World War I & America's Global Emergence
Aligned to C3.D2.His.4 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
The U.S. stayed neutral when World War I began in 1914, but German submarine attacks and the Zimmermann Telegram drew it into the war in 1917. American troops helped the Allies win, and afterward President Wilson proposed a League of Nations, which the U.S. Senate refused to join.
Worked example
In 1917 British intelligence intercepted the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany secretly urged Mexico to attack the United States in exchange for regaining Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Its publication helped turn American opinion toward war.
Practice questions
- Give two reasons the United States entered World War I.
- Explain what the League of Nations was meant to do.
- Analyze why the Senate might have rejected joining the League despite Wilson's support.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
La Primera Guerra Mundial y el surgimiento global de EE. UU.
Estados Unidos se mantuvo neutral cuando comenzó la Primera Guerra Mundial en 1914, pero los ataques de submarinos alemanes y el Telegrama Zimmermann lo arrastraron a la guerra en 1917. Las tropas estadounidenses ayudaron a los Aliados a ganar, y luego el presidente Wilson propuso una Liga de Naciones, a la que el Senado de EE. UU. se negó a unirse.
Ejemplo: En 1917, la inteligencia británica interceptó el Telegrama Zimmermann, en el que Alemania instaba en secreto a México a atacar a Estados Unidos a cambio de recuperar Texas, Arizona y Nuevo México. Su publicación ayudó a inclinar la opinión estadounidense hacia la guerra.
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