Deck 20: The Great War: World War I, 1914-1918

Question 1

In what way does the cartoon Lincoln's Birthday compare Woodrow Wilson to Abraham Lincoln?

A) They were both anti-segregationists who tried to better the lives of African Americans.
B) They both had to make difficult decisions about whether to lead the nation into war.
C) They both suffered personal tragedies in office, including the loss of one wife and one child.
D) They both died in office shortly after each of their respective wars ended.

Answer 1

They both had to make difficult decisions about whether to lead the nation into war.

Question 2

How was Germany mainly planning on carrying out the destruction of ships belonging to Britain and its allies that was referenced in this published warning to the public?

A) by naval blockade
B) by mining the North Sea
C) through modern steel-constructed battleships
D) through U-boats

Answer 2

through U-boats

Question 3

According to this map, what developed as a result of a German miscalculation of its war plan, which was also known as the Schlieffen Plan?

A) the sinking of the Lusitania
B) facing a two-front war in both Eastern and Western Europe
C) the unexpected entry of the United States into World War I
D) British mining of the North Sea

Answer 3

facing a two-front war in both Eastern and Western Europe

Question 4

Which slogan on this vehicle used for President Wilson's 1916 reelection campaign reveals that the president had not entirely ruled out war?

A) "Who Keeps Us Out of War?"
B) "Peace with Honor"
C) "Prosperity"
D) "Preparedness"

Question 5

Based on her voting record regarding entry into World Wars I and II, Republican congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, the first female member of Congress, could best be described as a(n) .

A) pacifist
B) warmonger
C) alarmist
D) traitor

Question 6

How did the federal government ensure the smooth transport of war-related freight during the war?

A) by replacing all railroad workers with federal employees
B) by disallowing railroad unions from making demands
C) by providing additional labor to maintain railway lines
D) by taking over management of the railroads

Question 7

How did President Wilson define American neutrality after the sinking of the Lusitania?

A) remaining "impartial in thought as well as action"
B) giving neutral nations the indisputable right to trade and travel wherever they liked
C) a decision of choosing to trade only with the Allied Powers
D) a way of ensuring that the Allies won and then helping them repay their wartime loans to American banks

Question 8

Before declaring war on Germany in 1917, the United States was dealing with a serious foreign policy crisis in _ that almost led to a formally declared war with that nation.

A) Russia
B) Mexico
C) Canada
D) Cuba

Question 9

What groups were most likely to oppose American trade with the Allied nations during World War I?

A) German Americans and Irish Americans
B) The upper-class American elites
C) anti-Communists and anti-Bolsheviks
D) Eastern bankers and entrepreneurs

Question 10

Under the Arabic Pledge, Germany promised to .

A) support Austria-Hungary if they declared war on Serbia
B) not violate Belgian neutrality when invading France
C) not sink passenger ships without warning
D) not sink merchant ships without warning

Question 11

What was the purpose of the Zimmermann Telegram?

A) Germany tried to entice Japan to attack American possessions in the Pacific Ocean.
B) Germany assured Austria-Hungary unlimited financial and military support if it went to war with Russia.
C) Germany promised Mexico assistance in recovering territory lost to the United States in exchange for starting a border war.
D) Germany pledged to stop attacking Allied passenger ships without prior warning.

Question 12

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk .

A) ended the civil war in Russia
B) was applauded by Britain and the United States
C) granted substantial territory in central Europe to Russia
D) took Russia out of World War I

Question 13

Which nation did Austria-Hungary hold responsible for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

A) Germany
B) Serbia
C) France
D) Russia

Question 14

The War Industries Board was established to .

A) coordinate military production
B) oversee agriculture during the war
C) allocate scarce materials to American industries
D) determine the criteria for drafting soldiers

Question 15

Who directed the Food Administration that was in charge of producing enough food to feed civilians, soldiers, and overseas refugees during the war?

A) George Creel
B) Carrie Chapman Catt
C) Herbert Hoover
D) John J. Pershing

Question 16

The sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania in 1915 led to this first American war-era propaganda poster by artist Fred Spear and was mainly designed to .

A) arouse outrage against Germany
B) honor those who died aboard the Lusitania
C) condemn Britain for faulty ship construction
D) encourage Americans to remain neutral in the current European war

Question 17

The purpose of the National Security League was to .

A) prepare American soldiers for war through universal military training
B) denounce preparations for war against the Central Powers
C) secure pledges from Germany that respected America's right to trade with the Allies
D) assist President Wilson in planning for "peace without victory"

Question 18

What does this chart of U.S. exports to Europe during the time the United States was neutral in the early years of World War I reveal about American sentiments in this war?

A) American exports to Britain and France decreased as these two countries entered the war against Germany.
B) American exports to Germany continued to increase as Germany won significant victories.
C) American manufacturers and banks chose to primarily help the Allies.
D) American entrepreneurs helped both the Allies and Central Powers equally.

Question 19

What can be inferred about Germany's role in World War I from this timeline?

A) Germany focused its war efforts on the Eastern Front in Russia.
B) Germany and Russia were allied against Austria-Hungary in this conflict.
C) Germany wanted to fulfill longstanding territorial ambitions in the Balkans.
D) Germany hoped to be the dominant power in Europe.

Question 20

Under the war goals that President Wilson outlined in his Fourteen Points, international crises would be handled by .

A) the United States and the Allied Powers
B) a league of nations established at the end of the war
C) individual nations involved in each specific conflict
D) a combination of nations from the former Allied and Central Powers

Question 21

What is the underlying view of democracy expressed by the militant suffragists in this image?

A) In a true democracy, the right to vote is extended to all.
B) Capitalism and democracy cannot truly co-exist.
C) Waging war is not the proper way to defend democracy.
D) Democracies can be allies only with other democracies.

Question 22

During World War I, enlisted African Americans were in segregated units and mostly worked .

A) in medical units
B) as laborers
C) in training camps
D) in communications

Question 23

The primary focus of the Committee on Public Information was .

A) serving as the government's pro-war propaganda machine
B) operating as the military's means of communicating with the public
C) regulating the flow of intelligence through the military and government
D) informing the public about corruption in the war industries

Question 24

By examining this chart, what conclusion can be made about American participation in World War I when compared to its participation in other wars in the past 150 years?

A) More soldiers died in World War I than in World War II.
B) More soldiers died in battle during the Korean War than in World War I.
C) It took longer to fight World War I than the Vietnam War.
D) World War I was the shortest war in the twentieth century but the second deadliest.

Question 25

When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., declared that the Court had established a "clear and present danger" that limited the right of free speech during wartime, he and the Court were upholding the constitutionality of the .

A) Sedition Act
B) Nineteenth Amendment
C) Lever Food and Fuel Act
D) Espionage Act

Question 26

Why did President Wilson decide to implement conscription immediately following the declaration of war in 1917?

A) The draft gave the government more power to decide who should work and who should fight.
B) The draft enabled the government to recognize the rights of religious conscientious objectors.
C) Wilson believed that a military comprised solely of volunteers was a threat to American liberty.
D) Wilson wanted to prevent possibly seditious German Americans from enlisting.

Question 27

Why was the lethal strain of influenza that killed over 30 million people worldwide during the pandemic of 1918-1919 called Spanish Influenza?

A) The virus originated as a mutated version of avian flu in Spain.
B) The outbreak of this disease was first reported by a Spanish newspaper.
C) Spanish travelers and immigrants coming to the United States introduced it to urban areas.
D) The pandemic had its origins in Spain's former Caribbean colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Question 28

Which is the best inference that can be made from intelligence tests such as those pictured here that were given to soldiers in training camps during World War I?

A) Most American soldiers were not very intelligent.
B) The military hoped to exclude non-English speakers from leadership.
C) Methods of testing intelligence were crude at best.
D) Psychologists hoped to use such tests to sort citizens throughout society.

Question 29

What does this three-dimensional image of a trench imply about warfare during World War I?

A) Most of the daytime combat took place in No-Man's Land rather than in the trenches.
B) Trenches were generally sanitary and free of rats and lice.
C) Soldiers were able to advance in quick offensive paces that resulted in large territorial gains.
D) Trenches were intricate defense systems that both protected soldiers and added to their misery.

Question 30

A riot that killed 48 people in East St. Louis, Illinois was one of many that revealed tensions between .

A) union and non-union workers
B) native-born workers and immigrants
C) white workers and black migrants
D) labor leaders and the rank and file

Question 31

What was the purpose of these cards issued by the Urban League?

A) helping African Americans migrating from the South adapt to urban Northern life
B) assisting immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe assimilate into American society
C) ensuring that railway strikers find new job opportunities in urban areas
D) aiding soldiers returning from World War I in readjusting to American society

Question 32

The Sedition Act differed from the Espionage Act in that it .

A) led to the arrest and punishment of U.S. citizens
B) restricted civil liberties during the war
C) targeted anyone who spoke against the government
D) targeted German Americans and immigrants

Question 33

The government funded the war effort primarily by .

A) borrowing heavily from Britain
B) raising taxes
C) selling war bonds
D) eliciting contributions from the wealthy

Question 34

After German American farmer John Meints from Luverne, Minnesota, was beaten, tarred, and feathered by a group of his neighbors in 1918 for not buying war bonds, Meints used these photographs to .

A) inform Germany of how German Americans were being treated in America
B) complain to Congress and President Wilson about violence toward German Americans
C) shock Americans about the mistreatment of innocent German Americans
D) successfully sue the members of the mob who attacked him

Question 35

Why were the methods of curbing the extent of Spanish Influenza that are depicted in these two images unsuccessful in stopping this illness from spreading?

A) Spanish Influenza was an air-borne virus that was not spread by droplets and could also penetrate masks.
B) The influenza virus was spread through flea bites that penetrated the blood system.
C) Spanish Influenza was more prominent among children and the elderly and not in working- class adults.
D) Spraying areas with topical disinfectants was more successful than the methods shown in these images.

Question 36

What did National American Woman Suffrage Association president Carrie Chapman Catt mean when she said that "it is a risk, a danger for a country like ours to send 1,000,000 men out of the country who are loyal and not replace those men by the loyal votes of the women they have left home"?

A) Women were entitled to take over factory jobs vacated by departing soldiers.
B) Woman's suffrage could cancel out the votes of disloyal German Americans.
C) Voting women would ensure that President Wilson would keep his word about spreading democracy to all Americans.
D) American women should be thanked for their war efforts by giving them the vote.

Question 37

Most conscientious objectors who were drafted during World War I .

A) fled the country to Canada
B) were jailed under the provisions of the Sedition Act
C) eventually decided to fight
D) served on the home front performing jobs in manufacturing and farming

Question 38

What does this poster created by the Food Administration represent about the American war effort?

A) It involved the first use of propaganda by the government.
B) It showed the lack of unity in supporting the war because Americans refused to conserve food.
C) It led to strong vocal discontent from Americans who resented being told what to do by the government.
D) It demanded total mobilization of American society.

Question 39

In both of these pro-war propaganda posters, women are used to represent .

A) the suffering of the Allies
B) innocence victimized
C) the fallen state of Germany
D) hope for the future

Question 40

The leader of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe was .

A) George Creel
B) Alvin York
C) John J. Pershing
D) Herbert Hoover

Question 41

When he said of the Versailles Peace Treaty that "this isn't a peace, it's a twenty year truce," Supreme Commander of Allied Armies Marshal Ferdinand Foch meant that .

A) the treaty required too much from the United States
B) the demands placed on Germany would lead to a future war
C) the Americans did not get what they wanted from the treaty
D) Germany did not face a harsh enough punishment

Question 42

The White House reacted to President Wilson's stroke by .

A) continuing with business as usual
B) issuing a call for prayer meetings
C) keeping it a secret
D) having his wife serve as a shadow president

Question 43

How did President Wilson unsuccessfully gamble away his visions for peace in Europe after World War I?

A) He intentionally did not invite any Republicans to join him at the Paris Peace Conference.
B) He opposed the self-determination of Eastern Europeans who had once been part of Germany, Austria-Hungary, or Russia.
C) He believed the Senate would ratify the Treaty of Versailles even if it contained a covenant to establish the League of Nations.
D) He refused to yield on France's desires to permanently disable Germany's economy and military.

Question 44

How does the portrayal of Woodrow Wilson's leadership differ in these two cartoons?

A) In one, he works with the Senate; in the other, he works against it.
B) In one, he is confident; in the other, he is desperate.
C) In one, he is a skilled negotiator; in the other, he is a fleeing coward.
D) In one, he is untrustworthy; in the other, he is strong.

Question 45

What irony is revealed in this map showing Europe and the Middle East after World War I?

A) Germany lost more territory than Austria-Hungary, which initially was the first country to declare war in 1914.
B) Wilson's demand for freedom on the high seas did not come true due to continued German naval attacks.
C) Wilson's proposal for self-determination came true in Eastern Europe, but the mandates in the Middle East led to European imperialism.
D) Serbia, which wanted independence at the start of the war, was instead absorbed by Yugoslavia.

Question 46

What actions did the U.S. Senate take regarding a peace settlement to end World War I?

A) It ratified the original Treaty of Versailles that included membership in the League of Nations.
B) It ratified separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary in 1921.
C) It ratified Senator Lodge's proposed treaty that included the 14 reservations.
D) It joined the League of Nations without ratifying any treaty with the former Central Powers.

Question 47

What weakened President Wilson's negotiating position at the Paris Peace Conference?

A) his decision to negotiate himself rather than through representatives
B) the loss of Democratic control of Congress
C) his insistence on establishing a League of Nations
D) his eagerness to forgive the Germans

Question 48

According to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge's statement "…there is a wide difference between taking a suitable part and bearing a due responsibility in world affairs and plunging the United States into every controversy and conflict on the face of the globe," the most contentious part of Article X of the League of Nations covenant was that it .

A) stated that member nations would protect other members
B) would override the authority of Congress to declare war
C) required member nations to engage in wars as advised by the Council
D) would involve the United States in all global military conflicts

Question 49

President Wilson's primary opponent on the matter of the League of Nations was
)

A) British Prime Minster David Lloyd George
B) Allied Army Marshall Ferdinand Foch
C) Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin
D) Senator Henry Cabot Lodge

Question 50

What was the key message about World War I that artist John Steuart Curry conveyed to the public in his 1938 painting Parade to War, Allegory?

A) The U.S. military was an honorable profession and encouraged young boys to consider future enlistment.
B) Women played a key role on the home front and were recognized with the right to vote.
C) Americans remained highly patriotic after World War I and honored their veterans with respect.
D) U.S. participation in World War I had been a mistake due to the high numbers of lost and ruined lives.