The U.S. in World War One

The War to end all wars…

Reasons for the U.S. to enter the War

• The major cause of the U.S. entry into WWI was the unrestricted submarine warfare undertaken by the Germans.

• German U-Boats sank three American merchant ships in March 1917

• When the Zimmerman telegram was released to the American public that same month, Americans were outraged

• The U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 6, 1917 against Germany

U-20 and sister ships in harbor at Kiel

1915 painting depicting the sinking of Lusitania by the U-20.

Mobilizing for War:

• Selective Service Act, May of 1917

• Bernard Baruch named as head of War Industries Board: it set price quotas, allocated raw materials, and developed new industries

• Herbert Hoover named to head the Food Administration

• Many southern blacks moved north for jobs

• Mexican immigrants worked the fields of the Southwest

• Women worked in industry and in the military

Silencing Dissent:

• Espionage Act of 1917: Prohibited use of the mail to send treasonable materials

• Sedition Act of 1918: barred “disloyal utterances” Blessed are the Peacemakers by

George Bellows, The Masses 1917

Major American Offenses Turned the Tide of War:

• Chateau-Thierry (one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) under General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing)

• Belleau Wood ("The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!" –Pershing)

Major American Offenses Turned the Tide of War:

• Saint-Mihiel (It was one of the first U.S. solo offensives in World War I and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating)

• Meuse-Argonne (the battle's pressure on the Germans was an important factor in their agreeing to the armistice)

• An armistice began on November 11 at 11:00 a.m. (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month)

Working For Peace:

• Even before the war was over, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson offered a plan for peace: The Fourteen Points.

-points 1-5 aimed to eliminate the fundamental causes of war

-points 6-13 dealt with issues of self-determination and specific territorial issues

-point 14 proposed the establishment of a League of Nations, an organization where nations could discuss their problems and resolve disputes without resorting to war

Talks Begin

• The peace conference would begin in January 1919 in the Versailles Palace in France.

• President Wilson would represent the United States. Unfortunately, President Wilson would be disappointed when most of his Fourteen Points would be rejected by the European nations.

The Treaty of Versailles Reflected the Desires of the European victors:

• Britain demanded reparations and France wanted territory returned that was lost in a previous war. Wilson’s desire for a League of Nations would be honored.

• However, when Wilson brought home the treaty, he faced opposition. Many U.S. senators (the ones who must approve treaties) believed that the charter for the League of Nations would deprive them of their power to decide if the United States should participate in future wars.

• Wilson refused any compromise and the Senate rejected the treaty. The U.S. would settle with the Germans in the early 1920s. The U.S. would retreat into “isolationism.”

Wilson’s Fight For Peace (Fourteen Points)

1. open treaties2. freedom of the seas3. tariffs lowered or

abolished to encourage free trade

4. arms reduction5. consideration of the

interests of colonial peoples

6-13. boundary changes and self-determination of ethnic/national groups

14. A League of Nations

Wilson’s Failure to Ratify the Treaty:

• American people were suspicious of the provisions for joint action against aggression

• Representatives and Senators wanted the treaty to declare the constitutional right of Congress to declare war.

• Wilson chose an American delegation that failed to include enough Republican Senators

• Wilson refused to compromise with Senator Lodge

The Demands of Allied Peace on Germany:

• -demilitarization

• -return of Alsace-Lorraine to France

• -33 billion in reparations

• -war-guilt clause

• -ignored the sacrifices and desires of Russia

• -ignored the claims of colonized peoples for self-determination

The Effects of the Treaty on the German people:

• -humiliated Germany

• -set Germans against the treaty

• -set reparations that Germany could not pay

• -stripped Germany of the colonies it needed to pay reparations

• -political instability and violence resulted

The Aftermath of World War One

• In 1918, the United States entered into a period of economic prosperity because:

-the war was not fought on American soil-there was a feeling of optimism in the U.S.-wartime production boosted America’s economy

• Greater public support for women’s suffrage resulted from public acknowledgement of the contribution of American women during World War One. (19th Amendment)

• The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia led to the first Red Scare in the U.S.