{"id":849,"date":"2017-04-04T01:11:37","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T01:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=849"},"modified":"2026-04-23T01:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T01:10:28","slug":"united-states-in-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/united-states-in-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"United States in World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

World War I<\/a>\u00a0was an important event in history for many different countries, including the United States.\u00a0 While the war was primarily a European conflict, it ultimately became a global war due to the involvement of countries from around the world.\u00a0 For example, the United States joined World War I in 1917 due to submarine<\/a> warfare by Germany<\/a> and the events surrounding the\u00a0Zimmerman Telegram<\/a>.\u00a0 As such, American soldiers were present in many of the major battles of the\u00a0Western Front<\/a>\u00a0in the later years of the war.\u00a0 As well, the United States joined the war effort on the side of the\u00a0Allied Powers<\/a>, which included:\u00a0Britain<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0France<\/a>.\u00a0 American soldiers fought mostly against\u00a0Germany.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UNITED STATES ENTERS WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

World War I<\/a> erupted during the summer of 1914 in an event that historians refer to as the\u00a0July Crisis<\/a>.\u00a0 In short, this crisis was caused by the\u00a0assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a>, which led to the major European powers engaging in a conflict.\u00a0 Most importantly, the alliance systems<\/a> in Europe before World War I played a significant role in the outbreak of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand artwork by Achille Beltrame from an Italian newspaper. It shows Gavrilo Princip killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. (1914)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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With that said, for the early portion of the war, the United States remained largely uninvolved in the mostly European conflict.\u00a0 For instance, from 1914 until 1917 the United States did not participate in any active fighting of World War I<\/a>.\u00a0 Instead, the major battles of the war were waged by the European powers and their colonies in both the\u00a0Western Front<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Eastern Front<\/a>.\u00a0 It should be noted that while the United States did not participate in any active fighting during the early years of World War I, they did actively trade with the Allied Powers<\/a>.\u00a0 In fact, the United States was a major supplier of goods and resources to France<\/a> and Britain<\/a> during the early years of World War I.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When World War I began in 1914,\u00a0Woodrow Wilson<\/a>\u00a0was the President of the United States. The neutrality of the United States in World War I was a major factor of Wilson\u2019s first term as president.\u00a0 In fact, when he ran for re-election in 1916, he campaigned on the idea that he kept the country out of the fighting of World War I.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"United
Woodrow Wilson on the start of World War I. (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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American neutrality in World War I was eventually tested at the start of Wilson\u2019s second term as president.\u00a0 For instance, in response to the British naval blockade of Germany, the German Empire began carrying out submarine warfare<\/a> against ships in the north Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0 For the Germans<\/a> this was important as they hoped to stop supplies from reaching Britain.\u00a0 Unfortunately, German submarines were responsible for the sinking of several ships which had American citizens on them.\u00a0 The most famous example of this was the sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania in May of 1915.\u00a0 In total, the German attack on the Lusitania killed 1,198 people including 128 American citizens.\u00a0 Obviously, this created anger in the United States and forced Wilson to deal with the growing crisis.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1917, the German Empire again began carrying out unrestricted submarine warfare and was one of the main reasons that the United States eventually joined the war effort on the side of the Allied Powers.\u00a0 In fact, in February of 1917, it was discovered that Germany had been in contact with Mexico in hopes of igniting a conflict between Mexico and the United States.\u00a0 This was known as the Zimmerman Telegram<\/a>, and when combined with Germany\u2019s submarine warfare, it pushed\u00a0Wilson to eventually declare war against Germany.\u00a0 As such, historians consider the\u00a0Zimmerman Telegram\u00a0a significant cause of the United States\u2019 entry into World War I.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 2nd, 1917 President Wilson went before Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. According to the President, the actions by the Germans gave them no choice. Two days later, the United States Senate voted in support of the President’s request and the house agreed two days after that.\u00a0 The United States was at war and joined the\u00a0Allied Powers<\/a>\u00a0against the\u00a0Central Powers<\/a>.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American
On April 2nd of 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked the United States Congress to declare war against Germany. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I – ARMY AND RECRUITMENT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following the their entry into World War I, the United States quickly mobilized forces and readied them for battle on the Western Front<\/a> in Europe.\u00a0 In fact, the American forces that participated in World War I were referred to as the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), which was established on July 5th, 1917.\u00a0 The AEF was commanded by General John J. Pershing<\/a>, and fought alongside the other Allied nations of Britain, France, Canada<\/a> and Australia<\/a>.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, the United States had a small force of soldiers, but made use of conscription to bolster their overall fighting force to over 4 million.  More specifically, the United States government passed the Selective Service Act in 1917, which allowed it to conscript American men into military service.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of the American forces to World War I was significant for the Allied Powers.  For instance, by 1917, the British and French armies had been bogged down in the trenches of Northern France for the previous 3 years.  They were suffering from the terrible conditions of the trenches and stuck in a stalemate with the German Army.  As such, the arrival of American forces helped create a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Allied Powers.  For example, it is estimated that by June of 1918, up to 10,000 American soldiers were arriving on the Western Front each day.  As well, the American forces were \u2018fresh\u2019 in that they had not spent the previous 3 years in the trenches.  Therefore, they were not worn down by years of trench warfare.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conscripts for the American Expeditionary Force came from different types of backgrounds.\u00a0 For instance, African Americans were conscripted alongside white Americans.\u00a0 In total, it is estimated that African Americans made up 13 percent of the total conscripts in the American Army.\u00a0 In fact, one of the most distinguished groups of African American soldiers in World War I was referred to as the \u2018Harlem Hellfighters<\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 These soldiers made up the 369th Infantry Regiment, and fought alongside French forces in the trenches of France.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"USA
American soldier bayonet training for World War I. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I – MAJOR BATTLES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) participated in several of the main battles<\/a> of the\u00a0Western Front. \u00a0As well, a small section of the American Expeditionary Force also participated on the Italian Front<\/a> (Alpine Front).\u00a0 In general, the landscape of Europe in World War I was divided into a few different \u2018fronts\u2019.\u00a0 For instance, the Western Front was located on the western-half of Europe and included a line of trenches that stretched throughout much of northern France and Belgium.\u00a0 The Western Front was the primary location of American\u2019s involvement in World War I.\u00a0 The Eastern Front of World War I was on the eastern-half of Europe and between Germany and Russia.
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The major battles of World War I that the United States participated in included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n