High School History - WW I

578 CHAPTER 19

Terms & NamesTerms & NamesMAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

One American's Story

•nationalism

•militarism

•Allies

•Central Powers

•Archduke Franz

Ferdinand

•no man’s land

•trench warfare

•Lusitania

•Zimmermann

note

As World War I intensified,

the United States was forced

to abandon its neutrality.

The United States remains

involved in European and

world affairs.

WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

It was about 1:00 A.M. on April 6, 1917, and the members of the U.S.

House of Representatives were tired. For the past 15 hours they had

been debating President Wilson’s request for a declaration of war

against Germany. There was a breathless hush as Jeannette

Rankin of Montana, the first woman elected to Congress, stood

up. Rankin declared, “I want to stand by my country but I can-

not vote for war. I vote no.” Later she reflected on her action.

A PERSONAL VOICE JEANNETTE RANKIN “ I believe that the first vote I cast was the most significant vote

and a most significant act on the part of women, because women

are going to have to stop war. I felt at the time that the first woman

[in Congress] should take the first stand, that the first time the first

woman had a chance to say no to war she should say it.”

—quoted in Jeannette Rankin: First Lady in Congress

After much debate as to whether the United States should join the fight,

Congress voted in favor of U.S. entry into World War I. With this decision,

the government abandoned the neutrality that America had maintained for

three years. What made the United States change its policy in 1917?

Causes of World War I

Although many Americans wanted to stay out of the war, several factors made

American neutrality difficult to maintain. As an industrial and imperial power,

the United States felt many of the same pressures that had led the nations of

Europe into devastating warfare. Historians generally cite four long-term causes of

the First World War: nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the formation of a

system of alliances.

Jeannette Rankin was

the only member of the

House to vote against

the U.S. entering both

World War I and World

War II.

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World War I Begins