US History Notes



US History Notes -

Chapter 22 - World War I, 1914-1920

Becoming a World Power

- Early 1900s - US had a more vigorous and agressive foreign policy

- “Progressive Diplomacy” - led to the US becoming a large world power

Roosevelt: The Big Stick

- Roosevelt believed in superiority of Protestant Anglo-Americans

- Felt that US must be militarily strong

- “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

- “Planned” revolt against Columbia after turned down on Panama Canal building

- US gets control of Canal Zone & gains immense strategic & commercial advantage

- Sends in an “international police” force to keep Europeans out

- 1899 - John Hay gets open door trading in China

- Roosevelt gets Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating Russo-Japanese war in 1905

Taft: Dollar Diplomacy

- “Substitute dollars for bullets” - Taft wanted to limit the military’s involvement

- Ended up needing military support in Honduras & Nicaragua

- Taft gained more investment opportunities for the US in China

- Tried to “neutralize” Chinese industry, but this backfired = closed door in China

Wilson: Moralism & Realism

- Wilson felt foreign investments & industrial exports = keys to national prosperity

- Remove trade barriers

- Mexican Revolution (1911) brings fear to US investors of democratic leader F. Madero

- Madero murdered & militarist govt. takes over

- US supports nationalists & invade

- Carranza (nationalist) takes over govt.

“Pancho” Villa attempts to overthrow govt but fails; wants to get US into Mexican war

- US attempts to capture him after raids into the US

- Attempts fail

The Great War

- Both sides predicted a quick victory

- Americans entered the war reluctantly, and played a supportive role

The Guns of August

- Two teams:

- Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary & Italy)

- Triple Entente (Britain, France & Russia)

- Archduke Ferdinand of Austria killed & war breaks out

- Germany invades Belgium & prepares to invade France

- 5,000,000 ppl + killed over 2 and a half years in N. France

American Neutrality

- Impossible to stay neutral, due to too many interest groups - immigrants, etc

- Began trade ‘solely’ with the allies

- British blockade Germany & US doesn’t complain

- US economic boom from all the trade with the Allies

Preparedness and Peace

- Feb 1915 - Germans begin sinking all boats around Britain with submarines

- May 1915 - German U-Boat sinks British Liner Lusitania & kills 128 Americans

- Germans temporarily cease their attacks after Wilson threatens to break off relations

- US passes National Defence Act to increase army size

- Met with much opposition (Women’s World Peace Movt.)

- Wilson wins next election (1916) on Anti-War Premise

- Democrats win using the slogan “He kept us out of War”

Safe for Democracy

- More sinking of US ships by U-Boats leads to US entrance into war & proposed

- US intercepts a German note suggesting an alliance with Mexico against the US

- Leads to hugely increased war support

- Apr 2, 1917: Congress approves declaration of war

American Mobilization

- Although newspapers, religious leaders, and state legislatures were enthusiastic, Wilson was still unsure how ordinary Americans would react

Selling the War

- Committee of Public Information (CPI) formed to promote the war

- Employed more than 150,000 people

- Created more than 100 million pieces of Pro-war literature

- CPI recruited popular movie stars to make the war attractive

- CPI used three main themes in their pro-war pitches:

- America as a unified moral community

- War was an idealistic crusade for peace and freedom

- Displayed the image of a despicable enemy

- CPI urged ethnic Americans to lose their ties to the Old World - be “unhyphenated”

Fading Opposition to the War

- The War effort gained support among progressives and reformers

- Saw the potential for positive social change

- Selective Service Act: the ‘draft’ is introduced without much resistance

- War was popular among most middle-class women - gave them a chance to work

- Many hoped that through the war they would gain suffrage

“You’re in the Army Now”

- June 5, 1917 - almost 10 million men registered for the draft

- Age restrictions were loosened, and by the end of the war, 24 million had signed up

- 2 million volunteers took part in various armed services

- Standardized tests were given to recruits

- Illiteracy was as high as 25%

Racism in the Military

- Segregated units for blacks (ie: 369th US Infantry in French Army)

- Thousands of black soldiers endured humiliating treatment from white officers

- Barred from marines & coast guard

- August 1917 - Houston - black infantrymen kill 17 civilians due to racism

- Blacks were amazed to find that their treatment overseas was better than at home

Americans in Battle

- American support began by escorting convoys to safety and attacking U-Boats

- Gen. John Pershing appointed commander of the AEF (American Expeditionary Force)

- Wanted to be separate from British and French army

- Much like Ulysses S. Grant, he believed in total destruction of the enemy

- Spring 1918 - AEF soldiers help stop Germans at Chateau-Thierry & Belleau Wood

- Germans made it to within 50 miles of Paris

- Sept. 1918 - AEF takes 200 mile front in Meuse-Argonne offensive

- War ends November 11, 1918, after Germans begins to fall back

Over Here

- WWI saw the federal government play a huge role in regulating the economy

- Although much was temporary, the war started many trends in American life

Organizing the Economy

- War Industries Board (WIB) created by Wilson in 1917

- Clearinghouse for industrial mobilization to support the war effort

- Handed out $14.5 billion in payment contracts

- Food & Fuel act: President can regulate the production & distribution of food

- Food administration led by Herbert Hoover, a millionaire engineer

- Hoover put price controls on pork, sugar, wheat, and other agricultural commodities

- Bought by govt. & sold through dealers

- Hoover refused to impose mandatory rationings

- Many Americans cut back on wheat and meat, began growing own veggies, etc

- Graduated Income Tax was lowered to pay off the $30 billion + war cost

- Federal Debt jumped from $1 billion in 1915 to $20 billion in 1920

The Business of War

- War increases industrial production & job availability

- Most important long-lasting economic legacy: shift towards corporationism

- Radios used in battle immensely - this small industry soon gained ground

- Radio Corporation of America (RCA) formed (1919)

Labor and the War

- Increase in industrial labour due to the war - more jobs, and higher wages

- American Fed. Of Labour increases its membership

- Most members were skilled white males

- During the war, strict immigration guidelines were eased

- Immigration Act of 1917 - reduces illiterate Mexican immigration

- Must be literate & pay $8 head tax

- Suspended for the war’s duration because of labour shortage

- The war ended many more radical factions of the US labor movt

- Industrial Workers of the World got shut down under the Espionage Act

- Marked the beginning of a wave of political repression

Women at Work

- During the war, women filled jobs traditionally held by men who were off fighting

- Women in Industrial Service (WIS) - created by the Labor Dept

- Showed a practical stand by the govt to improve womens’ working conditions

- Womens’ wages were approximately half of what mens’ were in the same job

Woman Suffrage

- Women play a key role in war effort & want a reward

- Some Western areas adopted forms of woman suffrage earlier

- Lacked the harsh Catholic / Protestant divisions present in the east

- Nat. American Woman Suffrage Assoc. supports war effort & increasingly is supported

- Pursued their goals through moderate action - lobbying for constitutional reform

- National Woman’s Party - led by Alice Paul - radical group of reformers

- Picketed the White House and publicly burned some of Wilson’s speeches

- Aug 1920 - Women are granted the vote nation-wide

Prohibition

- Drinking was seen as the source of many working-class problems

- Women’s Christian Temperance Union - major supporter of prohibition

- Prohibition granted in 1919 - becomes source for increased organized crime

Public Health

- Govt educated soldiers in personal health & distributed condoms

- Established 5-mile “pure zones” around military bases (no hookers)

- 1918 - Division of Venereal Diseases created to educate the public, give free treatment

- Children’s Bureau created to report on special problems due to the war

- Institutionalized federal aid to protect mothers & children

- Led to the Maternity & Infancy Act (1921)

- 1918-1919 - Huge epidemic of Spanish Influenza (combination of flu and pneumonia)

- Killed 550,000 Americans in 10 months

- $1 million to the Public Health Service to combat the epidemic, but no $ to cure it

Repression & Reaction

- WWI exposed and intensified many of the deepest social tensions in American life

- Bolsheviks accomplished the first successful revolution against a capitalist state

Muzzling Dissent: The Espionage and Sedition Acts

- The Espionage Act: June 1917

- Suppression of antiwar sentiment

- Up to 20 years & $10,000 fine for aiding the enemy or causing insubordination in the armed forces

- Postmaster General could exclude any publication he considered treasonous

- After the war, the Bureau of Investigation was created to handle civilian intelligence

- The Sedition Act - Amendment to the Espionage act

- Outlawed any “disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive language…” to the govt constitution or the flag

- Eugene Debs arrested for publicly declaring his hatred of war

- Scheneck vs. United States - decided that Supreme Court can restrict freedom of speech

- Abrams vs. United States - Supreme Court upheld sedition act convictions of 4 Russians

The Great Migration & Racial Tensions

- Post-war economic opportunities create widespread black migration to northern cities

- News of jobs & urban residential districts spread throughout community groups

- Racism in the South also contributed to the migration, but was not limited to the South

- July 2, 1917: mob of Whites in St. Louis, Illinois kill 200 blacks

- July 27, 1919: Antiblack rioting on Lake Michigan beach in Chicago

- African Americans held responsible for the violence

- Crisis - Journal for the NAACP - concluded that an increase in racial hatred was an integral part of wartime intolerance

- Sought to end the widespread lynchings

Labour Strife

- After the War, “strike wave” hits - 3600 strikes in 1919, involving 4 million + people

- Return of servicemen creates job security issues

- 1919 - Seattle - a shipyard strike turns into a citywide, 60,000 ppl + strike

- Ended when the mayor asked troops to occupy the city

An Uneasy Peace

- Treaty of Versailles - formally ended World War I

- Dominated by Britain, France, Italy and the United States

The Fourteen Points

- Wilson’s blueprint for peace - Contained three main aspects:

1) Detailed post-war boundaries in Europe, addressed splitting up Austro-Hungary

2) General principles for international conduct

- Includes free seas, free trade, and open covenants

- Also addresses mediating conflicting colonial claims

3) Wilson called for the creation of a League of Nations to enforce the 14 points

- The 14 Points reflected Wilson’s long-held liberal progressive feelings

- The most controversial issue was the League of Nations

- Article X in the charter of the League called for collective security to keep peace

- This violated the American system of declaring war through Congress

Wilson in Paris

- Conference initally accepts the 14 points

- Austria, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia & Czechoslovakia made out of the beaten powers

- Compromise mandate gave British & French control of German / Turkish colonies

- Japan controls German China

- Wilson opposes war guilt, but it is still imposed on Germany

- $33 billion in reparations

- Final treaty signed on June 28, 1919 - Germans had no choice but to accept the terms

The Treaty Fight

- Wilson had neglected domestic issues & concentrated on foreign policies

- Republicans capture majority in House & Senate (1918)

- Wilson’s opponents in Senate included: “Irreconcilables” opposed to any form of treaty

Senators who had opposed entry into the war

Racist xenophobes against him as well

- Many senators dislike the League of Nations idea

- Sept 1919 - Wilson goes on a US speaking tour, but it didn’t help him politically

- Republican Henry Lodge reccommended fourteen changes to Wilson’s treaty

- Wilson instructs Democrats to vote against the Lodge version of the treaty

- Lodge version wins but not ratified

- United States never signed the Versailles Treaty or joined the League of Nations

Russian Revolution

- Bolsheviks take control of Russian govt & negotiate separate peace with Germany

- Wilson doesn’t acknowledge the Bolshevik govt

- They are a threat to liberal-capitalism, the foundation of America’s moral basis

- Aug 1918 - US troops sent to Northern Russia to keep the Russian Revolution in control

The Red Scare

- Strikes, racism, and other disturbances were increasingly blamed on Bolshevism

- 1918 - Alien Act - Enabled the government to deport anyone found to be a revolutionary

- Attorney General A. Mitchell Parker was like the first Sen. McCarthy

- Marked a huge hostility towards radicalism

Election of 1920

- Americans wanted to retreat from the social tensions and reforms having to do with war

- Wilson doesn’t run for re-election

- Warren G. Harding wins landslide

- Not a suitable president, but he called for a retreat from “Wilson Idealism”

- Voters wanted a return to normalcy from the war era; restoration, not revolution

- Eugene Debs gets 900,000 votes from jail.

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