declared that her submarines would obey no law, and the United States entered the war. 10. Congress voted billions of dollars for war. 11. A selective draft raised a great national army. 12. The part of the average man in this war stands out more than that of famous leaders. 13. This was a war of science, and by far the greatest war in history. 14. Pershing was given command of the American army. 15. When Russia withdrew from the war Germany used her extra troops for a final great attack. 16. Foch was put in command of all the Allied armies, and turned the Germans back. 17. The United States sent more than two million men in all overseas. 18. The peace treaty changed many boundary lines. 19. Americans wished to uphold world peace, but in the election of 1920 defeated the League of Nations as it stood. Study Questions. 1. Name some of the things that were done in American homes to win the war. 2. Why did everyone wish to do his part? 3. Why was the United States so late in entering the war? 4. Make a list of the principal countries that took part in the World War. 5. What was the importance of the invasion of Belgium? 6. Give the story of the war at sea. 7. What disputes occurred between the United States and the different warring countries before 1917? 8. Tell briefly Wilson's life before he became President. 9. How did Germany's treatment of the United States lead to war? 10. How did the United States “mobilize" for war? II. What means were used to raise a national army? 12. What was done to take care of these millions of men? 13. What did the United States need most at the start? 14. Why was this "a war of science"? 15. What training had Pershing had for his new position? 16. Tell some events of Pershing's boyhood. 17. What was the great danger in 1918? 18. Give a number of reasons why a supreme commander for the Allied armies was needed. 19. What action of General Pershing's reminds you of the boy, John Pershing? Why? 20. Tell about the battle of Château-Thierry; of St. Mihiel; of the Argonne. 21. What events led up to Germany's surrender? 22. Who in your opinion was the real hero of this war? 23. What did the Peace Conference do? 24. Do you think we should enter a world league of nations? Suggested Readings. Rand McNally's School Atlas of Reconstruction; Perry. Our Navy in the War, 170-175. WHERE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THEIR INTRODUCTION from a 253. Why Boys and Girls Should Know about Europe. In the part of the book just studied, you have become acquainted with men and women who have been great American leaders. Did you ever stop to think that the First early settlers in this country, from whom most of our great settlers men sprang, came from countries in Europe already built built-up up? What the settlers gave to this country they got Europe from people who had lived a long time ago. Therefore in many ways their habits and institutions were different from ours now. They had their own ways of living, their own schools, churches, and forms of government. In most European countries kings and queens ruled the people. Next to the king stood the lords, who were great The men and owned acres and acres of land. They had their rulers own soldiers and many servants to do their work and to wait on them. Below the lords, who spent their time in war, in the chase, and in going to see play-battles, called mockfights, were the common people. In some countries these serfs people were not free, as you are, but lived in huts in small villages on the great man's land. They had to From an early 14th century psalter SERFS OF THE MIDDLE AGES work on his land, and were only a little better off than slaves. These people were called serfs, In the few large cities there lived at that time rich merchants who traded in slaves, or went on long journeys to buy and sell their wares. In the cities, too, lived workers in wool, cotton, brass, iron, wood, and other materials. After a time the workers of a given class gathered into a sort of union called a guild, to protect themselves. But in neither country nor city did the common man The roots have the many rights and privileges he has now-a-days in America. of our civili zation Egypt in times These people, so different from us, got their habits and their ways of doing things from still older nations in Asia, in Africa and in Europe. THE OLDEST NATIONS 254. Egypt, the Land of the Nile and the Pyramids. Egypt has always been a land of curious things. It lies across the Mediterranean, southeast of Europe. It is a land of sunshine day after day. Were it not for the Nile River, it would be a part of the Great Sahara Desert. Every year for ages, the Nile has risen in a great flood and its waters have spread out over Egypt. In coming down from their mountain home these waters carry rich earth which they spread over a part of Egypt. The result is that Egypt, in an early day, became the garden spot for nations less favored. Many of you can recall the Bible story' of Joseph's brethren who were sent down into Egypt to buy corn because there was a famine in their land. Thanks to the Nile, there was plenty of corn in Egypt. The people of Egypt were among the first of the world's farmers and gardeners of which history has any record. of the Nile 255. Irrigation Systems of the Egyptians. In a great many parts of western United States where little rain Carrying falls, how do farmers and gardeners get water for their the waters plants? "Irrigation" is the word that tells the story. to the land The Egyptians taught the people of the world how to save water for irrigation by building great dams in the Nile. This water they carried in ditches throughout the land so that the thirsty crops would have the moisture they needed for growing. 256. Egypt Ruled by Kings. For several thousand years Egypt was ruled by kings. The most famous of these rulers was a great warrior called Rameses II. He built great tombs or monuments called "pyramids." The These were built out of huge blocks of stone much larger tombs of than any now used in buildings. For many years he had the kings the common man or the slave doing this work for him. The Bible tells us about Moses, who became a great leader among the Israelites. The Israelites were slaves to the kings of Egypt. Moses led them forth from Egypt to escape the hard tasks of one of their kings. Egyptian hieroglyphics The hanging gardens of. Babylon 257. What the Egyptians Gave to Other Nations. Among the Egyptians there were great students for that early time. A few men among them studied the stars and learned about the movements of the heavenly bodies. In arithmetic they could count up to millions. They could weave cloth, cut jewels, and make most beautiful objects out of glass. But above all the Egyptians could write. Not as we do, of course, but they used letters, not rude pictures as seen in most early writings. Scholars have named the characters used in writing by Egyptians and other ancient peoples "hieroglyphics." 258. Babylon and Nineveh, Asia, too, had early peoples. Perhaps some of them were older than the Egyptians. There lived in southwestern Asia, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, two mighty nations whose chief cities were Babylon and Nineveh. Babylon on the Euphrates was a splendid city. It had great walls to protect it against enemy nations. Its hanging gardens were the wonders of the ancient world. To the north, on the banks of the Tigris, lay the great city of Nineveh. The fierce kings of Nineveh conquered many nations and forced them to pay tribute. In this region, nature furnished the kings no building stone such as was found in Egypt. But they made their homes and their palaces out of sun-dried brick. This soft material, as the years rolled on, fell into decay, and now men can find the ruins of these wonderful cities only by digging where they lay. The Babylonians did their writing upon bricks or clay tablets before they dried them. They had their own way of writing, using a sharp piece of metal for making |