying supplies from reaching ports

Convoys

Groups of merchant ships protected by warships used to counteract submarine warfare

Lusitania

American boat that was sunk by the German U-boats; made America consider entering WWI

Zimmerman Telegraph

telegraph telling the German ambassador to ask Mexico to declare war on the US

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

The use of submarines to sink without warning any ship found in an enemy's waters

Mobilization

the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war

Conscription

The draft" which required all young men to be ready for military or another service

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

name given to American troops in Europe in world war 1

Selective Service Act

act passed by Congress in 1917 authorizing a draft of men for military service

War Industries Board

establish by the national government in 1917 to regulate prices and industrial production

Herbert Hoover

The 31st President of the United States; President during the stock market crash of '29

War Bonds

a low-interest loan by civilians to the government meant to be repaid in a number of years, made to pay off the war.

Espionage Act

1917 act gave the government new ways to combat spying

Sedition Act

1918 law that made it illegal to criticize the government

Committee of Public Information

launched a massive propaganda campaign to build support for the war

Eugene Debs

leader of the American Socialist Party

Schenck v. United States

Court case questioning whether or not the draft contradicted the espionage act

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Born on March 8, 1841, in Boston, Massachusetts, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. served on the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 30 years.

Great Migration

The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between 1916 and 1970. Until 1910, more than 90 percent of the African-American population

German Americans

American born in Germany or whose ancestor was from Germany

Conscientious Objectors

Men who refused to fight because it violated their religious beliefs to kill others

Fourteen Points

Plan drawn up by Woodrow Wilson to achieve and maintain lasting peace after World War I

Treaty of Versailles

the 1919 peace settlement that ended war between Germany and the Allied powers

War Guilt Clause

Part of the Treaty of Versailles in which Germany took responsibility for the war