Unit 3:
World War I
I. Waging Neutrality
A. American isolationism:
1. United States had no vital interest in
the war & would not become involved.
2. Neutrality
3. Ethnic, cultural, and economic ties to
British & French
4. German victory would threaten U.S.
economic, political & strategic interests
Propaganda against Germany
B. Economy of War
1. Sale of war materials to the Allied nations
pulled America out of a recession.
2. violating neutrality: only sold materials to
Allied nations & loaned money to finance
the war.
C. Diplomacy of Neutrality
1. Declaration of London (1909) – neutral
rights
a. British violated terms by blocking trade
with Germany
b. America conceded allowing British
blockades
2. German Unrestricted submarine
warfare, 1915
a. Used against allied shipping around
the British isles.
b. Violated traditional rules of naval warfare:
1) surprise attacks
2) too small to rescue victims
c. Sinking of the Lusitania: killed 128 Americans
d. Sussex Pledge, 1916
1) Germany promised not to
sink merchant ships without
warning
a. contingent on British adherence
to international law
D. Battle over preparedness
1. program to expand the armed forces &
establish universal military training
2. opposition: unneeded costs &
denouncement of militarism
3. 1916 – National Defense Act & Naval
Construction Act
E. Descent into War
1. Wilson – new world order based on
national equality and self-determination,
arms reductions, freedoms of the seas,
international organization to preserve
peace.
2. National objectives of European nations
3. 1917 - Germany resumed unrestricted
submarine warfare
4. Zimmerman Note – motivated
Americans to join the war against
Germany
5. Russian Revolution established a
provisional government which withdrew
Russia from the war.
6. April 6, 1917 – U.S. entered the war
The United States would not fight for conquest
or domination but for “the ultimate peace of the
world and for the liberation of its peoples… The
world must be made safe for democracy .”
II. Waging War in America
A. Managing the War Economy
1. Complex structure of agencies and
controls for every sector of the
economy:
a. Shifted resources to war-related
enterprise = weapons
b. increased production of goods and
services
c. Improved transportation &
distribution
War time Economy & Society
WIB
Railroad
Food
Administration
Administration
Financing
the War
CPI
2. WIB: War Industries Board
a. set prices, allocated scare materials,
standardized products & procedures
b. Partnership b/w gov’t and business
that promoted business interests, suspend
antitrust laws, guaranteed corporate profits
3. Railroad Administration
a. operated the nation’s railroads as a
unified system to move supplies and
troops efficiently
b. centralized management eliminated
competition, permitted improvements in
equipment, brought profits to owners
4. Food Administration
a. Persuaded millions of Americans to
accept meatless and wheatless days so
they could feed the military and
foreign consumers
b. Encouraged production – established
higher prices for farm commodities
c. Woman’s Land Army – recruited
women to work in the fields
5. Financing the War
a. To finance the war, the gov’t
borrowed money and raised taxes
a. Est. graduated tax structure
b. Liberty Bonds
6. Conquering Minds & Suppressing Dissent
a. CPI: Committee on Public Information
1) To rally Americans behind the war
effort
2) Propaganda
b. Espionage Act: heavy fines and prison
terms for obstructing the war effort
c. Sedition Act: designed to suppress
labor radicals – provided severe
penalties for speaking or writing against
the draft, war bonds, or war production
* Violated 1st Amendment Rights
B. Women & Minorities
1. Women worked in male dominated
jobs due to labor shortage
* African American women filled
domestic jobs
2. The war helped women reformers
achieve 2 objectives:
18th Amendment = prohibition
19th Amendment = woman’s suffrage
3. Migration of African Americans from
the rural South to Northern industrial
centers (Industrial jobs)
a. 1917 race riots
III. Waging War Abroad
A. Selective Service Act of 1917
1. established the draft (conscription)
2. Training of soldiers operated according
to progressive principles
* prohibition, personal hygiene,
campaigns against venereal disease,
immigrants taught English & American
history
3. Racial segregation of troops
B. American Impact
1. AEF (American Expeditionary Force) –
General Pershing
a. Influx of American troops tipped the
balance toward allied victory
2. Battle for the Argonne forest
3. Nov. 11 Armistice (11-11-11) Germany
asked for peace
C. Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan
1. American war objectives spelled out by
President Woodrow Wilson
2. Plan was divided into 3 categories:
a. 8 points proposed creating new nations,
shifting old borders, or assuring selfdetermination for peoples previously subject
to Austrian, German, or Russian empires.
b. Another 5 points invoked principles to guide
international relations: freedom of the seas,
open diplomacy instead of secret treaties,
reduction of armaments, free trade, and fair
settlement of colonial claims.
c. 14th point: creation of a league of nations
D. Treaty of Versailles
1. Wilson’s weakened position: Republican’s
gained control of both houses of Congress,
Wilson’ s refusal to consult with Senate
Republicans
2. Leaders: Clemenceau (France), Lloyd
George (England), Orlando (Italy), Wilson (US)
German Concessions
E. League of Nations
1. committed to preserving peace in the
future
2. Debate over ratification:
a. Republicans opposed ratification
1) Irreconcilables: saw the league as a
design to perpetuate the power of
imperial countries.
2) Reservationist: Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge
the League eroded Congressional
authority to declare war
3. Senate killed the treaty in 1920
IV. Post War America
A. Spanish flu – killed over 700,000
B. Post war demobilization of the
American economy:
1. war agencies dissolved
2. troops discharged – no planning
or assistance
a. Had to compete for scarce jobs
b. Bonus Army of 1929
3. run away inflation = increased cost of
food & clothing
4. housing shortage / rents increased
C. Rise of Communism: Red Scare
1. Anti-Bolshevik hysteria
2. FBI – headed by J. Edgar Hoover
a. established to suppress radicals and
impose conformity
b. targeted labor leaders
c. Espionage & Sedition Acts