Lesson #22: From Neutrality to War

Multiple Choice

Read the quote from President Woodrow Wilson. Identify his position toward World War I in 1914 by selecting "stay neutral" or "declare war".

"The effect of war upon the United States will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned . . . The United States must be neutral in fact, as well as in name, during these days that are to try men's souls." —President Woodrow Wilson, August 19, 1914

• stay neutral

• declare war

Multiple Choice

Read the quote from President Woodrow Wilson. Identify his position toward World War I in 1917 by writing "stay neutral" or "declare war".

"We are glad . . . to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples . . . The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty." —President Woodrow Wilson, April 2, 1917

• stay neutral

• declare war

Multiple Choice

Which of the following values most likely informed Woodrow Wilson's decision to remain neutral in World War I?

• Dollar Diplomacy

• self-determination

• Big Stick Diplomacy

• promoting democracy

Multiple Select

Using the map, which of the following countries were part of the "Allied Powers"?

• France

• Germany

• Russia

• Spain

• United Kingdom

Multiple Select

Using the map, which of the following countries were part of the "Central Powers"?

• Italy

• Germany

• Russia

• Austro-Hungarian Empire

• Ottoman Empire

Open Ended

Why did President Wilson's decision to stay out of World War I in 1914 please many Americans?

Multiple Select

Why did the United States want to say neutral during the war? (choose 3)

• They wanted to follow Washington's advice and avoid entangling alliances.

• American Businesses could benefit by lending to both sides.

• Pacifists didn't want to enter the war.

• Germany was clearly going to win the war.

Multiple Choice

Using the graph, which alliance did the U.S. export more supplies to from 1914-1916?

• Allied Powers

• Central Powers

Open Ended

How did the attack on the Lusitania bring the United States closer to declaring war in 1915?

Dropdown

Although the United States tried to remain ​

Select answer

, as the war went on, tensions increased. ​

Select answer

began a policy of ​

Select answer

that angered Americans. After a ​

Select answer

sank the Lusitania, Germany entered into the ​

Select answer

, saying they would spare civilian lives on ships. Though the United States tried to stay neutral, Roosevelt believed that the country should prepare for war by increasing the size of their army. un

Multiple Select

Which of the following were factors that pushed the United States into World War I?

• Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare.

• The Zimmerman Note made Americans angry at Germans.

• Germany did not respond to the United States efforts to make peace.

• Russia had entered the war and Americans wanted to fight against them.

Match

Drag and drop the following events into chronological order.

• The British ship Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat

• Germany reinstates unrestricted submarine warfare

• The U.K. intercepts the Zimmerman note

• A revolution in Russia unseats Czar Nicholas II

• The U.S. House of Representatives votes to declare war on Germany

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

• 1st

• 2nd

• 3rd

• 4th

• 5th

Match

Drag each term to its correct definition.

• the World War I coalition, headed by Germany and Austria-Hungary and later including the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, that opposed the Allied powers

• a German submarine that was the first submarine employed in warfare, initially used during World War I

• an unarmed British ocean liner whose sinking by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, influenced the U.S. decision to enter World War I

• the World War I coalition, headed by France, Britain, and Russia and later including Portugal, Japan, and Italy, that opposed the Central powers

Central Powers

U-boat

Lusitania

Allied Powers

• Central Powers

• U-boat

• Lusitania

• Allied Powers

Match

Drag each term to its correct definition.

• during World War I, a German military policy of staging submarine attacks on Allied and neutral nations' unarmed ocean liners without advance warning

• during World War I, a German promise in 1916 to begin giving advance warning of submarine attacks on ocean liners and to spare the lives of passengers and crew

• beginning in 1915, before U.S. entry into World War I, a movement led by former president Theodore Roosevelt that called on the government to increase U.S. military strength and convince Americans of the need for U.S. involvement in the war

• during World War I, a coded telegram that German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann sent to the German minister in Mexico proposing that if the United States entered the war, Mexico and Germany should become allies; it helped influence the United States to declare war on Germany five weeks later

unrestricted submarine warfare

Sussex pledge

preparedness movement

Zimmerman note

• unrestricted submarine warfare

• Sussex pledge

• preparedness movement

• Zimmerman note

Open Ended

Was it in the national interest of the United States to stay neutral or declare war in 1917? Use evidence from the lesson to support your answer.