The Century America's Time: Shell Shock

Assignment: Each student is responsible for two questions from the list below. 

1. Why is this episode called Shell Shock?  What does the term mean?  When and how did it come into use? 
2. A German U-boat sank the Lusitania off the Irish Coast.  Despite the knowledge of a war waging in the Atlantic, passengers chose to sail in these waters.   Why did the passengers of the Lusitania have a false sense of security? 
3. Discuss some of the causes of World War I. 
4. Why was World War I different from all previous wars?  How was this war truly a product of the new century? 
5. What was the “massacre of the innocents?”  Why did this event bear this name? 
6. The automobile is one of the most influential machines of the twentieth century.  How did the automobile change American life in the early years of the century? 
7. How did propaganda shape American views of World War I?  How has propaganda shaped American views and mores during other twentieth century events? 
8. The years 1915-1940 saw the great African-American migration, when millions of African-Americans migrated from the South to the North.  How did World War II help foster this massive migration?  How did this migration affect life in both the South and the North? 
9. What is a “war of attrition?”  Why was World War I a war of attrition? 
10. Discuss the futility of the Battle of the Somme.  
11. What were some of the causes of the Russian Revolution?  What were the ramifications of this revolution for world events in the twentieth century?