The United States in World War I, at home and abroad

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a chain of events in date order, a summary in our words: American factories and farms sell munitions and food to Britain and France. Germany, arguing that American supplies aid the Allies, announces unrestricted submarine warfare on January 31, 1917. The Zimmermann Telegram, offering Mexico help to win back lost land, is made public on March 1, 1917. Wilson tells Congress on April 2, 1917 that the aim is a world safe for democracy. Congress declares war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Historians still debate how much each of these mattered. Card B, Woodrow Wilson, war message to Congress, April 2, 1917 (primary source; printed 1918, pp. 284-285), to Congress and the American people, to explain why the United States should go to war: "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion [rule over others]. We seek no indemnities [payments for war losses] for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind." Card C, a summary in our words, written today: On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the British passenger ship Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland. About 1,198 people lost their lives, and 128 of them were Americans, according to the National Park Service; the National Archives rounds the total to 1,200. Wilson protested and asked Germany to protect American lives. Germany said the ship carried war supplies for Britain. Card D, a summary in our words, written today: The United States was neutral from 1914 until 1917. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917; the vote was overwhelming but not unanimous. The armistice that ended the fighting began on November 11, 1918.

2. 1.

   Card B is Wilson's war message of April 2, 1917, made to persuade Congress. Which question can it help answer, Ari asks?

   • Whether the United States kept its promise of no conquest and no payments after 1918
   • What Wilson privately believed about the war, since a president's message to Congress states his honest private views
   • How most Americans felt about entering the war in April 1917, since Wilson spoke for the whole nation
   • What case Wilson made to Congress for war, and the aims he named in it
3. 2.

   Card C is a summary written today of the Lusitania and Wilson's protest. Bo wants Wilson's exact words to Germany. Which step is sound?

   • Rely on card C, since a summary written today is more careful than a note written in 1915
   • Read card B, since Wilson's war message of 1917 repeats his protest to Germany over the ship
   • Find Wilson's protest itself, since card C only reports in modern words that he protested
   • Check the count of 1,198 lives lost, since an exact count settles what Wilson wrote to Germany
4. 3.

   Card C says Germany claimed the Lusitania carried war supplies for Britain, and that Wilson protested. What does card C show about the cargo, Esme asks?

   • That the cargo was war supplies, since Germany said so and the card reports it without disputing it
   • What Germany claimed about the cargo; the card does not say whether the claim was true
   • That the claim is reliable on its own, since a government states plainly why it acted
   • That Wilson rejected the cargo claim, since the card says he protested the sinking to Germany
5. 4.

   Card A lists the submarine announcement, the telegram, Wilson's message and the vote for war in date order. Which claim stays within card A, Jun asks?

   • The events came one after another before the vote, but the card does not rank them as causes
   • The telegram was the last event before Wilson spoke, so it was the deciding event of the chain
   • The vote of April 6 ended American sales to Britain and France, which closes the chain of events
   • Germany's announcement of January 31 started the chain, so it was the cause of the declaration of war
6. 5.

   A student says 'the whole country backed war in April 1917.' Card D calls the vote in Congress overwhelming but not unanimous. What does card D show, Kira asks?

   • A wide majority in Congress voted for war, but that vote does not measure the public
   • Congress voted for war because the public demanded it, since the vote was overwhelming
   • The country was divided, since a vote that is not unanimous shows opposition among the voters
   • The country backed war, since a vote that large in Congress shows what the voters believed

7. Use this

   Cards E to H, all summaries in our words, written today. Card E: In early 1917 the regular army had about 125,000 soldiers, with about 160,000 more in the National Guard. Six weeks after war was declared only 73,000 men had volunteered; Wilson had hoped for 1 million. Congress passed the Selective Service Act, signed May 18, 1917: men aged 21 to 30 had to register. Card F: About 24 million men registered for the draft. About 2.8 million were drafted, and about 4.8 million served in the armed forces in all. About 2 million soldiers were sent to France. Card G: The war cost about $33 billion, while the government's yearly budget was under $1 billion. Treasury Secretary McAdoo planned to pay about a third of the cost with taxes and about two-thirds by borrowing. Card H: Four Liberty Loan drives, from April 1917 to September 1918, raised more than $17 billion, and 20 million people bought bonds. Taxes brought in $8.8 billion. A Victory Liberty Loan in 1919 brought all five issues to over $21.5 billion.

8. 6.

   Card E: 73,000 volunteers in six weeks against a hope of 1 million. Card F: 2.8 million of the 4.8 million who served were drafted. What do both show, Milo asks?

   • Volunteers fell far short of the hope, and most of those who served came through the draft
   • Americans opposed the war, since volunteers fell so far below the hope of 1 million
   • The draft supplied about 12 percent of the force, since 2.8 million is that share of 24 million
   • Volunteering stopped once the draft began, since the draft supplied 2.8 million of the force

9. Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a chain of events in date order, a summary in our words: American factories and farms sell munitions and food to Britain and France. Germany, arguing that American supplies aid the Allies, announces unrestricted submarine warfare on January 31, 1917. The Zimmermann Telegram, offering Mexico help to win back lost land, is made public on March 1, 1917. Wilson tells Congress on April 2, 1917 that the aim is a world safe for democracy. Congress declares war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Historians still debate how much each of these mattered. Card B, Woodrow Wilson, war message to Congress, April 2, 1917 (primary source; printed 1918, pp. 284-285), to Congress and the American people, to explain why the United States should go to war: "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion [rule over others]. We seek no indemnities [payments for war losses] for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind." Card C, a summary in our words, written today: On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the British passenger ship Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland. About 1,198 people lost their lives, and 128 of them were Americans, according to the National Park Service; the National Archives rounds the total to 1,200. Wilson protested and asked Germany to protect American lives. Germany said the ship carried war supplies for Britain. Card D, a summary in our words, written today: The United States was neutral from 1914 until 1917. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917; the vote was overwhelming but not unanimous. The armistice that ended the fighting began on November 11, 1918.

10. 7.

    Cards A and C both involve German submarines, in 1915 and in 1917. Which claim do the two cards support, Noah asks?

    • The Lusitania, with 128 Americans among the lost, was the one reason the country left neutrality
    • Submarine attacks were an issue in 1915 and again in 1917, with the United States neutral between
    • Germany paused its submarine attacks after Wilson protested and began them again in January 1917
    • Germany sank the Lusitania because American supplies reached the Allies, as card C shows

11. Use this

    Cards E to H, all summaries in our words, written today. Card E: In early 1917 the regular army had about 125,000 soldiers, with about 160,000 more in the National Guard. Six weeks after war was declared only 73,000 men had volunteered; Wilson had hoped for 1 million. Congress passed the Selective Service Act, signed May 18, 1917: men aged 21 to 30 had to register. Card F: About 24 million men registered for the draft. About 2.8 million were drafted, and about 4.8 million served in the armed forces in all. About 2 million soldiers were sent to France. Card G: The war cost about $33 billion, while the government's yearly budget was under $1 billion. Treasury Secretary McAdoo planned to pay about a third of the cost with taxes and about two-thirds by borrowing. Card H: Four Liberty Loan drives, from April 1917 to September 1918, raised more than $17 billion, and 20 million people bought bonds. Taxes brought in $8.8 billion. A Victory Liberty Loan in 1919 brought all five issues to over $21.5 billion.

12. 8.

    A student says 'Liberty Loans paid for the war.' Card G: cost about $33 billion. Card H: four drives raised more than $17 billion; taxes $8.8 billion. What do the cards show, Pia asks?

    • Bonds raised less than planned because buyers lost interest after 1917
    • Bonds covered two-thirds of the cost, as planned, since the plan set borrowing at two-thirds
    • The four drives covered about half the cost, so the claim goes beyond the cards
    • The claim holds, since taxes and the four drives together came to nearly the whole cost
13. 9.

    Card F says about 2.8 million of the 4.8 million who served were drafted. A student says the other 2 million volunteered. What does card F let Ren say?

    • About 42 percent were drafted, the share left after taking 2.8 million from the 4.8 million
    • About 58 percent were drafted, so the other 2 million came forward freely as volunteers
    • About 12 percent were drafted, since 2.8 million is that share of the 24 million who registered
    • About 58 percent were drafted; the card does not say how the other 2 million came to serve
14. 10.

    Card F: 24 million men registered. Card H: 20 million people bought bonds. A student says 'so 20 of 24 million registered men bought bonds.' Is that a fair comparison, Tala asks?

    • No: the cards count different groups, so 20 million cannot be read as a share of the 24 million
    • Yes: bond buyers were mostly men who had registered, since the draft touched most households
    • Partly: the gap of 4 million shows how many registered men chose not to buy bonds
    • Yes: 20 million of 24 million is about 83 percent, so most registered men bought bonds