Activity - Scholar

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A GermanWarning
(lsing PrimarY Sources
The sinkin$of theLusitaniaz
A ConsPiracy?@ont)
HistoricalBackgroundlnformation
on Friday,MayT,lg15,theLu s it a n ia , a B rit is h o c e a n lin e rwa s t o rp e d o e d in t he
wa tersoffoftt'"t'i't'toast'A to t a lo f l' 2 0 1 me n ' wo me n ' a n d c h ild re n lo s t t h e ir
Passengers
l i vesincludingl28A ','",i.un , . T h is v o y a gsaw-Liverpool'
e h a d b e e n e n roEngland'
u t e f o rs ix
d a y s f ro m t h e
it nlver
destination
a
io
harborof Newvo.r.
a b oardthisoceanlinerhad a mu s e d t h e t nlonged
s e lv e sfor
b yaplittle
la y inexcitement'
g s h u f f le b o a rd , pl a y i n g c a r d
trot' Someeven
fox
dancingthe
and
games,
ocean
AstheLttsitaniapeacefully e n t e re d t h e wa
t earsbomb.in
l0 mile sastunnel'
o u t h o fThe
o ld He
a d oliner
f Ki n s a l e ,
iike
r.utt
,t,"
front
the
to
tirted
lreland,a rorpedo;;;;
"*pl",org
As rhe ship
to sink i*o ir',"Atlantic.
threw peopreuuoui o, ii L"gun
find a lifeboatsurvived'
onfy''"rtJil
unO
panicked'
people
f:,could
and the right,
o thersjumpedintotheseaa S t h e g ro a n in g a n d mo a n in g o f t h e d ro wn in g s h i p
d eafenedtt,eirscreams.T h e lin e rb a la n c . o ro from
, a mosight'
me n t sItt ra
ig honly
t u p o18
n it s bo w ,
took
i;iJp;t"red
before
floor'
which struckth" ";;;
to sink'
** fired for the oceanliner
minutesafter the
'"t'p"a"
rurner'
william
tvhad
Lusitania'scaptain'
:""']'1:l:,:,::::
theBritishAdmirar
* ; ;' ;'"viousIv'il.iJ,il|;i:ill,tl'";lu"*
:i#': ::;'f fi: l;'TTl3.1i':iil?;
.,. . . keep *i,t
given the following orders:
passbetweenthe
in two miles of shoreand
in- a
twolightvessels.A voidhe a c lla n d sgririrl,
;passh
a rbalso
o rsordered
a t f u lls pcaptains
e e d ; s tto
e esail
rmid
channel
had
The
,u*n.,."
of
course. Submarines
not obeytheseorders'
to'p"doto' Ctpttin Tu:t:tdld
*
z\gzagpaffern
-"'i^oting
Hesloweddownasheapp ro a c h e d t h e c h a n n e l, s a ile d t o o c lo s e t o t h e s h or e w h e r e
submarines*","kno*n.tolu rk , a n d d u rin g t h e s ix -d a y c ru is e h e d id n o t o rde r a n y
evacuationdrillstoprepa re h is c re w. F o r.*ore
o mevulnerable'
u n k n o wn re
a s o n ,this
t h e nfact'
a v althe
escortship
Despite
r,
Lus'itania,reaving
the
from
"u"n
withdrew
AdmiraltysoughttouseTurneraSaScapegoataftertheLusitanjadisaster'
Americans
T hemorningoftheLttsita n ia , s d e p a rtin
u re
f roNew
mNe
wY o rk , t warning
h e G e rma
n e m b a sto
syin
Yorkrimes
the
advertis.-.ni
an
not
posted
was
washingtonhad
Isles. This advertisement
watersadjacentto the British
civiliannot sairin the Atlantic
Germanywourdattacka
p"uric officialsdid not berievethat
have
may
takenseriourrv.
aboard. Although theLusitania
ctritoren
and
*omen
filled oceanrin., *itt,
'lT
rorthenlie.s'li::l::.t::t:?::,*T":,T"""TH"tilXf
munitions
carrying
been
1#+".i::*:;:1Tn:ffi?:"1ffi1
::',':x":"Jff
ffi:,.;:?#?ff
on Amertcan
t ug" utthis horrific attack
ir"ri.un,
n
states.
the united
"*pr.rr.o"*
livescallingone,",id"n. w, r, o n t o d e c ia re wa r' F o u rmo n t h s p a s s e d b e f or e G e r m a n y
endedunrestrictedsubma rin e wa rf alater'
re , a n d t h e Un it e d S t a t e s d id n o t jo i n t h e w a r
two years
againstGermanyuntil almost
trrrr-,.IIiun
4B
Ittc'
@TeaclrcrCreatedMaterials'
A German Warning
Using Primary Sources
Name
The Trial of CuptainWilliamTurner
BackgroundInformation
On Fiiday, May 7 ,1915, the Lusitania, a British oceanliner, was torpedoedin the watersoff of the
Irish coasten route to Liverpool, England. The Germanshad the right, under internationallaw, to sink
the Lusitania becauseit may have beencarrying munitionsfor the Allies. However,a total of 1,201
civilians(men, women,and children)lost their lives. CaptainWilliam Turnersurvivedthe tragedyonly
to face chargesfrom his own government.
Activity
Directions: Could the sinking of the Lusitania have beenprevented?Did the British governmentsend
the Lusitania into dangerouswatersin hopesof draggingthe United Statesinto the war? Was Captain
Turner carelessor was the British governmentlooking for a scapegoat?You must work in groupsto
decidewhether you believeCaptainWilliam Turner was innocentor guilty of any criminal actionsand
prepareargumentsfor a trial. The defendantis CaptainWilliam Turner and the plaintiff is the British
Admiralty. After your teamhas done sufficient research,preparedarguments,and createdwitnesses,
you will be assignedroles suchas attorney,bailiff, witness,plaintiff, or defendant.
Some facts to consider:
. Germanydid not want the United Statesto enterthe war; therefore,warningswere postedin the
paper.
a
The British governmentwantedthe United Statesto enterthe war to help the Allies.
a CaptainTurner did not obey the qrdersto zigzag the ship and to sail at full speedin the middle of
the harbor.
. CaptainTurner saysthat he delayedthe speedso that the ship would arrive in Liverpool on high
tide ratherthan hangingarounddangeroussubmarinehunting ground.
. CaptainTurner could haveobtainedthe sameobjectiveby zigzaggingat 21 knots,the full speed
of the ship.
. At the time of the torpedo,the ship's portholeswere openand thus enabledthe ship to flood
qu icklya nd sink.
. CaptainTurner admittedthat his crew was well below peacetimestandards.In other words,they
were not preparedfor any emergency.He did nothing to preparehis crew for an emergency.
. Three days beforethe disaster,severalpassengers
askedCaptainTurner to conductemergency
boat drills. He did not conductone drill.
. For someunknownreason,the British navalescortshipwithdrewfrom theLusitanialeavingit
channel.
vulnerablein a submarine-filled
Challenge
CaptainTurner'ssurvivalafter the Lusitania wreck was not the first time he had surviveda
disaster. What other near-deathexperiencesdid CaptainTurner encounteron ships?
@TeacherCreated Materials, Inc"
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