Given the changing nature of the Internet, you may wish to preview these sites. Always check for updated links to U.S. history sites.

Allow three class periods on a 45-minute traditional bell schedule or one session on a 90-minute block schedule. The focus should be on the political and diplomatic maneuvering and not on the battles.

The AP* exam will not ask questions about the battles of World War I (or any war). Both the multiple-choice questions and the essay prompts will ask students to analyze the political/philosophical ideas or differences of the people involved, the causes of events, and the importance of decisions. Help students dissect cause and effect like a journalist. Have them answer these questions about The Great War: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Students should be aware of the continuity of U.S. foreign policy before and after 1900. This chapter places Wilson's interventionist actions in Central America within this pattern. The nation's entrance into World War I was a continuation of its policy of using power, and at times military force, to protect its overseas economic interests. Remind students of both "gunboat diplomacy" and "dollar diplomacy." They should contrast Wilson's "moral diplomacy" with his predecessors and note that at times Wilson betrayed his principles.

The authors of the text point out that although progressives feared that the war would end all reform efforts, in reality it was the high point of the progressive movement. On the negative side, the war resulted in both the suppression of civil rights for those who opposed the war and in antiforeign crusades.

Have students list on the board the various themes in this chapter: racial discrimination in the armed forces, intervention in Mexico, intervention in Central America, problems with neutrality, foreign entanglements, mobilization for war, and so on. Then have students draw on their knowledge of U.S. history—pre- and post-World War I—to match similar themes or ideas from another period in U.S. history to the time of the Great War. You might divide the class into teams and run the activity as a "quiz bowl."

You might also find these additional readings useful in developing students' background knowledge or for DBQ activities: