The End of the Great War – “America and the Great War,”
Overall main idea: Between 1917 and 1920, the U.S. helped the Allies win the Great War but refused
its peace treaty, then struggled in its own transition from war to peace.
Waging War and Peace Abroad
Main idea: Wilson and the U.S. defeated the Central Powers but struggled to secure his plans for peace.
The War to End All Wars
Main idea: Fresh troops from the U.S. unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the Russian government and tipped the balance in the
favor of the Allies, helping to defeat the Central Powers.
Allies were struggling in 1917 – three years of trench warfare had killed millions, hurt morale, caused mutinies among the
French, destruction of shipping, and Russian army and government was disintegrating
Selective Service Act of 1917 – established U.S. military draft for World War I; nearly 3 million would be drafted; 2 million
Americans would volunteer; included immigrants (20% of forces) and African-Americans (approx. 10%)
American soldiers, a.k.a. “doughboys” because of their freshness and lack of experience (they weren’t complete “cooked” and
“done” yet), received a speedy training but were young, fresh, eager, and brave
American Expeditionary Force (AEF) – first Americans sent to Europe for the war, led by John J. Pershing in 1917; full-scale
American intervention came in 1918
Russian Revolution – November 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian government and instituted communism, led
by Vladimir Lenin; they signed a treaty with Germany in 1918, pulling out of the war, calling it a war over capitalism and imperialism
U.S. troops were sent to intervene and even overthrow the Communist government of Russia, but failed
Americans bolstered Allies in France and defeated the entrenched Germans at Argonne Forest, eventually pushing them back to
Germany; Armistice (cease-fire) signed on Nov. 11, 1918 to end the war – at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918
(today’s Veterans Day)
The Fourteen Points
Main idea: President Wilson’s Fourteen Points proposed a plan to end World War I and promote international peace but was not
approved by all involved parties.
Fourteen Points, outlined in a speech in 1918, to achieve world peace at the end of World War I:
1. Open, public treaties (no secret treaties)
2. Freedom of navigation on the seas
3. Free, equal trade
4. Weapons reduction
5. Fair adjustment of empire claims to include the desires of the people who live there (self-determination)
6. Evacuation of Russian territory and allowance for a freely chosen government
7. Evacuation and freedom of Belgium
8. Evacuation and return of lands to France
9. Readjustment of Italian lands
10. Self-determination for the people of Austria-Hungary
11. Free and independent Balkan countries formerly under the empire of Austria-Hungary
12. Free and independent countries of the former Ottoman Empire with free access to the sea
13. Free and independent Poland with free access to the sea
14. The League of Nations – an international organization to secure peace and the points above
Basically the points gave self-determination and independence to countries formerly under imperialism, pushed for open and
free arrangements of trade and transportation, a reduction of arms, and the League of Nations to make sure everyone follows the rules
and negotiate conflicts in the future
Wilson knew, however, that the rest of the Allies were not as excited about the Fourteen Points and wanted to “get everything
out of Germany that they can”; also he knew he would have a hard time passing it through Congress, which was now dominated with
Republicans
The Paris Peace Conference
Main idea: The Allied countries created the Treaty of Versailles to settle the Great War, including some of Wilson’s proposals but
rejecting many others.
Paris Peace Conference, 1919, included the leaders of most Allied countries: Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), David Lloyd George
(Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), Vittorio Orlando (Italy); notably leaving out Communist Russia and the Central Powers
Wilson pushed for his Fourteen Points while the other Allies demanded compensation and security from the Central Powers;
eventually they created the Treaty of Versailles and forced Germany to sign:
Germany must accept sole responsibility for the war
Germany must pay around 33 billion dollars in reparations (war damages) to the Allies
Germany must give up its empire and some land on its borders
Germany’s army, navy, and weapons must be limited
Many smaller countries are given independence from imperialism
Many smaller countries and former Central Powers colonies are annexed by Allies, including the former Ottoman
Empire, the “Middle East”
Creation of the League of Nations
Allied leaders are also worried about Russia influences other countries to Communism, so they hoped to weaken and isolate
Communist Russia
Waging Peace at Home
Main idea: Wilson’s attempt to ratify the League of Nations in the U.S. failed as Americans struggled with conflicts resulting from the
adjustment from war to peace.
Battle over the League
Main idea: Though most Americans approved and Wilson exhausted himself in its promotion, the Treaty of Versailles containing the
League of Nations was never ratified by the U.S. Congress.
Nearly all Democrats favored the treaty, but Wilson had to convince some Republicans to approve, since the Congress was
Republican controlled; two Republican opponent groups:
Irreconcilables: those who opposed the Treaty as one of entangling in imperialism and those who would rather focus
on domestic Progressive issues
Reservationists: those who opposed the Treaty without amendments to their “reservations”; they feared the loss of
Congressional power to declare war, interference with U.S. laws and immigration, etc. Included Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
In 1919, Wilson went on a full-tilt tour across the U.S. to win public support for the Treaty, traveling 8,000 miles and giving 37
speeches in three weeks; he collapsed, in tears and pain in Colorado and then had a massive stroke that left him immobilized and
unstable, yet it was kept secret from the rest of the administration
1920 – the Senate killed the treaty; Wilson’s dream died and he died the next year, 1921
Economic Readjustment and Social Conflict
Main idea: The abrupt and unplanned U.S. adjustment to peace brought economic turmoil and inflation, women and black
discrimination, and violence against strikers.
Spanish Flu Pandemic hit the U.S. in 1918, killing around 700,000 Americans, more than died in the actual combat of the war;
the epidemic killed 20-100 million worldwide (close to that of the Black Death of the Middle Ages)
The Wilson administration had no plans to orderly convert the economy from wartime to peacetime; the wartime socialism
abruptly ended, leading to economic problems; soldiers returning home also increased labor problems; inflation, unemployment, and
shortages occurred
Women lost their wartime job advances; African-Americans suffered intense racism combined with desperation from economic
problems resulting in many race riots
Many large-scale strikes broke out; the largest was the AFL’s steel strike in Pittsburgh; others were Seattle shipyard workers
and Boston police officers; in each case, many strikers were charged with being Communist radicals (like those in Russia) and failed with
little help from the government
Red Scare
Main idea: Exaggerated American fears of Communist revolution in the U.S. led to arrests and deportations of suspected “Bolsheviks.”
The First Red Scare – the term given to the American fear of a Communist takeover of the U.S. like that of Russia during
World War I; Americans were afraid of Russian Communists (“Bolsheviks”) in part because of war propaganda and the yellow press, as
well as the formation of Communist outreach organizations from Russia and in the U.S.; also in 1919, mail bombs went off on May Day
(holiday for workers)
Often the Red Scare was promoted by people looking to advance their own interests
Attorney General Mitchell Palmer created a special new agency of the executive to suppress radicalism – later to be the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI); it is headed by J. Edgar Hoover; Hoover, Palmer, and Wilson work to infiltrate, arrest, deport, and assault
suspected Communist radicals
Hundreds of Americans were arrested and immigrants were deported; Palmer and Hoover often attacked and assaulted without
warrants or due process
The Red Scare faded after 1920, when most Americans grew tired of the tumult and Palmer’s predictions of a violent
revolution attempt on May Day, 1920, did not happen
The Election of 1920
Main idea: Americans elected Republican Warren G. Harding in 1920 as they avoided the issues and tumult of the war years in favor of
a “return to normalcy.”
Harding was almost universally considered unfit for the presidency by those who knew him, but the American people were
tired of “issues, ideals, and being noble” and just wanted to settle for “normalcy”; his running mate is Calvin Coolidge
Democrats were unpopular due to the Wilson administration’s connection to the war and post-war problems
Overall main idea: Between 1917 and 1920, the U.S. helped the Allies win the Great War but refused
its peace treaty, then struggled in its own transition from war to peace.
Key terms for Ch. 23:
Causes of World War I
Franz Ferdinand
Central Powers
Allies (a.k.a. Entente)
American neutrality
Lusitania
Sussex Pledge
Self-determination
Causes of U.S. entering war
Unrestricted submarine warfare
Zimmerman telegram/note
Liberty Bonds
Committee on Public Information (Creel Committee)
Espionage and Sedition Acts
Selective Service Act of 1917
“Doughboys”
American Expeditionary Force
Russian Revolution
Vladimir Lenin
Armistice Day/Veterans Day
Fourteen Points
League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles
Irreconcilables & Reservationists
Spanish Flu Pandemic
Race riots
Post-war strikes
First Red Scare
Palmer Raids
F.B.I. – J. Edgar Hoover
Warren G. Harding
“Return to normalcy”