CHAPTER 10 – World War I and Beyond
I.
From Neutrality to War
A. What Caused WWI?
1. Nationalism and Competition Heighten Tension
a. Nationalism – Devotion to ones Country
i. Belief that one ethnicity should dominate a country
b. Imperialism
i. Older empires controlled many ethnic groups
a) Austria Hungary
b) Ottoman Empires
c. Race for Industrial resources
2. Militarism Produces and Arms Race
a. Militarism – glorification of the military
i. Many countries in Europe had large militaries
3. Alliances Make Nations Overconfident
a. Big groups of countries feel superior b/c no one wanted to mess with them.
i. Gangs
4. Assassination Hurtles Europe Toward World War
a. Franz Ferdinand – heir to Austrian throne killed by Serbian Nationalist
B. The Fighting Begins
1. Alliances Cause A Chain Reaction
2. Deadly Technology Leads to Stalemate
a. Trench Warfare, Machine Guns, Artillery, Mustard Gas
C. Wilson Urges Neutrality
1. We are a melting pot, and accept diversity
2. Americans Have Divided Loyalties
a. Many Americans were new immigrants and had family in Europe
i. Caused debates over issues of war
b. American Opinion Crystallizes
i. Isolationists – Stay out of War
ii. Internationalists – Work toward just peace
iii. Interventionists – get involved in the conflict
D. Neutrality Gives Way to War
1. Britain Blockades Germany
2. German Submarines Violate Neutral Rights
a. U-Boats attacked Lusitania killing 128 Americans
3. Wilson Prepares for War
a. National Defense Act – expanded the size of the army
b. Naval Construction Act – build more war ships
4. American Enters the War
a. Zimmerman Note – Note from Germany to Mexico, promising Texas to Mexican leader
i. Stems from Mexican American war
II. The Home Front
A. America Mobilizes for War
1. Building an Army
a. Selective Service Act – Drafting of men for military service
b. Most men volunteered for the war effort
2. Constructing a War Economy
a. War Industries Board (WIB)
i. Gov’t helped push businesses into wartime materials
b. Food Administration
i. Gov’t changing the prices of food to promote more growth
ii. Asked American to conserve food
3. Shaping Public Opinion
a. Committee on Public Information
i. “Sell America” – design propaganda to promote war effort
B. Opposition and its Consequences
1. Resistance to the Draft
a. Conscientious objectors – people whose moral or religious beliefs forbid them to fight
i. Most were treated badly, others were given jobs that did not require firing a gun
2. Women Work for peace
3. The Government Cracks Down on Dissent
a. Americans began to question if the government was becoming too involved in domestic life
b. Espionage Act – Act allowing for banning of treasonable or seditious newspapers/articles
i. Severe penalties for anyone engaged in disloyal behavior
c. Sedition Act – unlawful to use “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the
government
i. Freedom of Speech?
4. Prejudice Against German Americans
a. Stopped teaching German in schools
b. Changed the names of foods
i. Hamburgers – liberty steaks
ii. Sauerkraut – freedom cabbage
C. The War Changes American Society
1. Women Embrace new Opportunities
a. Women took men’s jobs in the factories
b. Red Cross
c. 19th Amendment was passed during WWI(progressive idea)
2. African Americans Follow Opportunity North
a. Segregated in battle
b. Great Migration – Blacks moved to northern cities to find jobs left by white soldiers
i. Creation of ghettos
a) White landlords did not want to rent out previously owned white houses
3. Mexican American Move North
a. Migrated into the U.S. to find jobs
i. Racial issues b/c of Zimmerman telegram
ii. Lived in Barrios – Hispanic neighborhoods
III. Wilson, War, and Peace
A. America Gives the Allies the Edge
1. Allied Convoys Protect Shipping
a. Convoy – sending ships together to protect against submarine warfare
2. The Allies Struggle
a. Vladimir Lenin – drops Russia out of war In 1917
i. Russian Revolution to Communism
3. American Troops Join the Fight
a. Troops land in June 1917, but not in large numbers until 1918
b. Americans only helped for about 9 months
4. American Troops Distinguish Themselves
5. The War Ends
a. War Ends November 1918
B. Wilson Promotes Peace Without Victory
1. Lenin asserted War was about imperialism – winning countries wanted piece of losers
2. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
a. Wanted to create openness, independence and support
i. Self Determination – right of people to choose their own form of government
(Enlightenment)
ii. League of Nations – peace keeping organization (peace keeping pledge)
C. Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference
1. Allied Leaders Reject Wilson’s ideas (Palace of Versailles)
a. Wanted to punish Germany
i. Pay war reparations – payments for war damages
ii. Returning of land to France and other countries
iii. War Guilt Clause
2. Allies Create a League of Nations
a. Only major point Wilson won was League of Nations
3. Problems with Peace
a. Newly formed countries did not always match nationalities
i. Iraq – formed from Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul
D. American Rejects the Treaty
1. Wilson Faces Trouble at Home
a. Article ten, League of Nations, causes issues
i. Irreconciables – isolationists who did not like League
ii. Reservationists – didn’t want any part of the treaty
2. The Senate Rejects the Versailles Treaty
a. U.S. never signs Treaty of Versailles
b. Wilson ends up dying, and we sign separate treaty with Germany
IV. Effects of the War
A. America Adjusts to Peace
1. Flu Epidemic Grips the Nation
2. Women and African Americans Confront New Realities
a. End of War meant end of wartime opportunities
b. Riots took place in cities where blacks lost jobs to returning whites
3. Inflation Leads to Unrest
a. Inflation occurred because Americans had money to buy consumer goods thanks to the wartime
economy
b. Prices of certain goods fell b/c they were overproduced during the war
B. The Red Scare
1. Fear of Communism Starts the Red Scare
a. Red Scare – widespread fear of suspected communists and radicals
i. Fallout from Russian Revolution of 1917
b. Palmer Raids
i. A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General, looks for suspected communists
a) Tried under Alien, Sedition, and Espionage acts
2. Sacco and Vanzetti Are Executed
a. Italian immigrants and known anarchists
b. Found guilty of robbery and killing of shoe factory clerk
c. Very little evidence – but it didn’t matter
d. Both men were put to death via electric chair
i. Many years later, the U.S. government eventually apologized to the families of Sacco and
Vanzetti, admitting negligence
C. Americans Embrace Normalcy
1. Warren G. Harding – Republican presidential candidate 1920
a. Tired of reforms and called for “Normalcy”
2. A Quiet American Giant
a. U.S. becomes leading economic nation
b. Foreign countries wanted our “Stuff”
c. Creditor Nation – other countries owed more money than we owed
i. They bought our supplies during WWI b/c their factories were destroyed
3. The World Adjusts to a New Order