3.05 US History

There were many new technologies introduced during WWI. One would be the use of poison gas, such as chlorine or mustard gas. This gas could blind, burn, or kill a man. People who experienced the poison gas said it was a cloud of colored smoke that would have a very strong smell to it. They even made gas masks that would prevent the inhalation of these gases. After WWI the use of poison gas during war was banned internationally. Another new “technology” that was introduced during this war was trench warfare. This involved two opposing dug out trenches that the soldiers would have to leave in order to attack. The area in between where they would race across was known as “no man’s land”, and most would be killed there. Life in the trenches was horrible and left many men with psychological problems after the war. One last invention brought to WWI was tanks. Although they were slow, they were able to make it across no man’s land. Because of this these tanks were greatly feared. There were many ways women got involved in the war effort abroad. One would be women joining the Nursing Corps which formally admitted women into the military for the first time. As many as 21,000 women served as nurses overseas. Another way women got involved was by working clerical jobs for the Navy or Marine Corps. Some even served as Army Signal Corps telephone operators. Life for a minority soldier during WWI was quite different than that of a white soldier. Most minorities serving in the war were not given combat roles. For examples most African Americans transported supplies or dug ditches. After the war many African Americans faced rising racial tensions. Many after fighting in the war felt a new pride and determination to fight for equality in the United States. The racism for African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans continued.