Chapter 10: World War I

Section I: From Neutrality to War

• Nationalism Militarism Imperialism Entangling Alliances

I. What Caused WWI?

A. Nationalism and Competition Heighten Tension

1. nationalism – Extreme devotion to one’s nation.2. many citizens began to believe that nationalism was all about

your nation and it’s race being better than others.3. Led to intense rivalries among European nations4. inspired France to attempt to regain Alsace-Lorraine – A

territory long disputed by Germany and France which Germany held at this time.

5. destabilized older empires as they freed ethnicities out of their empire.

6. Industrial strength of a nation also became a source of intense pride and rivalry

B. Militarism Produces and Arms Race

1. militarism – Glorification of the military.

2. Not a matter of if a conflict would happen, but when it would happen.

3. nations began building massive armies and their industries cranked out endless amounts of war materials.

4. Countries like Germany and England were desperate to keep up with each others military growth.

C. Alliances Make Nations Overconfident & Reckless

1. nations joined forces to try to prevent being conquered by stronger nations.

2. German-Austria/Hungary-Italy joined forces by 1914 – Triple Alliance

3. Triple Entente – England , France, and Russia

4. Knew they had backup if they went to war.

D. Assassination Hurtles Europe Toward World War

1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia – a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

2. Gavrillo Princip of the Serbian nationalist group, The Black Hand, assassinated him and his wife.

3. Were angry at Austria over the way it governed them and believed Bosnia was rightfully Serbian territory.

D. The Fighting Begins• The Archduke’s assassination was the spark that ignited the war

A. Alliances Cause a Chain Reaction

1. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany told Austria-Hungary that Germany would support them if they went to

war.

2. Austria-Hungary then ordered Serbia to give in to harsh demands in regard to the investigation of the murders.

3. When Serbia did not agree…they declared war on them (8-28-1914)

4. By September 1914, Germany got to within 30 miles of Paris where they were stopped by England.

• Austria-Hungary>>>>>>Serbia

• Russia>>>>>>>>Austria-Hungary

• Germany>>>>>Russia

• France>>>>Germany>>>invades Belgium to get to France

• England>>>declares war on Germany & Austria-Hungary

B. Deadly Technology Leads to a Stalemate

• Both sides dug themselves into trenches and prepared for a long fight.

Germans unleashed with machine guns and artillery

450 miles of trenches stretched from Belgium to Switzerland.barb wire, tanks, and poisonous gas were soon introduced

as new weapons of modern warfare.

• Western Front – The battlefields of France during WWI.

• attacking the trenches was a useless proposition as it guaranteed severe casualties.

1918 western front

C. The Reality of Trench Warfare

1. Both sides were locked in a deadly stalemate

2. soldiers suffered greatly---no sleep, dirty water, dirty food, bugs, rats, human waste…weather (cold & wet)

3. Trench Foot – bacterial infection of the feet that could lead to amputation.

Trench Foot

5. Trench Mouth – bacterial infection of the mouth that led to gums and teeth rotting.

6. lice was also an issue

6. No Man’s Land – land between the trenches.

7. Casualties - # of deaths (French had 1 million in 3 months)

8. There was no honor, or glory to be found in WWI trenches.

III. Wilson Urges Neutrality

• Wilson had concerns that the tensions in Europe could set newer Americans against each other.

• The U.S. wanted to be isolated from the affairs of the rest of the world.

A. Americans Have Divided Loyalties

1. 1914 – 1/3 of Americans were foreign born.

2. Many German Americans felt the Central Powers were justified…and others did not.

3. Many Jews hoped Russia would fall after the way Jews were treated.

4. MOST Americans sided with England and France.

1910

B. American Opinion Crystallizes

1. Germany’s vicious actions in Belgium turned many Americans off.

a. Burning towns, killing civilians, rapes etc..

2. England went to great lengths to make sure Americans had a the “latest atrocities” of the German army sent to American newspapers.

3. Great concern over the affects of this conflict on America

IV. Neutrality Gives Way to War

A. Britain Blockades Germany1. England used it’s navy to block Germany’s ports so that

war materials could not be brought in to help German war efforts.

2. USUALLY…only war items could be captured by a blockade, but England was even stopping food and medical supplies from reaching Germany.

B. German Submarines Violate Neutral Rights

1. Germany’s response was to send out another newer weapon..the submarine to counter the British blockade.

2. The German U-Boats began to attack ships suspected of sending war materials to England.

3. British passenger ship, Lusitania, was sunk leading to many civilian deaths (including 128 American).

4. Germany took out ads in American newspapers warning Americans to not be on vessels going to England.

5. SS. Sussex sunk killing more Americans

C. Wilson Prepares for War

1. By 1915 Wilson had begun to prepare the U.S. for war

2. National Defense Act – Expanded the size of the Army.

1. Naval Construction Act – Authorized the building of more warships.

D. America Enters the War

1. Zimmerman Notea. Arthur Zimmerman was German ambassador to

Mexico

b. Sent a telegraph to Mexico’s President promising to give Mexico back Texas and other lands if they help Germany conquer the U.S.

c. British spies captured the telegraph and sent it to American newspapers

d. Americans were so stunned that even Wilson was no longer advocating peace..

e. April 2, 1917 – Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war Vs Germany.

Section 2: The Home Front

• Prior to WWI the government played very little role in the lives of Americas citizens.

• During WWI the government would assume new powers and take more control of the daily lives of U.S. citizens,

I. America Mobilizes for War

A. Building an Army

1. Selective Service Act – May 1917 – Authorized Congress to draft young men for military service.

2. 9.6 million registered the first day

3. 24 million registered altogether and 2.8 million were drafted

4. 4.8 million Americans served during WWI.

B. Constructing a War Economy

1. Wilson had to shift from peacetime to wartime production

2. Council of National Defense – 1916 – Created to oversee all of the various organizations that were to run our war effort

3. Bernard Beruch – Influential Wall Street broker hired by Wilson to control the U.S. war industrial effort.

4. War Industries Board – (WIB) – Controlled what military itesm were to be produced, by who, and how much they would be paid…they controlled military production during WWI.

5. Herbert Hoover – Hired by Wilson to regulate and control agriculture in the U.S. during WWI.

6. Conservation of food products became just as important as natural resources.

7. Heatless, Meatless, and Wheatless….

C. Shaping Public Opinion

1. Wilson HAD to have the support of the American people IF the U.S. was going to win the war.

2. Committee on Public Information (CPI) - Created to convince citizens that the American war effort was justified

3. George Creel – Appointed as leader of CPI by Woodrow Wilson.

4. Massive political campaign to convince Americans to support the government.

a. 75 million pamphlets, 6k press releases, 75k public speakers etc…

b. propaganda posters, movies, movie commercials

• Committee on Public Information 1:51

II. Opposition and It’s Consequences

• A. Resistance to the Draft

1. some believed the government had no authority to draft.

2. 12% of U.S. men drafted no-showed.

1. conscientious objectors – believed that killing was wrong and tried to get out of military service for that reason.

2. Usually these people had religious objections to fighting in the war…were often mistreated by the public and military.

B. Women Work for Peace

1. Women’s Peace Party – Openly opposed the war and U.S. participation in it.

2. Jeanette Rankin – 1st Woman Congressman in the U.S.

a. Only vote against war in WWI & WWII

3. Most women suffragists however, supported the war and the industrial war effort…probably as seeing it as a way to get in good with the government and society for gaining the right to vote???

C. The Government Cracks Down on Dissent

1. some felt the government was not interested in hearing opinions against the war…they were right!!!

2. Espionage Act – Allowed post office to ban seditious newspapers, magazines, newsletters etc.. 1. interfere with

draft, help the enemy, interfere with the war in general = $10k fine and/or 20 yrs in prison.

3. Sedition Act – Made it illegal to speak out publicly against the war, the President, Congress, or anything related to the war.

a. Used to prosecute socialists, communists and any un-loyal Americans. (Eugene V. Debs)

4. Supreme Court upheld the governments ability to do this is Schenck Vs United States – They ruled that there are times that the need for public order is more important than freedom of speech.

• Espionage and Sedition Acts (3:43)

D. Prejudice Against German Americans

1. Americans regarded the Germans as the primary enemy of the U.S. and our friends

2. German born American citizens were targeted for harassment.

3. Germany was depicted as ruthless, cruel, enemy

4. “liberty steaks”, “liberty measles”, German language removed from schools.

III. The War Changes American Society

A. Women Embrace New Opportunities1. Many feared that the war would draw all the attention

away from their efforts, but in the end…it was their work during the war that helped them the most.

2. Women went into the workforce to take care of their families AND keep our factories producing war goods.

3. Women stepped up in ways that people just did not think they were capable of

4. Women volunteered in droves to go overseas as nurses, doctors, office workers…anything they could do to help the war effort.

5. Eventually Wilson publicly stated that Women having the right to vote, was crucial to the American war effort.

Woman Welder - 1913

B. African Americans Follow Opportunity North

1. WEB DuBois openly supported the war as an opportunity to show the patriotism and loyalty of African Americans.

2. Many African Americans served in the military (367,000).

3. Great Migration – Between 1910-1920 1.2 million African Americans moved to northern cities to escape racist south, find better work, and to find a better future.

C. Mexican Americans Move North

1. Mexican Americans moved north for many of the same reasons.

2. Often worked seasonal farm jobs..that forced them to move often to find work.

3. While many moved to northern industrial cities…the majority remained in California.

Section 3: Wilson, War, & Peace

I. America Gives the Allies the Edge• Our military was the great unknown…

How many soldiers, how committed would they be...how good will they be..

• The Germans were committed to making sure the American Army would not impact the outcome…so they picked up the submarine warfare.

A. Allied Convoys Protect Shipping

1. Convoy – Groups of merchant vessels sailing together protected by warships.

2. To overcome the massive German U-Boat activity which was killing our trade ships and making it risky to send soldiers across the seas.

3. Shipping losses dropped dramatically as the Allies soon developed a good enough system to render the U-Boats useless.

B. The Allies Struggle

1. The Allied forces were exhausted and running very low on supplies and available fighting men.

2. Vladimir Lenin – Radical communist who staged a revolution against Czar Nicholas Romanov’s rule in Russia.

3. Communists seized power, assassinated the Czar and negotiated a treaty with Germany. (Treaty of Brest-Letovsk)

C. American Troops Join the Fight

1. John J. Pershing – U.S. General who led the U.S. forces in Europe. June 1917.

2. By March 1918..the Germans were exhausted and no longer making progress.

3. U.S. kept taking on more and more of the burden of

standing up to the Germans…and kept on winning, battle

after battle

D. American Troops Distinguish Themselves

1. “doughboys” – American WWI era soldiers.

2. American military battles: 2nd Marne, Cantigney, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood,Meuse-Argonne, Saint-Mihiel.

3. Alvin York – Greatest American soldier of WWI era. a. Was a conscientious objector turned hero

b. Earned the Congressional Medal of Honor after taking on a German machine gun nest with a pistol to save his unit.

4. 50k deaths, 230k wounded

5. An entire regiment of African American troops were given medals by the French Government

1. Alvin York – Greatest American soldier of WWI era.

a. Was a conscientious objector turned hero

b. Earned the Congressional Medal of Honor after taking on a German machine gun nest with a pistol to save his unit.

4. 50k deaths, 230k wounded

5. An entire regiment of African American troops were given medals by the French Government

E. The War Ends

1. Allies now had a huge advantage over the Germans

1. Fresh troops, endless supplies

2. Solider of German and Austria armies had had enough.

a. Many deserted, subs refused to leave port etc..

3. Even though the German army was not defeated & no foreign soldier stepped onto German soil…Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated the throne.

4. November 11, 1918 – German leaders surrendered on a railway car in France.

a. Remember this point later….

II. Wilson Promotes Peace Without Victory

Lenin

• Viewed the war as nothing more than an attempt by powerful nations to steal other nations lands.

• Said the Allies all had secret deals to divide land after the war

`• Wilson• Maintained that this war was about PEACE & FREEDOM• Wanted “peace without victory”• Tried on many occasions to get both sides to drop their

weapons, go home, and work for peace with their enemies.

• Fourteen Points – President Wilson’s plan for peace after WWI.o Peace inspired by noble ideals, not greed and vengeance.o Critical of all secret treatieso Reduction or armamentso Self determination – right to choose your own governmento League of Nations – International peacekeeping organization

designed to prevent future world wars from breaking out.

• Wilson went to the Paris Peace Talks himself

o Angered Republicans after he stiffed Henry Cabot Lodge a very, very experienced foreign diplomat.

o Wilson was welcomed as a conquering hero as no other foreign King in France had been.

III. Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference

• Allied nations wanted German to make war reparations – Payments for war damages.

A. Allied Leaders Reject Wilson’s Ideas

1. European leaders were skeptical of Wilson’s ideas.

2. they wanted to punish Germany severely for it’s actions.

3. wanted to cripple Germany to the point they would never be a world power again to threaten anyone else.

4. David Lloyd George – England

5. Georges Clemenceau - France

B. Allies Create the League of Nations

1. Allied leaders chipped away at the 14 points until there was not much left.

2. Wilson kept fighting and fighting, but lost most battles over his ideals.

3. League of Nations – A world organization where countries would come together to solve their problems without war.

4. Wilson refused to give in on the issue of the League of Nations and it was finally made a part of the peace treaty.

C. Problems With the Peace

1. The peace treaty caused almost as many problems as it was supposed to solve.

2. new world map was created with many new countries under the control of Allied leaders (Lenin called it)

3. Ottoman Empire was broken up and new nations were created with zero leadership.

4. All of these new territories were basically controlled by England and France = no self determination!!!!

IV. America Rejects the Treaty

A. Wilson Faces Trouble at Home1. German Americans thought the treaty to harsh

on Germany

2. Irish Americans angry it did not free Ireland from British rule

3. Republicans mad they got left out of the peace process

4. Irreconcilables – Isolationist Senators who opposed any treaty that had a League of Nations in it.

5. Reservationists – Large group of Senators, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, who wanted changes in the Treaty.

a. Most were in regard to the obligation of going to war even without the permission of Congress and deciding if we were allowed to go to war period.

6. Wilson traveled the country committed to convincing the people of the U.S. that the treaty was right for America.

B. The Senate Rejects the Treaty of Versailles

1. 3 different versions of the Treaty was voted on in Congress.

2. either Wilson’s Democrats, the Reservationists, or Irreconcilables voted against each…preventing it from being ratified by Congress.

3. President Wilson and his opponents in Congress were either unable or unwilling to put aside personal and professional differences for the good of the country.

• ** The U.S never did sign the Treaty of Versailles. We signed a separate treaty with Germany.

Section 4: Effects of the War

• WWI produced an unstable international order.

• Loss of $$, loss of land, loss of prestige affected many nations.

• Great economic, social, political, and cultural changes

I. America Adjusts to Peace

A. Flu Epidemic Grips the Nation

1. Influenza Virus in the U.S. 1918 – killed millions worldwide

2. Gave the world a sense of panic and doom right after the world

B. Women and African Americans Confront New Realities

1. great important contributors to American war effort during the war…pushed aside.

2. once the war ended…jobs returned to white males home from the war.

3. by 1920 there were less jobs than in 1910…blacks and women were the first let go.

4. 1919 – Race riots in Chicago for 13 days over attack on a young African American.

5. Tulsa riots led to 36 deaths.

C. Inflation Leads to Labor Unrest

1. inflation – Rising cost of consumer goods. Caused by a shortage of goods due to the focus on military goods by our industry.

2. During the war the price of farm products went up and the farmers loved it..after the war prices declined hurting farmers.

3. Factory workers found that their wages did not buy as much as it had in the past.

4. 1919 – 20% of workers in the U.S. went on strike demanding better wages for their wartime loyalty.

II. The Red Scare – Fear of the spread of Communism to the U.S.

A. Fear of Communism Starts the Red Scare1. Red Scare - wave of widespread fear and of

suspected communists and radicals thought to be plotting revolution in America.

2. There actually was real revolutionary type of activity occurring here…

a. Mail bombs to Attorney General

b. Anarchists activity and attacks

• Palmer Raids – Series of police raids that resulted in thousands of arrests of radicals, communists, anarchists…and some people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

a. Most were never tried in court…many just deported.

• ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union – Established in 1920 to protect the constitutional rights of Americans. Became involved in many prominent court cases in this era.

• Palmer Raids (2:01)

B. Sacco and Vanzetti Are Executed

1. Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants and known anarchists.

2. accused of shooting and killing 2 men in a holdup of a shoe factory.

3. Eyewitnesses said the robbers looked “Italian”.

4. Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the crime.

5. Defended by the ACLU…their trial was very public and was done very very quickly even though there was very little evidence against them…they were convicted.

6. Executed by electric chair 8/23/27

7. Anarchist attacks in the area increased for a while, but by 1920..the Red Scare was over

• Sacco & Vanzetti ( )

III. Americans Embrace Normalcy

• Election of Republican, Warren G. Harding, showed that the American people were ready to get past the war and the League of Nations issue.

• Harding ran on a campaign of a “return to normalcy” – Anti Progressivism basically.

A. A Quiet American Giant

1. By 1920 The U.S. was an international giant

2. richest, most industrialized nation in the world

3. European countries depended on American goods and loans from American banks to buy them en masse.

4. U.S became a creditor nation – Other countries owed the U.S. more money than the U.S. owed them.

5. Economic center of the universe was now in N.Y.C.

B. The World Adjusts to a New World Order

1. German and Russian monarchies had been toppled

2. New forms of government created – Communism

3. Long lasting empires died – Austro-Hungarian & Ottoman

4. England and France were weakened economically, physically, and politically while the U.S. emerged stronger than ever.

5. U.S. was the BIG DOG on the block now…but what did that mean..what was our role to be in the future

6. The U.S. has continued to wrestle the problem of being the most powerful nation on earth and exerting it’s morality on the rest of the world since the end of WWI…even today!