Chapter 21: America and the Great War, 1914–1920
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Describe the outbreak of the Great War and the distinctive nature of the fighting on the
TRUE/FALSE
1. The Great War lasted less than two years and saw about 1 million deaths.
2. Weapons of the Great War included machine guns, armored tanks, flame throwers, and land
mines.
3. Some immigrant groups in the United States, such as Irish Americans and German
Americans, leaned toward the Central Powers in the European war.
4. Because of their belief in “freedom of the seas,” the British allowed Americans to trade with
Germany.
5. Under Wilson’s presidency, the “preparedness” movement was popular with progressives
because it benefited wealthy businesses involved in manufacturing weapons.
6. The Revenue Act of 1916 provided for the expansion of the U.S. army.
7. In the presidential election of 1916, Republicans used the slogan “He kept us out of war” to
discredit Wilson.
8. The Zimmermann telegram, sent to the Mexican government from the White House, was
intercepted by the Germans.
9. In 1917, the sinking of U.S. vessels by German submarines in the North Atlantic directly
led to Wilson’s call for a formal declaration of war.
10. Mobilizing the nation for war led to a massive expansion of the federal government.
11. Women in “war work” were usually able to keep their jobs after the war.
12. The Great Migration was a result of the lack of industrial jobs for African Americans in the
North.
13. During World War I, popular prejudice in America associated anything German with
disloyalty.
14. The European leaders of the “Big Four” during the peace negotiations applauded Wilson’s
realism.
15. Henry Cabot Lodge led the Senate Republicans, who demanded amendments to the Treaty
of Versailles.
16. Labor strikes became more common after the war was over.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following statements regarding President Wilson in the years leading up to the
Great War is accurate?
a. Wilson was the least educated president at the time and shied away from public
appearances.
b. Wilson thought it essential for the United States to be the first country to declare war.
c. Wilson was a moralist and supporter of democracy who hoped to impose his standards
on other nations.
d. Wilson had a great deal of international relations experience when he was elected.
e. Wilson focused on foreign affairs in his inaugural address.
2. What was the immediate cause of the outbreak of the Great War?
a. The sinking of the Lusitania
b. The Zimmerman telegram
c. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
d. The invasion of Italy by Germany
e. The sinking of the Sussex
3. During the Great War, which of the following countries made up the Central Powers?
a. The United States, France, and England
b. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey (the Ottoman Empire)
c. England, France, and Germany
d. Germany, Italy, and Russia
e. The United States, England, and Russia
4. During the Great War, which of the following countries made up the Allied Powers?
a. France, the United States, and England
b. Italy, France, and Austria-Hungary
c. France, Great Britain, and Italy
d. France, Great Britain, and Russia
e. Italy, the United States, and Great Britain
5. Which of the following statements was true of the Great War?
a. The war was unique in the amount of hand-to-hand or short-range combat.
b. The Great War came last in a series of wars considered “industrial wars.”
c. Weapons such as machine guns and submarines were rare at this time and did not
increase the war’s destruction.
d. Mechanized weaponry made the mass killing and destruction of the war possible.
e. Although many buildings were destroyed, the number of people killed was only in the
thousands.
6. Trench warfare was
a. the best method available to fight the war.
b. a method that rewarded the side who lasted the longest.
c. a method generals turned to to boost the morale of their troops.
d. a method that relied on a great deal of tactical movement on the front lines.
e. a method that illustrated the “glory” and “glamour” of the war.
7. The British vessel the Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat in __________; the United States
entered the Great War officially in __________.
a. 1910; 1912
b. 1914; 1914
c. 1914; 1924
d. 1915; 1917
e. 1917; 1924
8. What was the purpose of the Sussex Pledge?
a. Finalizing the Treaty of Versailles
b. Boosting the German economy
c. Placing limits on submarine warfare
d. Increasing the number of U-boats
e. Increasing the number of immigrants to the United States
9. Wilson’s platform in running for reelection in 1916 included
a. a cut in social welfare programs.
b. his refusal to militarily prepare for the war.
c. his dismissal of isolationism as now outdated.
d. the discontinuation of trade with all war combatants.
e. his cutting back loans to the Allies.
10. Early in the war, Germany believed that the United States
a. lacked instruments of modern warfare.
b. could defeat them militarily.
c. would never enter the war despite the sinking of American ships in the Atlantic.
d. would negotiate a fair and peaceful end to the war.
e. planned to align with them rather than with France and Great Britain.
11. In the Zimmerman telegram, __________ urged __________ to invade the United States.
a. Germany; Mexico
b. Great Britain; France
c. Germany; Russia
d. Germany; Canada
e. Italy; Japan
12. Which of the following statements regarding the War Industries Board is correct?
a. It was headed by Herbert Hoover.
b. It was forbidden from allocating raw materials.
c. It resulted in the federal government having less authority.
d. It had the power to order the construction of new factories.
e. Compared with other mobilization agencies, it was largely ineffective.
13. The stated purpose of the Food Administration during the Great War was to
a. set up food banks for Americans.
b. reduce American agricultural production.
c. reduce civilian food consumption.
d. provide food for the poor and unemployed.
e. collect food donations to be sent to soldiers in Europe.
14. During the Great War, why was the sale of Liberty bonds significant?
a. It allowed those who opposed the war to direct their funds toward unrelated economic
endeavors.
b. It guaranteed a fixed rate of return to fund the war, with purchasers commonly viewed
as patriotic.
c. It directly led to a change in the type of currency used in the United States, with the
introduction of greenbacks.
d. It was a type of transaction that only involved individual Americans, rather than banks
and investment houses.
e. It allowed the government to lower taxes as they prepared for war and led to decreased
federal involvement in industry.
15. What was the Wilson administration’s stance on the role of women as the war grew in
scope?
a. It encouraged women to have more children.
b. It encouraged women to enlist.
c. It encouraged women to marry only veterans.
d. It recruited women to take on jobs previously held by mainly men.
e. It restricted women to traditional endeavors, such as running fundraising drives.
16. The “Great Migration” refers to
a. women moving to the cities to take the jobs vacated by men off to war.
b. the American Expeditionary Force traveling to Europe to fight.
c. Mexican Americans leaving farm labor for industrial jobs in southwestern cities.
d. African Americans moving from the South to the North during the war.
e. the massive influx of immigrants before the war who became part of the war effort.
17. During the Great War, African American men fought
a. in racially segregated units.
b. alongside whites.
c. in African American units with African American officers.
d. only in Russia.
e. only in the navy, not the army.
18. As a result of the economic expansion during the Great War, __________ moved to
__________ in cities like Los Angeles and Houston.
a. Latinos; ghettos
b. African Americans; ghettos
c. Chinese; Chinatowns
d. Latinos; barrios
e. Irish; ghettos
19. Which of the following statements accurately describes changes in the lives of Mexican
Americans during World War I?
a. Unlike African Americans, Mexican Americans were protected from racial
discrimination in the military.
b. Mexican Americans experienced less opportunities to improve their status during the
war than they had before the war.
c. The war allowed many Mexican farmworkers to find better jobs in industrial centers.
d. The war’s impact on the U.S. economy caused the number of Mexican immigrants to
decrease.
e. Mexican Americans were forbidden from joining the U.S. military and working in
military supply units.
20. During the Great War, the Espionage and Sedition Acts
a. stifled free speech by forbidding public criticism of politicians and war policies.
b. only affected Americans who had been in the United States a long time, not immigrants.
c. resulted in the conviction of primarily people who served as spies.
d. were largely a formality, with infractions not resulting in any punishments.
e. doubled the income tax rate from 1 to 2 percent.
21. Who was the last tsar to rule in Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution?
a. Peter I
b. Vladimir Lenin
c. Peter II
d. Nicholas II
e. Alexander II