Chapter 21:
The War to End War
It was the strength of the opposition forces, both
liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude
and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the
Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.
Wilson’s Failure to Keep the US Out of War
• Jan. 1917 Unrestricted sub warfare
• Would sink all ships in war zone, including US ships
− GER was losing, its people were starving due to BR
blockade
• They hoped to knock BR out of the war before the US could
get in
• Wilson broke off diplomatic ties
• Many wanted continued isolationism
War by Act of Germany
• Zimmerman Note (Feb. 1917):
BR intercept secret telegram
to ambassador for GER in
Mexico
− If they attacked the US,
Mex. was promised TX,
NM, ARIZ
War by Act of Germany
• March 1917 Germany sinks 4 US
ships
• Russian Revolution (1917)
− The US could now fight in the war for
“democracy”
• April 2, 1917 - Wilson asked for a
declaration of war from Congress
− Neutral trade failed
− Germany killing our civilians
President Wilson viewed America’s
entry into WWI as an opportunity for
the US to shape a new international
order based on the ideals of democracy
Wilsonian Idealism Enthroned
• Declaration of war - Make the world “safe for democracy”
− GER sub policy = “warfare against mankind”
− “the war to end all wars”
• Americans = Isolationists – Wilson needed to be convincing
• American businesses were making $$ from war
• “Push Back” from Congress
• Wilson compared the selfish motives of the other
Allies & also Central Powers, who fought for
territory or riches, with America’s selflessness
Jeanette Rankin
– first female
Congressional
member - MO
(against war)
Wilson’s Fourteen Potent Points
• Strong spirit of war
• Jan. 8, 1918: Fourteen Points speech to Congress
− Keep Russia in the war
− Inspired all the Allies
− Demoralized enemies
• The Fourteen Points’ most important points:
− Abolish secret treaties
− Freedom of the seas
− Free trade
− Reduction of armaments
− Adjustment of colonial claims in interests of both native peoples and
colonial powers (Opposed by some in Congress)
− “self determination” for minority groups in a country
− League of Nations, an international organization that would provide
collective security, protecting large and small countries from
aggression (Caused a lot of conflict!)* Does this force us to protect
allies, or give up sovereignty?
Creel Manipulates Minds
• Committee on Public Information created, headed by journalist
George Creel
− Purpose was to get the US public to support the war and the rest of the
world to support Wilson’s goals
• 75,000 “four-minute men”
• Posters, leaflets, pamphlets, booklets sent out
• Anti-German movies (“To Hell with the Kaiser”) showed supposed
German brutality
• Conductors led audiences in patriotic songs
− Most famous song from the time was “Over There”
• Creel was able to get the country & world behind Wilson, but many
came to expect too much  later led to disillusionment & anger
The Most Famous
Recruitment Poster
The Nation’s Factories Go to War
• The country was unprepared for the war
− Council of National Defense to study problems of economic
mobilization
− Launched a shipbuilding program (trade & navy)
− Slightly increased the size of the army (which had only 100,000
men, 15th in the world)
• The War Industries Board: Created late in the war (March 1918)
− Bernard Baruch
− Never had much power over the economy; was disbanded right
after the end of the war
− Had control over raw materials & prices
− Disliked by Americans – too socialist
Workers in Wartime
• War Department had a “work or fight”
policy
• National War Labor Board: Taft, chairman
− Worked to fix disputes between labor and
management that might hurt war production
− Raises and 8-hr work day
− Did not give unions what they most wanted:
a government guarantee of the right to
organize
• American Federation of Labor (AFofL)
under Gompers supported the war &
membership doubled, wages increased
• Radical unions (IWW) didn’t support the
war
− Represented the poorest of workers & worst
working conditions
− When they protested, many were viciously
beaten or arrested
Labor grievances included
no right to organize,
inflation caused by war,
violence against workers
by employers, use of
African-Americans as
strikebreakers
Workers in Wartime
• Great Migration: African-Americans go north for jobs,
fewer immigrants to compete with.
•Southern blacks
migrated to Northern
cities - poverty, lynchings,
Jim Crowism
Forging a War Economy
• Wartime mobilization agencies relied on
voluntary compliance to prepare the economy
for war
• Food Administration: H. Hoover
− “Wheatless Wednesdays,” “Meatless
Tuesdays,” victory gardens
• High use of propaganda
− 18th Amendment prohibited alcohol –
needed the grain
− Farm production up  daylight savings
time
Forging a War Economy
• Food production increased by 25% & exports to the Allies tripled
• Fuel: H. Garfield
− ”Heatless Mondays,” “Gasless Sundays,” coal production
• Railroads: William G. McAdoo Sec. of Treasury
− Took over rrs to increase traffic flow
− Liberty bond campaigns
Forging a War Economy
• War Finance: Buy Liberty Bonds
− Most $$$ to finance the war came
from loans
− War Revenue Act (1917) raised
$12 bil. in taxes
− Borrowed $21 bil in loans
− Sometimes people were
intimidated into buying bonds
Making Plowboys into Doughboys
• the US DID have to send troops to Europe for the Allies
to win (they were running out of soldiers)
• *Selective Service Act (1917) all males from 17-30
− *conscription (draft) necessary to raise the #s of soldiers
needed
• No exemptions possible (unlike in C.W.)
• Workers in important industries were exempt
• 2.8 million of the 4.7 million who served were drafted
America Helps Hammer the “Hun”
• War ended just in time for the Allies, since supplies were running
short
• GER surrendered because:
− Their allies were deserting them
− BR blockade caused critical food shortages
− Hard attacks by Allies were relentless
− Allied propaganda gave GER citizens & soldiers hope of a fair
peace
• Oct 1918 GER asked Wilson for peace based on 14 Points
− Wilson told them to overthrow the kaiser first
• He was exiled to Holland
• *armistice: cease-fire so a
peace treaty can be
decided upon
• Nov. 11, 1918, ends 11:00
on 11th day of 11th month
The Fourteen Points Disarm GER
• Main US contributions to the war were food, war
supplies, credit (money to Allies), oil, and
manpower
• US did not contribute battlefield victories
− GER was defeated by the prospect of large
numbers of troops from the US, not the actual
performance of US soldiers
An Idealist Battles the Imperialists in Paris
• Big 4: Wilson [US], Lloyd-George [GB], Clemenceau [FR], & Orlando
[ITALY]; Palace
− Wilson’s ultimate goal was L. of N. (international assembly)
• Also wanted to prevent allied taking of territory, national selfdetermination for small European nations, free trade, freedom of seas
• “Gold Star” Mothers
A gold star on a service flag
Leaders of the four major victorious powers—
Britain's Prime Minister David Lloyd George,
Italy's Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, President
Georges Clemenceau of France, and President
Woodrow Wilson of the United States—met in
1919 at the Paris Peace Conference.
The 1920 Election
•Harding’s victory was a death sentence for the League of Nations.
-The League eventually had no influence b/c the U.S did not join