In 1914, the nations of Europe began the conflict which would become known as the Great War and later as World War I. With the war, the United Kingdom became more of a market for American goods. While the United States stayed out of the war initially, it shipped great amounts of war materials to Germany’s enemies. In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the British liner Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 124 Americans (some sources indicate 128 Americans). The United States called the sinking of this British ship a monstrous German atrocity. In his book The People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn reports:
“Actually, the Lusitania was heavily armed: it carried 1,248 cases of 3-inch shells, 4,927 box of cartridges (1,000 round in each box), and 2,000 more cases of small-arms ammunition. Her manifests were falsified to hide this fact, and the British and American governments lied about the cargo.”
Following the sinking of the Lusitania, the Germans restricted their submarine warfare. Then, in 1917, Germany began attacking unarmed cargo ships, including American ships. Then came the Zimmerman Note in which German officials attempted to persuade Mexico to enter the war on Germany’s side. For the Americans, this was the final straw.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called for the United States to enter what he called “the war to end all wars” and “to make the world safe for democracy.” The military estimated that a million men would be needed for the war and in the first six weeks following the declaration of war only 73,000 men volunteered. In response, Congress implemented a draft and 2.8 million men were called to service.
The war ended on November 11, 1918. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war.
The Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, Washington is dedicated to all the men and women who have honorably served our nation in the Armed Forces, during peacetime and war. Several displays feature veterans from World War I (1914-1918), the war which was supposed to be the War to End All Wars.
Trench Art
World War I involved trench warfare. While in the trenches, some soldiers created interesting art work using the materials available to them, such as shell casings.