World War I

In 1917 the United States army had less than 200,000 men. The army had only 1500 machine guns and no heavy cannons.

One of the first thing Wilson did was to declare a draft for all men between 18 and 30 years of age. Congrss thought this was fair.

In June 1917 ten million men signed up for the draft. By October more than three million men were in uniform. American industry began producing thousands of rifles. American soldiers called Doughboys arrived in France. They were called Doughboys because their steel helments looked like pie plates. The sang songs like Over There, and Pack Up Your Trouble in an Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile.

Women took the men's places in factories making war goods. People helped by using less and doing without. Slogans such as Wheatless Wednesdays and Meatless Mondays were heard through the United States.

An American admiral developed a plan to protect troop ships by using a convoy. This is a group of  unarmed transport shipsall travel together guarded by fast warships.

The U.S. helped the armies of France and England win. By the Fall of 1918 Germany's partners in war had given up. Germany had to fight alone. Russia left the war in 1917 when the Russian Revolution began. On November 11, 1918 an agreement was signed called armistice. This meant the fighting would stop.