Homework and STUDY GUIDE for week of March 16

American Military History Homework for Week of March 16


Ongoing homework - read book and submit 30 page summaries - if you do not have a book currently, GET ONE or ASK for ONE - you MUST submit your summaries (each week) to me in class as part of your homework below - if I receive no summary, you will receive a zero for the week.

Prepare for and conduct your veteran’s interview when ready - your video or audio recorded interview is due NO LATER than April 20 (changed from April 13) BE WELL PREPARED before conducting the interview and submit a written copy of the interview for extra credit (this can be done in a question/answer summary of the interview or the veteran may provide you with a written statement of his/her own thoughts and remembrances.


The homework listed below is to be turned in next week (March 23) in class - if homework is late, e-mail it to me NO LATER THAN Wednesday March 25 - homework will not be accepted after then and you will receive a zero. Homework turned in one day late will receive 5 point deduction, two days late a 10 point deduction. Visit http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/w2frm.htm. This site has over 40 articles about World War II - all are excellent - you may choose ANY 10 articles to read and write a brief summary about (this comes out to 2 per day Mon through Friday, but do them any way you wish)- about a ½ page in length per summary is fine. HW is to be turned in next Monday March 23 in class. HW emailed to me one day late will receive 5 points off, two days late 10 points off - no HW will be accepted beyond two days late! You may do as many extra articles as you want for extra credit.

Next Quiz - Monday March 23 - the quiz will cover the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War and World War I material - I will provide a study guide on March 16

ANY QUESTIONS? - contact me at rust5532@hotmail.com


Study Guide for March 23 Quiz


Indian Wars after the Civil Wars lasted from roughly 1870-1890

After the Civil War, the United States Army had shrunk to about 14,ooo soldiers west of the Mississippi River - over 270,000 Indians of various tribes lived west of that river

The Indians used an ambush, attack, and guerilla type warfare - the US army had to adapt to that style of fighting.

Conflict began as Americans continued to move westward for land, wealth, and opportunity. The building of the first transcontinental railroad, finished in 1869, helped encourage westward expansion

The Indian Wars consisted of three main battle campaigns. The first, against the Sioux Indians of the Black Hills of the Dakotas and Wyoming, involved fighting against three main Indian chiefs - Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse. Gold was discovered in the hills and American officials attempted to purchase the land and relocate the Indians, who refused and fought for the land. The Sioux were finally subdued by the early 1890's by American forces under the command of Col. Nelson Miles. Sitting Bull was killed.

Miles fought in all three major Indian campaigns and was perhaps the most successful Indian fighter of his time. One not so successful was George Armstrong Custer, or "Yellow Hair" as the Indians called him for his long locks. Custer commanded the U.S. 7th Cavalry and his force of about 650 troopers met several thousand Indian warriors at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Custer was unaware of the Indian strength and attempted to attack the enemy by surprise across the river after dividing his forces into 3 equal forces. The Indians were aware of the attack and attacked first, killing all of Custer's 250 man battalion.

The second major campaign was against the Nez Perce Indians under Chief Joseph. American forces pursued the Nez Perce, who attempted to escape into Canada. After a 1,500 mile pursuit, the Indians were captured and Chief Joseph surrendered, saying, "I am tired, my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

The last major campaign was against the Apaches of the American Southwest under leaders such as Cochise and Geronimo. Geronimo, a great Indian fighter, fought for over 20 years against great odds - he was eventually captured by over 8,500 American troopers under Col. Miles. Geronimo converted to Christianity, became a farmer and a Republican, supporting Teddy Roosevelt for president!!


Spanish-American War

Cuba rebelled against Spanish rule in 1895

The U.S. sent the USS Maine, a warship to Havana harbor to observe the situation

On Feb 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank, killing 266 American sailors. The cause is still disputed - some say the Spanish blew it up with a mine or torpedo, some believe a boiler exploded. American forces prepared for war - a 9 ship US Navy fleet under the command of Commodore George Herman Dewey blockaded 40 Spanish ships in manila Bay in the Philippines.

The US Congress recognized Cuban independence 0n April 19, 1898 and Spain cut off all relations with the US. On April 25, 1898, the US Congress declared war on Spain.

The US fleet won the battle of Mainla Bay due to superior firepower - American ships fired and destoyed the Spanish fleet while staying out of range of the Spanish guns. The battle on May 1, 1898 was over by lunch time - Us casualties were 6 wounded and 0 killed - this battle marked the birth of the modern US Navy and American Naval power. Dewey became a national hero and was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral ( as a side story,
my grandfather was born in 1898 and named George Herman in honor of this naval hero!)

Back in Cuba, the American Army and Marines landed at Guantanimo Bay and marched toward the town of Santiago. To take the town, two large hills had to be taked, Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill. To get to the town and hills, American forces had to go through jungles and take paths that were crisscrossed with enemy rifle and machine gun fire. US forces made it to the base of the hills, then attacked the heights on June 30/July 1, 1898 led by the US 1st Volunteer cavalry, "The Rough Riders," whose second in command was Lt. Col. Thoedore Roosevelt. The Americans, wearing uniforms made by Abercrombie and Fitch (true!!), charged the hills and took them in fierce, sometimes hand to hand combat. Roosevelt led the charge on his horse, Little Texas, totally exposed to enemy fire. When Little Texas went down wounded, Roosevelt continueed on foot and leaped into the Spanish trenches, firing away with a pistol recovered from the sunken Maine. For his actions, Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor, the only U.S. president to be so honored.

At the same time, the US Navy blockaded and forced the Spanish fleet in Santiago harbor to surrender after an escape attempt was blocked and 1,800 Spanish POW's were fished out of the water. On July 3, Rear Admiral William Sampson sent a telegram to President McKinley saying, "We present you the entire Spanish fleet as a 4th of July present."

Spain officially surrendered on July 17, 1898 - the war lasted 4 months and the US gained Cuba, Guam, Philippines, and Puerto Rico and the Spanish ceased to be a power in the Western Hemisphere.

Cuba was granted independence and remained so until the Communist takeover in the late 1950's. The Philippines were also granted independence but not until 1946 - US forces conducted it's first venture in "nation building" in the Philippines, bringing food, schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, etc... to the islands - many Philippinos resented US rule however and the US had to defeat a rebellion among the native peoples. The war ended by July 1902 - unfortunately atrocities had been commited by both sides - the US continued aid and many Philippinos fought alongside Americans against the Japanese during World War II

US ambassador John Hay (Abraham Lincoln's former secretary!) declared, "It has been a splendid little war."


World War I


The war lasted from 1914-1918 - it began with the assassination of the Austrio-Hungarian empire's heir to the throne, Archduke Ferdinand being executed by a 19 year old Serbian independence fighter. This set off a chain reaction of disputes and declarations of war by the nations and empires in Europe. The Central Powers were led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. The Allied Powers were led by Britian, France, and Russia.

The war was a terrible one - armies used modern weaponry, including the machine gun, artillery, tank, airplane, and gas warfare. The continent was covered in trenches and units fought for yards of ground. The area between the trenches was covered in barbed wire, mines, and fire so that the area was known as "No Man's Land."

The US did not enter the war until April, 1917. The war was turning in the favor ogf the Central Powers - Britian was barely holding on, France's soldiers were leaving the field, Italy had been forced out and Russian forces left the field to return home to deal with a Communist takeover attempt and civil war.

US public opinion was to stay out of the war, even as German U-boats (subs) sank US and British ships and killed many. In April 1915, the British ship Lusitania was sunk with 1,195 being killed, including 124 Americans.

The final push to get the US involves was the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram in March of 1917, a message from German officials to Mexico encouraging the Mexicans to enter the war and attack the mainland US and to convince the Japanese to enter the war and take Hawaii, the Philippines, and perhaps California.

Over 15,000 Americans went to Europe to fight before the US entered the war, but the Zimmerman issue made the Allied cause in Europe America's cause and President Wilson said the "world must be made safe for democracy."

The draft was begun in May 1917 and the US military grew from 200,000 to 3.7 million - almost 2 million Americans went "Over There" led by General John "Black Jack" Pershing. US soldiers entered the war with high morale and very confident of victory!

The Germans launched a spring offensive in the west led by General Erich Ludendorff. Many units could have been pulled from the Russian Eastern front to fight in the West, but the Germans wanted that esatern land - a mistake Hitler would made again in 25 years!!

In March 1918, the British held back a furious German attack. The Germans pulled back and attacked the French 6th Army which gave way - the Germans were stopped by American forces just in time. Told to retreat, one American yelled, "Retreat, we just got here!" US forces stopped the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne and at Belleau Wood. In 20 days, the US marines fought it's largest battle to date. Called "Devil Dogs" by the Germans, the Marines were victorious, but suffered 5,000 casualties, including 1,000 KIA

The US 38th Infantry (an Army unit, not Marine) was given the nickname "The Rock of the Marne" for their holding out despite being surrounded on three sides.

US Marine Sgt. Dan Daly, a two time medal of Honor recipient, was a hero here also, charging German lines and calling to his men, "Come on, Do you want to live forever!"

In three days time, the German offensive was stopped. Never again would they attack. They would retreat through France as the Allies won the Battle of Saint Michiel and the lst German defense line was breached after the great battle of the Meuse-Argonne. The battle lasted for over a month from Sept 16, 1918 to Nov 3, 1918 when Allied forces broke through.

The Germans now requested a negotiated peace. American commanders insisted on unconditional surrender, but the war ended as a negotiated end or armistice was signed on Nov 11, 1918. The war was over.

The Treaty of Versailles later put the blame for the war on Germany and punished that country severely. Many Germans resented this treatment and vowed revenge upon those who had "stabbed Germany in the back." One such bitter German was a brave veteran of the war, Adolf Hitler

Many American veterans who served in World War I would also fight in World War II and lead in that war - they include: George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall and Douglas MacArthur. All would become national heroes