WORLD WAR I

1914-1918**US Enters 1917

World War I (1914-1918)• Causes of World War I• Militarism • Alliances• Imperialism• Nationalism• Immediate cause assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (Austria-

Hungary) by a Serbian nationalist

• Two Sides:• Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey• Allied Powers: Britain, Russia, Serbia, France, U.S. (1917)

• Lusitania (1915)- British passenger liner, German u-boats sank it, 128 Americans killed. Americans angered, but not ready to go to war.

World War I (cont.)• Reasons U.S. enters 1917:• Zimmerman Telegram: Germany tried to get Mexico to invade

U.S.• Unrestricted submarine warfare by German U-Boats

• American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)• Led by General John J. Pershing

• Organized inexperienced troops into an effective military • Participated in the last major offensive of the war

• Battle of Argonne Forest- many Americans died, but led to the surrender of Germany

• Armistice, ending the war, signed on Nov. 1918

World War I (cont.)• Trench warfare was fought along Western Frontier• Stalemate – neither side advancing in a war• New technology in WWI led to a stalemate and a war of

attrition (lots of casualties) • Machine Guns• Tanks• Airplanes• Poison gas

World War I (con’t)• Home front:• US enlarged the military through a draft - Selective Service Act• Propaganda used to obtain support for the war (i.e. Huns/Germans are

BAD, going to destroy the world, etc.)• U.S. citizens encouraged to buy liberty bonds• Asked to ration food and supplies• Women took men’s place in factories• Espionage and Sedition Acts

• Made it illegal to obstruct the draft or speak out against the government• People thought it violated the 1st amendment

Effects of World War I• Fourteen Points

• Written by President Woodrow Wilson

• Goal prevent future wars

• Proposed the creation of the League of Nations• League of Nations = international organization to maintain world peace

• Treaty of Versailles • ended WWI

• Germany had to pay war reparations and accept sole responsibility for war.

• Led to the rise of Hitler and WWII.

• Created the League of Nations

• U.S. does NOT sign the Treaty• U.S. didn’t accept League of Nations, opposition led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge

• International organization could limit US ability and choice to act

• Domestic Response• “Return to Normalcy” in U.S. after World War I Isolationism & Neutrality

• Stayed out of most international issues, including the League of Nations

ROARING 20’S

Social Issues of the 1920s• Nativist, Anti-immigrant sentiments in America• The Red Scare

• Fear of communists and anarchists, mostly immigrants

• Palmer Raids – round up of over 4,000 suspected anarchists after bombings

• National Origins Act 1924 - U.S. limits immigrants, sets a quota (allowance) for each country, especially against “new immigrants”

• Resurgence of the KKK

• Sacco and Vanzetti – anarchists and Italian immigrants sentenced to death for murder, were not given a fair trial.

• Prohibition - 18th amendment• alcohol production, consumption, and sales were prohibited

• Bootlegger, Volstead Act – terms associated with smuggling liquor.

• organized crime increased (mafia)

• Speakeasies - illegal bars

• 21st amendment overturned Prohibition

Social Issues of the 1920s (cont.)

• Conflict between old (traditional) and new (modern) values • Scopes Trial - evolution case, “monkey trial”

• William Jennings Bryan - expert witness for prosecution

• Clarence Darrow - defense attorney for Mr. Scopes

• Role of women• Flappers– change attitudes for women, clothing, hairstyles

• New Ideas• Social Darwinism – human races compete for survival just like animals,

the fittest will survive

• Eugenics – belief that humans could be strategically bred to improve the race, superior parents= even better children, link to Social Darwinism

Key People of the 1920’s• Charles Lindbergh – 1st to fly solo over Atlantic Ocean from NY to Paris

in “Spirit of St. Louis” (plane), American hero.

• Henry Ford – introduced assembly line production to automobiles (Model T cars)• Assembly line- each person has a specific task in the production of a good• Caused mass (and fast) production of goods, lower costs, and increased

sales

• Glenn Curtiss – the Father of Naval Aviation; the U.S. Navy’s Curtiss NC-4 Flying Boat became the first aircraft to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, designed a boat to take off and land on water

• Marcus Garvey – established the Universal Negro Improvement Association, wanted to foster worldwide unity among all Africans, also promoted the “Back-to-Africa Movement” which encouraged African Americans to return to Africa

Culture of the Roaring 20’s (1920s)

• Talkies – movies

• Tin Pan Alley – in New York City, area where song-writers developed American pop music in a variety of styles- blues, jazz, ragtime

• Harlem Renaissance - African Americans enter into mainstream arts (literature, jazz, etc.)• Langston Hughes- poet

Great Migration 1910-1930• Movement of 1.3 million African Americans out of the South

to Northern, Mid-Western and Western states.• Reasons:• Racial violence and discrimination• Mechanization of cotton production• Demand for labor in cities, especially during war time

Economics of the 1920s• Republican Presidents during 1920s• Warren Harding 1920

• “return to normalcy”- turning away from international efforts and away from the programs of the Progressive Era (cost too much money).

• Teapot dome scandal – cabinet member leased oil from government land to friends in exchange for bribes, one of many scandals that tainted Harding’s reputation

• Calvin Coolidge 1924• Herbert Hoover 1928

• Presidents supported lower taxes, high import tariffs, and more laissez faire attitude toward businesses

• Installment buying (credit) by American consumers increased because of advertising, this contributed to the Great Depression.• Era of mass consumption

GREAT DEPRESSION & NEW DEAL

Great Depression (1929-1941)• Causes:

• Stock market crashes (October 29, 1929)

• Stock bought on credit hoping to sell it for a profit later (speculation)

• High tariffs on imported goods hurt trade with other countries

• Over production of consumer goods

• Monetary policy of the Federal Reserve System

• Dustbowl - drought in Great Plains caused dust storms and farmers to migrate to California in the 1930s (The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck).

• Effects:• Hoovervilles (makeshift shelters, slums)

• High unemployment

• Bank failures

• Deportation of European and Mexican immigrants

• Presidents:• Herbert Hoover (1928-1933) - did not think that it was the role of the federal government to help

• Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)

The New Deal• New Deal – Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to help Americans during the Great Depression.

• Fireside chats - FDR spoke to nation on radio about the Depression and WWII, calmed their fears

• Programs:• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – protects people’s money in banks STILL

EXISTS TODAY

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – regulates the stock market STILL EXISTS TODAY

• Social Security Administration – insurance/retirement for elderly, government responsible for people’s economic welfare, STILL EXISTS TODAY

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – helps people obtain mortgage loans from banks STILL EXISTS TODAY

• Work Programs (i.e. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC))• Created job opportunities for people

• Improved infrastructure across America– dams created, electricity for rural areas

The New Deal (cont.)• Eleanor Roosevelt – first lady, encouraged women to pull their families through the

great depression

• Court Packing Plan- FDR tries to enlarge the Supreme Court to protect the New Deal• violated constitutional principle of separation of powers

• Action blocked by Congress

• Impact of New Deal and Great Depression• Americans look to federal government for solutions to economic problems.

• Federal government becomes more involved than EVER in everyday lives of Americans.

• FDR’s presidency led to the 22nd Amendment – established term limits for presidents (2)

• Depression ends during WWII because military production during the war created jobs which increased the economic growth in the U.S.