World War I
■What were the forces for US
neutrality?
■Why did the US eventually enter
the war?
American Neutrality
■When war was declared in Europe
in June 1914, Wilson proclaimed
American neutrality due to:
–Tradition of non-involvement
–Progressives & women
organized against war
–America as a land of immigrants
should not take sides in Europe
■The majority of the U.S. supported
the Allies but wanted to avoid war
Germany blamed
England
appealed
to
Threats to American the
Neutrality
war on
cultural ties & propaganda
expansion
neutrality
threatened
of■U.S.
Germans
atrocitieswasRussian
& French revenge
from the very beginning:
–England & Germany appealed to
the U.S. to enter on their side
–U.S. trade with England &
France provided a strong bond
–The most serious threat proved
to be Germany’s violation of the
right to “freedom of the seas”
Freedom of the Seas
■England
began
a blockade
around
By 1916,
the U.S.
was a
“neutral”to
nation
in name
Germany
cut off
waronly
supplies:
–Wilson protested that the
The U.S.blockade
gave $2.5 billion
in loans
the Allies,
infringed
on to
America’s
but only $27 million to the Central Powers
right to trade as a neutral nation
Trade–But
with the
Allies
caused
U.S.
trade
to
jump
the
flood
of
Allied
war
orders
from $2 billion to $6 billion from 1913 to 1916
helped fuel the U.S. economy
–Loans & trade drew the U.S.
closer to the Allies while trade
with Germany all but ended
The U-Boat Threat
■Germany’s response to the British
blockade was unrestricted
submarine warfare in 1915:
Despite the Sussex Pledge, Congress passed
–Americans
died Act
during
u-boat
the
National Defense
in 1916
that
increased
the size
of theLusitania,
U.S. army &
navy
attacks
on the
Arabic,
& Sussex from 1915 to 1916
–In the Sussex Pledge, Germany
agreed to limit attacks if the U.S.
helped end England’s blockade
Germany used U-boats to create a
naval blockade of England
Election of 1916
■In the 1916 election, Wilson
balanced contrasting stances:
–He appealed to progressives &
anti-war voters with the slogan
“He kept us out of war”
–But argued for “preparedness”
by building up the military in
case the U.S. joins the war
■Wilson won by affirming 2 goals:
freedom of the seas & neutrality
German
leaders knew
might
entice the
America
Joinsthisthe
Allies
USA
to
enter
the
war…but
did
it
anyway
■In December 1916, Germany led
a massive European offensive &
resumed unrestricted submarine
warfare to win the war
■In 1917, Wilson hoped for a
“peace without victory” but key
events made neutrality impossible:
–German subs sunk 5 U.S. ships
–The interception of Zimmerman
Telegram fueled U.S. anger
U.S. Losses to German Submarines,
1916-1918
Rationale behind the Zimmerman Note:
The U.S. & Mexico almost went to war in
June 1916 over events related to the Mexican
Revolution (Huerta, Carranza, Pancho Villa)
April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress
for a declaration of war to “make the
world safe for democracy”
A Bureaucratic War:
How did the US
mobilize for war?
A Bureaucratic War
■To coordinate the war effort, 5,000
new gov’t agencies were created
–War Industries Board (WIB)
Imposed
“gasless”
days
&
shut
down
oversaw
all
factories,
decided
factories for days to divert or conserve fuel
priorities, & fixed prices
–Food Admin supplied food to
WIB director Bernard Baruch became
soldiers
by
appealing
to
civilians
the “dictator of the American economy”
–Fuel
Admin
rationed
coal
&
oil
Asked for a spirit of self-sacrifice, imposed
–RR &
Admin,
War days
Shipping
Board,
“meatless”
“wheatless”
& encouraged
Americans
to plantBoard
“victoryhelped
gardens”move
& War Trade
resources to troops
U.S. Food Administration
U.S. Food Administration
U.S. Fuel Administration
U.S. Shipping Board
A Bureaucratic War
■WWI was expensive (U.S. spent
$32 billion) but was paid for by:
–Liberty
Bonds raised
$23 billion
An unprecedented
alliance
–A boost in personal & corporate
income taxes led to $10 billion
■The partnership between business
& the gov’t met the war demand &
increased business profits 300%
“Over Here”
The Homefront
During World War I
“Over Here”
■To win over there, the U.S. had to
effectively mobilize over here
–Wilson consolidated federal
authority to organize U.S. war
production & distribution
–Wilson began a massive
propaganda campaign aimed at
winning over the American
public to support the war effort
Homefront Propaganda
■Wilson formed the Committee on
We Are Fighting”
&
Public “Why
Information
(CPI) & hired
“The
Meaning
of
America”
muckraker
George
Creel
to
Sauerkraut
was
renamed
“Liberty
Cabbage”
The
Prussian
Cur
&
& pretzels
were
no
longer
served
in
bars
publicize
the
U.S.
war
effort:
The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin
Bach, Beethoven,
& Brahms
–Voluntary
censorship
in press
were not played in symphonies
–75,000 “4-minute men” gave
speeches (facts or emotions?)
–Propaganda motion picture films
■Led to sweeping anti-German
sentiment & some vigilantism
“The Flag of Liberty represents us all”
Which groups are these posters targeting?
“Emotional” Wartime Propaganda
Murder
Pillaging &
Kidnapping
Rape
A “Creel Commission” Film
IWW anti-war critic
"It's allimage
right, of vigilantism
Find
Frank Little was
pal; just tell
drug through the
them he was a
streets of Butte,
traitor."
Montana & lynched
Anti-German Vigilantism
Homefront Censorship
■ Wilson encouraged censorship:
–Espionage Act— aiding the enemy,
obstructing
troop
or U.S.
Wilson
set recruitment,
out to encourage
encouraging
were
declared
unity“disloyalty”
(by force if
necessary)
illegal
Eugene V. Debs was jailed for his Socialist
–Trading-with-the-Enemy
newspaper
Appeal to Reason & Act—
served time
censored
foreign
press in the US
in an
Atlantathe
prison
(Socialism
never recovered
from
attacks)
–Sedition
Act—m
adeWWI
it illegal
to speak
“disloyally” towards the U.S. gov’t, the
flag, or U.S. troops
–Schenck V US— restrictions on free
speech if “clear & present danger”
The American War
Workforce
Workers in the War
■WWI led to a new alliance
between the gov’t & labor unions:
–AFL headman Gompers was
named to the Council of Nat’l
Defense to help enlist union
support for the war effort
–War Labor Board was formed to
standardize wages & hours, &
protected union rights & ordered
equal pay for women
But the WLB seized companies during
strikes (national interests come first!)
Coal
Miner’s
Strike 1919
“Keeping
Warm”
Los Angeles
Times
Workers in the War
■The war called for more laborers:
–8 million women found new,
better-paying jobs in war industry
(few housewives entered the
workforce, unlike WW2)
–450,000 Southern blacks moved
north for new industrial jobs &
better pay (led to race riots)
–100,000 Mexican laborers
worked in SW farms & ranches
Women Helped Recruit & Sell War Bonds
Women Joined the Red Cross
The True Sons
of Freedom
Du Bois’ New Negro:
“We return. We return
from fighting. We
return fighting.”
Returning black soldiers:
“I’m glad I went. I done
my part & I’m going to
fight right here until
Uncle Sam does his.”
“Rescuing
a Negro
during the
race riots
The African
American
“Migration”
in Chicago, 1910-1920
1919”
Northward,
At the beginning
of the war, the United
Conclusions
States owed $3 billion to foreign nations
■World War
1 changed
At the
end of the America:
war, foreign
nations
owed
the
U.S.
$13
billion
–The U.S. emerged as the world’s
strongest economic power &
ushered in the “Roaring 20s”
–But the U.S. gov’t intervened in
American lives as never before:
draft, censorship, propaganda,
war bonds, partnering with big
business & unions
“Over There”
American Military
Participation in WWI
When
the U.S.&entered
the war1914-1917
in 1917,
WWI
Alliances
Battlefronts,
the Allies were on the brink of defeat
Mutinies were common in the French army
& the British lost at Flanders, Belgium
U-boats
effectively
limited
The Russian armistice in 1917
Allied
supplies allowed Germany to move its full
army to the western front
Trench Warfare
Trench foot
Trenches WWI
The army & navy Mobilization
increased in size but military
leaders had not prepared a plan for war (“To plan
named
to
for■Wilson
war is to violate
theJohn
terms Pershing
of neutrality”)
head the American Expeditionary
Force (AEF), but despite Wilson’s
preparedness campaign, the U.S.
was not prepared for full scale war
■Many wanted a volunteer army,
but Wilson pressed Congress to
pass a Selective Service Act
(24 million registered & 2.8 million
were drafted to fight in Europe)
African-Americans were subject to the draft &
fought in segregated units
American Propaganda: George Creel’s
Committee on Public Information (CPI)
Johnnie get your gun, get your
gun,
get your gun,
Take it on the run, on the run, on
the run,
Hear them calling you and me,
Ev'ry son of liberty.
Hurry right away, no delay, go
today,
Make your daddy glad to have had
such a lad,
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
Over there over there
Send the word, send the word over
there
That the Yanks are coming, the
Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
ev'rywhere
So prepare say a pray'r
Send the word, send the word to
beware
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's
The 1st U.S. troops arrived via convoy in
June 1917 but did not see action until early 1918
The AlliedAmerican
counter-attack
soldiers
ledsaw
by their
the 1st
U.S. & France
actionpushed
in May
into
1918
Germany
at Chateau
Thierry outside Paris & helped resist
a last-ditch German offensive
The U.S.
on the
Western
Front,
1918
War in the Trenches
■The arrival of fresh American
soldiers & war supplies raised
Allied morale at a crucial time:
–By October 1918, the German
gov’t knew the war was over
–Turkey, Austria-Hungary, &
Bulgaria were all out of the war
–Nov 11, 1918 Germany signed
an armistice with the Allies
9 million soldiers
&
U.S. had only 320,000
Conclusions
American
soldiers
5 million civilians died casualties (6.8%)
were■The
only engaged
in
“Great
War”
was
a
total
war
Artillery,
gas, grenades,
battlebut
forpoison
8
months
Allies
faced
52%
the
U.S.
effort
paled
in
machine guns led to trench
casualties;
the
Central
warfare
& war of attrition
comparison
to other
Allied
forces:
Powers had 57%
–The U.S. reluctantly entered
WWI after 3 years of neutrality
& played a supportive (not a
central) military role in the war
–But, WWI had a huge impact on
the American economic,
political, & cultural homefront
Versailles Peace Conference
■ World War One ended at 11am on 11th
November 1918.
■ In 1919, the “Big 4” Lloyd George of Great
Britain, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of
France and Woodrow Wilson from the US
met to discuss what to do with Germany.
Wilson’s 14 Points
Wilson’s 14 Points
■ Wilson’s vision of ideal foreign policy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Open diplomacy (no secret alliances)
Freedom of the seas
Free trade/low tariffs
Arms reductions
Colonial interests should be considered (possibly freed)
Territory returned to Russia
Territory returned to Belgium
Territory returned to France
Territory returned to Italy
Austria-Hungary broken up
Romania, Serbia, Montenegro given autonomy
Ottoman Empire broken up
Independent Poland
Formation of an international league
to prevent future wars (League of Nations)
Treaty of Versailles
■ The establishment of the League of Nations
■ War Guilt clause - Germany to accept blame for starting the
war.
■ Reparations - Germany was to pay for the damage caused
by the war.
■ Military Clauses
– Army - was to be reduced to 100,000 men and no tanks
were allowed
– Navy - Germany was only allowed 6 ships and no
submarines
– Air force - Germany was not allowed an air force
■ Rhineland - The Rhineland area was to be kept free of
German military personnel and weapons
■ Stripped of Colonies
Problems with the Treaty
■ Punishes losers, but winners make no concessions
– Central Powers lose colonies & territory
– Allies don’t give up any colonies
■ Hypocritical
– Supposedly gives self-determination, but only for the colonies of Central
Powers
– Allies’ colonies don’t get independence!
■ Punishes Germany too harshly
– Destroys German economy & national pride
– Interwar problems lead to WWII
– Treaty also does NOT recognize
independence outside Europe
• Indirectly leads to many wars
(incl. Vietnam war) much later
The U. S. Senate rejected the Treaty
and the League of Nations
Why?
■ League of Nations – US fears being dragged into
another Euro problem
■ Partisan politics
– Republicans oppose Wilson’s ideal for political reasons
– Also some Democrats don’t agree w/ Wilson
■ Reservationists – would support treaty only if some
changes were made
– Henry Cabot Lodge
■ Irreconcilables – would not support treaty under any
terms
– La Follette, Johnson, Borah
– Mostly objected to League of Nations
■ How does Wilson respond?
Homefront: The Red Scare
■A “red scare” hit America as a
result of the Russian Revolution
–Americans feared Lenin’s anticapitalist revolution & were
angry over Russia’s pullout on
the Eastern Front
–Wilson refused to recognize the
new gov’t & did not allow Russia
to attend the post-war
conference
The
Red Scare
“What a year
has brought
forth”
NY World
The
Red Scare
“Put Them
Out & Keep
Them Out”
Philadelphia
Inquirer
Palmer used this act of violence as an
opportunity to invoke the Alien Act ofThe
1918 &
arrested or deported ~6,000 suspected
Redradicals
Scare:
(some were innocent U.S. citizens)
Palmer
Raids
U.S.
Attorney
Police
arrested
General
“suspected
Mitchell
Reds’
in
Palmer’s
Chicago,
1920
Home was
bombed