Safe for Democracy
Chapter 19
New American Diplomacy
• The Panama Canal
 Canal through Central America
seen as vital to American power
 1901 Hay–Pauncefote Treaty –
treaty with Britain giving US
exclusive right to build canal
 Two possible sites: Panama and
Nicaragua
 French company already began dig
and failed
 US attempted to buy land from
Colombia to build canal –
Colombia refused
New American Diplomacy
 Deal made with Panamanians,
French, and US for a revolt against
Colombia with US backing
 Panamanian revolt succeeded –
US got land for canal
• Roosevelt Corollary
 Changed Monroe Doctrine to
include right of US to intervene in
Latin American affairs
 “Speak softly and carry a big stick”
 US intervened numerous times
beginning with Dominican
Republic
New American Diplomacy
• Latin America resented US
intrusion and influence
• President William Howard Taft
instituted new policy
• Dollar Diplomacy – policy in which
US helped Latin American industry
with intent on increasing trade
between US and Latin America
• US continued intervention and
Latin America continued to resent
US
Wilson & Mexico
• Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy
 Emphasis on idealism (missionary
diplomacy) situational
 Mexican Revolution 1911
• Mexican Revolution – moderate
Madero
• General Huerta overthrew Madero –
angered Wilson
• US invasion of Vera Cruz, Mexico
• Carranza and Pancho Villa
• General Pershing and Mexican
expedition 1916-1917
Pancho Villa
World War I
• Europe at War
Outbreak of war
• Bosnia – Serbia/Black Hand
• Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
• Mobilization
• Schlieffen Plan
American neutrality
• Sympathies of American public
Allied propaganda
World War I
• Triple Alliance = Central Powers (Germany,
Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy switched sides
and was replaced by the Ottoman Empire)
• Triple Entente = Allies (Great Britain, France,
and Russia)
• German Plan Fails
 German attack on France had to go
through neutral Belgium
 Britain enters war on side of France
 Germany narrowly fails to take Paris
 War becomes locked in stalemate
 Stalemate = Trench Warfare
World War I
• Freedom of the Seas
Economic interests trumped
propaganda
Trade and loans to Allies tied US
closer to them
Germany initially unconcerned
about trade – later turned to
submarine warfare
Restricted versus unrestricted
warfare
The Lusitania and Sussex incidents
World War I
• The Election of 1916
Wilson went into election weak
• Won in 1912 due to split in
Republican Party
• Needed Progressive support
Wooed the Progressives
TR did not run
Key issue was US policy towards
war in Europe
• Wilson stressed preparedness
• “He kept us out of war”
World War I
• The Road to War
Wilson attempted to end the war
through negotiations in 1915 and
1916
Germans lifted ban against
unrestricted submarine warfare –
America began arming merchant
ships
Zimmerman telegram
Congress declared war
World War I
• Mobilizing the Economy
Much of big industry disorganized and slow to respond – most
large weapon systems failed to enter system in time to be used
Most large weapon systems used by US were European made
Conscription hot issue – first draftees hit training camps almost 6
months after declaration of war
War Industries Board (WIB) established to coordinate American
war effort
World War I
Process of building the “home
front” long w/ many problems
Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover
as food administrator
• Able to conserve food without
rationing
• “Wheatless Mondays, Meatless
Fridays”
• Victory Gardens - backyard vegetable
gardens
• Making use of leftovers
Farmers profits surged – increase
in income 30%
World War I
• Workers in Wartime
Employment and wages
increased
Migrations dramatically
increased – especially blacks
National War Labor Board
established to settle labor
disputes – resulted in
increase of unionization
World War I
• Propaganda and Civil Liberties
Wilson excelled at mobilizing
public opinion
Established Committee on Public
Information (CPI) under George
Creel – dramatic increase in US
war propaganda for home
consumption
Those against war: Irish and
German Americans, pacifists, and
isolationists became targets for
abuse by CIP and patriotic public
World War I
Espionage Act and Sedition Act
targeted anyone who expressed
opinion against war or
government
Eugene V. Debs sentenced to
prison for making anti-war
speech
Espionage Act upheld in
Supreme Court case Schenck v.
United States – man mailing
circulars urging draftees not to
report for duty
Repression exceeded anything
in both Britain and France
World War I
• Wartime Reforms
War seemed to confirm beliefs of Progressives as government
entered into all aspects of society
Partly due to war and progressive push, 18th (prohibition of
alcohol) and 19th (women’s vote) amendments passed after the
end of the war
Efforts to eliminate prostitution (versus European view)
World War I
• Women in the Military
 Served in non-combat positions
 Navy enlisted women as radio
operators, clerks, etc.
 Army did NOT enlist women
except for Army Nursing Corps
 “Hello Girls” – women with French
language training sent overseas to
man phone system for US military
 Women served in Red Cross,
YMCA, and Salvation Army in
France
World War I
• The Great Migration
 Massive migration of blacks from
South into Northern states
 Better jobs, pay, conditions
 Discrimination but mostly not as
severe
• Mexican Migration
 Large migration of Mexicans into US
for agricultural/ranching jobs in the
West
 Also took factory jobs in many major
cities
 Barrios – Mexican neighborhoods
World War I
Blacks initially not drafted but
afterwards conscripted in greater
numbers in South than whites
Blacks served in two regular army
regiments and numerous national
guard units
Military units were segregated and
most blacks served in labor
battalions
Blacks units serving under French
control served valiantly and were
highly decorated
World War I
• America in the Trenches
American participation in the convoy system
drastically reduced losses to submarines
The American Expeditionary Force (AEF),
commanded by Pershing, did not take the field
until late 1917 – fought on Western Front
Pershing refused to allow US troops to augment
Allied forces – US troops remained an
independent force (except black regiments)
US forces suffered 262,725 casualties, fought
with increasing skills and helped lead Germany to
sue for peace
General John “Blackjack” Pershing
A Bloody Conflict
• 1917 Russian Revolution
 Russian Czar forced to abdicate to
Socialists
 Socialists continued war – caused
second revolution led by
Bolsheviks (Communists)
 Bolshevik leader, Lenin, became
head of Russia
 Russia ended war with Germany –
signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
 Germany could now concentrate
on the Western Front
A Bloody Conflict
• Trench Warfare
 Troops dug in for protection –
stalemate
• Machine-guns
• High-explosive artillery shells
• Airplanes
 New weapon technology changed
warfare – tried to break stalemate
• Chemical warfare (gas)
• Tanks
• Flamethrowers
 Series of trenches stretched from
Switzerland to Atlantic Ocean
 No-Man’s Land – area between the
opposing trenches
A Bloody Conflict
• March 1918 – Germany launched
great offensive hoping to defeat
Allies before America could change
the war
• American troops deployed against
Germans – battled at ChateauThierry and Saint-Mihiel
• Americans attacked Argonne Forest
– US suffered heavy casualties but
took position
• Hero Alvin York – won medals from
US, Britain, and France
War’s End
• Preparing for Peace
The armistice ending hostilities
commenced November 11, 1918
Germany – blame & reparations
Europe was in a shambles with
enormous numbers of dead, many
wanting revenge, and ideologies
like communism enticing
Wilson wanted peace based on his
“Fourteen Points” plan
World War I Casualties
Each flag represents 100,000
dead
Each skull represents 100,000
civilian dead
Large # of civilian deaths in
Germany due to British
blockade of German ports
Large # of civilian deaths in
Russia due to Russian
Revolution in 1917
Large # of civilian deaths in
Ottoman Empire due to
genocide of Christian
Armenian population in 1915
More people killed by Spanish
Flu in 1918 than entire war
Aftermath
 Wilson made unprecedented appearance
at Versailles
 Appealed to Americans for Democratic
congress – Republicans won both houses
 Opposition among Senate Republicans
led by Henry Cabot Lodge – did not want
America’s sovereignty threatened
 Wilson’s arrogance and stubbornness
caused US to reject treaty and League of
Nations
 Wilson’s behavior may be attributable to
a stroke - collapsed campaigning for the
treaty
President Woodrow Wilson (D)
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (R)
Aftermath
• Demobilization
No plan
Economic chaos ensued as millions of veterans re-entered the
work force
Military contracts worth billions were cancelled
All controls established by the War Industries Board dropped
Business boomed as consumers bought up products formerly in
short supply – resulting in inflation
Aftermath
Cost of living doubled
Inflation = labor troubles /
strikes for wage increases
Work stoppages aggravated
shortages / inflation / more
strikes
Agricultural prices
plummeted
Unemployment soared
The Red Scare
Radical elements in unions caused
populace to equate unions with
threat of communism
People viewed violent strikes as
precursors to revolution
Volatile labor situation
exacerbated by anarchist
bombings and attempted murders
of Rockefeller, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, and Attorney General
Mitchell Palmer
United States Attorney General Mitchell Palmer
Most radicals not American citizens – WWI enemy Germany replaced by the
immigrant (Italian, Jew, Slav), usually an industrial worker
Americans felt American way of life in danger – demanded that radicals be
suppressed
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer central figure in “Red Scare”
1919 established the General Intelligence Division (D of J) headed by J. Edgar
Hoover
Arrests of radicals by Hoover brought widespread public acclaim – many
deported
Palmer, with presidential ambitions, planned thousands of arrests
Civil liberties abused by arrests – public gradually turned against
Palmer’s methods
Palmer announced huge terrorist demonstration on May Day,
1920 – no show made Palmer appear ridiculous and Red Scare
subsided
The Election of 1920
• Election of 1920
Idealism of Wilson – League of
Nations
Cox versus Harding
Public disillusioned by war and
tired of progressivism
Harding called for “Normalcy”
The idea of the League defeated