The Leading Facts. 1. This war was so great that it needed the support of every American citizen. 2. People at home had to do without many things needed by the army and by the Allies. 3. Nearly all the great powers of Europe were drawn into the war. 4. Germany, contrary to treaty, invaded Belgium. 5. The German navy was quickly driven from the seas, and Germany was blockaded. 6. The American government remained neutral, but most of its people favored the Allies. 7. Germany sank the Lusitania and other vessels illegally. 8. President Wilson did not lead the nation into war until the people were unitedly in favor of it. 9. When Germany declared that her submarines would obey no law, and the United States entered the war. 10. Congress voted billions of dollars for war. 11. A selective draft raised a great national army. 12. The part of the average man in this war stands out more than that of famous leaders. 13. This was a war of science, and by far the greatest war in history. 14. Pershing was given command of the American army. 15. When Russia withdrew from the war Germany used her extra troops for a final great attack. 16. Foch was put in command of all the Allied armies, and turned the Germans back. 17. The United States sent more than two million men in all overseas. 18. The peace treaty changed many boundary lines. 19. Americans wished to uphold world peace, but in the election of 1920 defeated the League of Nations as it stood.
Study Questions. 1. Name some of the things that were done in American homes to win the war. 2. Why did everyone wish to do his part? 3. Why was the United States so late in entering the war? 4. Make a list of the principal countries that took part in the World War. 5. What was the importance of the invasion of Belgium? 6. Give the story of the war at sea. 7. What disputes occurred between the United States and the different warring countries before 1917? 8. Tell briefly Wilson's life before he became President. 9. How did Germany's treatment of the United States lead to war? 10. How did the United States "mobilize" for war? 11. What means were used to raise a national army? 12. What was done to take care of these millions of men? 13. What did the United States need most at the start? 14. Why was this "a war of science"? 15. What training had Pershing had for his new position? 16. Tell some events of Pershing's boyhood. 17. What was the great danger in 1918? 18. Give a number of reasons why a supreme commander for the Allied armies was needed. 19. What action of General Pershing's reminds you of the boy, John Pershing? Why? 20. Tell about the battle of Château-Thierry; of St. Mihiel; of the Argonne. 21. What events led up to Germany's surrender? 22. Who in your opinion was the real hero of this war? 23. What did the Peace Conference do? 24. Do you think we should enter a world league of nations?
Suggested Readings. Rand McNally's School Atlas of Reconstruction; Perry, Our Navy in the War, 170-175.
WHERE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THEIR CIVILIZATION CAME FROM
INTRODUCTION
First settlers from a built-up Europe
253. Why Boys and Girls Should Know about Europe. In the part of the book just studied, you have become acquainted with men and women who have been great American leaders. Did you ever stop to think that the early settlers in this country, from whom most of our great men sprang, came from countries in Europe already built up? What the settlers gave to this country they got from people who had lived a long time ago. Therefore in many ways their habits and institutions were different from ours now. They had their own ways of living, their own schools, churches, and forms of government.