US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
Woodrow Wilson
• Born in Virginia in 1856
• President of Princeton University
• New Jersey governor
• Elected president in 1912
• Progressive administration, “The New Freedom”
• Reelected in 1916
War Comes to Europe: Fundamental Causes
• Nationalism
• Militarism
• Imperialism
• Entangling Alliances
• Diplomacy
• Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
World War I Alliances
• Britain
• France
• Russia
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
U.S. Neutrality
• U.S. economic interests tied to the Allies
• Similarities in American and British culture
• U.S. immigrants from eastern Europe
• Irish Americans supported Germany
• Wilson’s philosophy favored assisting the Allies’ cause
International Law and World War
• International Law: governs relations between nation-states
• Developing technology and war strategies made violations more common
• Belligerents’ violations of international law directly affected American citizens
and the U.S. government
German U-Boats
• Used to counterbalance strength of British navy
• British ships attempted to reduce threat by flying U.S. flags
• Germans responded with “unrestricted submarine warfare”
• U.S. saw this as a violation of American neutrality
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
Sinking of the Lusitania
• May 7th, 1915
• Torpedoed off Irish coast
• Ship sank in 18 minutes
• Most likely carried illegal munitions
• Nearly 1200 killed
• 128 Americans among those killed in attack
American Reaction
• Some called for war
• Others opposed military action
• Wilson’s response: negotiating with Germany
The Sussex Pledge
• French passenger ship torpedoed in English Channel
• Some Americans injured
• Wilson threatens to break diplomatic relations with Germany
• Germans pledge not to sink more ships without warning
• Stalemate on Western Front leads Germany to renege on pledge
U.S. Banks Support the Allies
• Economics erode American neutrality
• Loans to Allies help U.S. financial policy
• Morgan loans $500 million to Britain and France
• By 1917, U.S. financial institutions had loaned $2.3 billion to Allied nations, but
only $27 million to Germany
• Loans help pull America into the war
1916 Presidential Election
• Wilson seeks second term
• Republican nominee, former NY Governor Charles Evans Hughes
• Wilson campaigns on slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War”
• Roosevelt speaks out in favor of entering the war
• Hughes does well with Irish American and German American voters
• Wilson wins in a close election
The Zimmermann Telegram
• Sent from German Foreign Minister to German ambassador to Mexico (January
1917)
• Offered U.S. territory to Mexico if they joined German cause
• Intercepted by British
• British waited until February to inform U.S.
• Helped move U.S. public opinion toward war
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
U.S. Moves Closer to War
• Germans resume unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917
• Wilson breaks diplomatic relations with Germany
• April 1917: Wilson asks for declaration of war against Germany
U.S. Ill-Prepared for War
• Few troops
• Aging officer corps
• Lack of weapons and ammunition
• Inefficient War Department
Mobilization
• Mobilization: Changing from a peacetime to a wartime society
• Manpower
• Economic
• Home front
• Psychological mobilization
Selective Service Act of 1917
• Required all men ages 21 to 30 to register with draft boards (later ages 18-45)
• More than 24 million registered
• 3 million drafted
• Volunteers increased army’s size to over 4 million
Military Training
• Drills, discipline, combat tactics
• Psychological testing
• Commission on Training Camp Activities (CTCA)
Minorities in the Army
• Native Americans served in general army
• Blacks were segregated or denied enlistment
• Most blacks given menial duties
• Some black troops involved in racial violence
Women in World War I
• Women replaced men in the workforce and other home-front roles
• For the first time, women joined the armed forces
• Others worked as civilian nurses, ambulance drivers
• “Hello Girls”
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
War Industries Board
• Headed by Baruch
• Coordinated purchasing
• Sought production efficiency
• Allocated raw materials
• Encouraged standardization in production
Fuel Administration
• Headed by Harry Garfield
• Attempted to force fuel price increases in order to stimulate conservation
• Encouraged voluntary conservation of fuel
• Sought to institute Daylight Saving Time
Food Administration
• Headed by Herbert Hoover
• Encouraged conservation of needed food products
• Food Administration’s “Speaker’s Bureau”
• Women’s Land Army
War Labor Board
• Created by Wilson in April 1918
• Designed to settle labor disputes
• “No strike” pledge
• Board considered more than 1200 labor cases
• Union membership increased during war years
• Unskilled laborers’ wages increased dramatically
Committee on Public Information
• Headed by George Creel
• Committee formed in April 1917
• Handled propaganda for the war effort
• Attempted to “demonize” enemy
• “Four Minute Men”
Paying for the War
• Cost of war: $33.5 billion
• “Liberty Loans” paid for two-thirds of cost
• Government also increased taxes
• Philanthropic groups’ contributions
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
Wartime Intolerance
• War leads to anti-German feelings in U.S.
• Prejudice against German immigrants or suspected German sympathizers
• Robert Prager lynching
• Removal of German culture
Squelching Dissent
• Espionage Act and Sedition Act
• Pacifists, radicals, IWW leaders arrested
• Eugene V. Debs
• Victor Berger
Schenck v. U.S.
• Schenck prosecuted for distributing anti-draft leaflets
• Convicted of violating the Espionage Act
• Appealed decision to the Supreme Court
• Holmes creates “clear and present danger” doctrine
American Expeditionary Force
• Formal name of U.S. Army troops sent to France
• Commanded by Pershing
• Arrived in 1917, but did not actively participate in battle until 1918
• Remained in “independent units”
The AEF sees action
• March 1918: German “spring offensive”
• U.S. sees action at
Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood
• Second Battle of the Marne
• Argonne Forest
• Armistice signed in November 1918
Trench Warfare
• Forces dug in to begin trench warfare along
475-mile front
• Machine guns
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
Life in the Trenches
• Monotony
• Disease, lice, water, and mud
• “No Man’s Land”
• Many frontline troops served for several days before being relieved
Authors and Ambulance Drivers
• Several American authors served as ambulance drivers
• Included were Hemingway, e e cummings, Dos Passos, Hammett, and others
• Reasons for serving varied
Wilson’s Peace Plan
• Announced in January 1918
• Wilson wanted to build a better world society, not to punish the losers
• Difficult to get Allied leaders to agree to plan
The “Fourteen Points”
• Wilson’s plan for a “peace without victory”
• European leaders only implemented some of the Fourteen Points in the
Versailles Treaty
Preparing to Negotiate the Treaty
• Wilson sought to use treaty to persuade Germans to overthrow Kaiser
• Edward House negotiates with Allies to make Fourteen Points the basis for the
treaty
• Wilson decides to attend treaty negotiations in person
• Decision a mistake; Republicans win control of Congress
The “Big Four” at Versailles
• Treaty negotiations held at Palace of Versailles
• Allied leaders attended discussions
• Varied goals and interests made settlement difficult
The Finished Treaty
• Harsh terms for Germany
• War Guilt Clause and reparations
• Germans lose significant territory
• Mandate system for German colonies
• New nations created
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
League of Nations
• The League of Nations
• Proposed in Fourteen Points
• Part of Treaty of Versailles
• League included a Secretariat, Assembly, Council, and other agencies
• Existed from 1920–1946
• Replaced by UN
U.S. Public Opinion and the Treaty
• Wilson submitted treaty to Senate for ratification
• Most Americans supported League of Nations
• Wilson convinced Allies to accept conditions to calm American fears
• Tariffs, immigration law, Monroe Doctrine excluded from League
Senate Concerns About Treaty
• Senate “Manifesto”
• Opposition to Treaty led by Lodge
• Wilson refuses
to compromise
• League of Nations a major point of contention
Republican Senate Opposition
• Nearly all Democratic senators ready to vote for treaty
• Republican opposition divides into three groups:
• Irreconcilables
• Mild Reservationists
• Strong Reservationists
Henry Cabot Lodge
• Senator from Massachusetts
• Chair of Foreign Relations Committee
• Wrote “Lodge Reservations”
• Wilson refused compromise
Reasons for Wilson’s stubbornness
• Wilson consistently refused compromise
• He may have suffered a small stroke at Versailles
• Later changes in behavior and judgment noted by many
• Suffered more serious stroke in Washington
US History Studies, Since Reconstruction
Rosen
Unit Three: World War I
Wilson appeals to the people
• Embarks on whirlwind speaking tour to gain support
• Grueling schedule
• Collapses in Pueblo, Colorado
• Suffers severe stroke in Washington
• Survives, but impaired for remainder of term
Role of Edith Wilson
• First Lady Edith Wilson played major role during health crisis
• Hid her husband’s condition from public, controlled what information he could see
• No Constitutional method to handle presidential disability
Outcome of the Treaty Debate
• Wilson unable to continue treaty fight
• Lodge guides reservations through Senate
• Wilson’s failure to compromise
• Treaty vote fails in November 1919, then again in March 1920
• U.S. never signs treaty or joins League of Nations
Return to Peacetime Society
• Demobilization leads to large numbers of ex-soldiers in the workforce
• Most government war agencies disbanded
• Government contracts cancelled
• Inflation goes unchecked; strikes increase
• Prices drop and unemployment rises
Legacy of World War I
• United States asserted itself as a financial, industrial, and international power
• Americans became more united through mobilization and war
• United States turned more toward isolationism after war
• Weaknesses in Versailles Treaty and failure to join League of Nations helped
create the conditions in Europe that eventually led to World War II