Unit 7World War I and the Roaring Twenties

Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

Causes of World War I

European nations built up armies and navies

Militarism

• Alliance System – European nations divided into 2 major alliances

–Central Powers = Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire–Allies = Great

Britain, France, Russia

Alliances

European nations competed for colonies around the world

Imperialism

European nations had extreme pride in their own culture and interests

Nationalism

◦ Balkan Peninsula was known as “the powder keg of Europe”

◦ Austria-Hungary – a Central Power - had taken control of Bosnia in 1878 (blamed Serbia – an Allied Power - of trying to subvert its power in Bosnia)

◦ In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was shot and killed as he visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian national

◦ “Slippery Slope” of Alliances leads to war!!!

http://www.history.com/videos/causes-of-world-war-i#causes-of-world-war-i

Assassination Leads to War

(1) June 28, 1914 – Austrian Archduke Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia

(2) Austria-Hungary declares war(3) Russia mobilizes an army to

defend Serbia(4) Germany declares war on

Russia5) France declares war on

Germany(6) Germany invades Belgium to

attack France(7) Britain declares war on

Germany

The Domino Effect

Italy decides that its chances to gain land are better with France, Britain, and Russia. Italy abandons its pre-wartime alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary and joins the war on the side of France, Britain, and Russia.

The Domino EffectWar Starts . . .

Most of the fighting takes place in Western Europe, even though the conflict started in the Balkans in Eastern Europe

U.S. and WWI

For 3 years America remains neutral.◦ American support was

split on which side to support.

Lots of immigrant from each side

◦ The war was taking place 3,000 miles away.

◦ America did send millions of dollars worth of supplies to the Allies.

Neutrality

Despite policy of neutrality, many Americans felt close ties to Great Britain

Common ancestry, language

Similar forms of government

Money invested in Great Britain was greater than in Germany

Sympathy

German submarine (U-Boat) warfare led to increased call for U.S. to go to war

1. Sinking of the Lusitania May 7,1915 British passenger ship

carrying 128 Americans Germany pledged to

continue using unrestricted submarine warfare

President Wilson tried to make peace with Germany Germany vowed to sink

ALL ships in British waters

U-Boats

Zimmerman Note – telegram from Germany to Mexico promising to return lost territory back to Mexico from the U.S. if they attacked/declared war on us.

Message was intercepted by the U.S.

Zimmerman Note

U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917.◦Wilson pledged to “make the world safe for

democracy”◦U.S. soldiers and supplies tipped the balance

of the war in favor of the Allies and led to Germany’s defeat

◦However, the U.S. was not prepared and needed to take drastic measures to get ready to fight

◦ Selective Service Act- May 1917 Required men to register with the government in order to

be randomly selected for military service 24 million men registered and 2 million fought in WWI 400,000 African Americans fought in segregated units Women were able to serve in the Army of Corps of

Nurses

U.S. Enters WWI

World War I was fought in Europe. Placed a great burden on the U.S. First time the country faced trench warfare

and chemical weapons such as mustard gas.

Mustard Gas-first used by the Germans-caused blindness, choking, damaged lungs, and caused death.

First war in which airplanes were used.

WWI Technology

Machine Guns – Guns could now fire 600 rounds per minute

The Tank – New steel tanks ran on caterpillar treads

Flame Throwers

Airplanes – Early dogfights resembled duals, however by 1918 the British had a fleet of planes that could deliver bomb loads

Poison Gas – mustard gas was used to subdue the enemy

Why these weapons and why now? Industrial Revolution

Stop and think!

September 15, 1914 – First trenches on the Western Front dug

Trenches were the place where armies fought from and lived for days at a time

“No Man’s Land” – area in between trenches of opposing sides◦ No one ever went in this area

Trenches were made of mud and wood and often had an inch of water in them◦ Many men contracted diseases

from living in the trenches By war’s end, each side had

dug at least 12,000 miles of trenches.

Trench Warfare

http://www.greatwar.ie/ir-batt_gfx/trenches.jpg

Needed to a way get past German U-boats

This system had heavy destroyers escort merchant ships across the Atlantic

It worked- only 637 lives were lost to U-boat attacks

American Convoy System

Western Front- between France, Belgium, and Germany

Eastern Front – between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia

The Battlefronts

At first American troops were just going to be used as reinforcements but they soon took on a bigger role◦ Americans arrived in time to stop the German push into

France German troops were 50 miles outside of Paris

The addition of the American troops was too much for Germany to handle

On November 11, 1918 Germany signed the Armistice (cease fire)

22 million people were killed total◦ 48,000 US soldiers were killed in battle, 62,000 killed

from disease and 200,000 wounded

America goes on the Offense

Bumper Stickers

1. Wilson was given almost complete economic power

◦ War Industries Board –1917 Led by Bernard M. Baruch Helped businesses with mass production

Eliminate waste Increase efficiency Set quotas Day light savings time

Corporate profits soared

The War at Home

2. War Economy- Pay increased in metal trades,

shipbuilding and meatpacking- However, most households were

struggling b/c of rising food prices and housing costs

- Stocks were doing very well

3. Food Administration - To conserve food Wilson

encouraged people to follow these rules- “ gospel of the clean plate”- “meatless Tuesdays”- “wheatless Mondays”

- Homeowner planted “victory gardens”

The U.S. had two major tasks; raising money and convincing the public to support the war

The U.S. spent $35.5 billion on the war effort

The government raised about 1/3 of that through an income tax and “sin” taxes

The rest was raised through war bonds sold to the public (Liberty Loans & Victory Loans)

SELLING THE WAR

Selling the WarPoster

As the war progressed, civil liberties were compromised, eroded, or worn away.

Anti-Immigrant feelings were openly expressed especially anti-German and Austrian- Hungarian.

Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress.

These acts were designed to prevent anti-war protests, but went against the spirit of the First Amendment (Free speech).

ATTACK ON CIVIL LIBERTIES

SOCIAL CHANGE DURING THE WAR

This African American family settled in Chicago.

The greatest effect of the First World War on the African American population was that it sped up the Great Migration

The Great Migration was when hundreds of thousands of blacks from the south moved to Northern cities

They left to escape discrimination and to seek greater job opportunities

Popular destinations included Chicago, New York and Philadelphia

Many women were called upon to take on jobs previously held by men who were serving in the war.

They became railroad workers, cooks, dockworkers, factory workers, and miners.

Many women served as volunteers in organizations such as the Red Cross.

Their service helped the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 giving women the right to vote.

WOMEN IN THE WAR

Wilson Presents His Plan for PeaceFourteen Points – President Wilson’s plan for peace

(Goal = to eliminate the causes of WWI)

– Freedom of the Seas – all nations should have equal access to water trade routes

– Self-Determination – def. – culturally/ethnically similar people should choose for themselves how to form their own nation and government

– Mandate System – process for Allied powers to oversee transition of former colonies and imperial possessions to independent nations (Ex: Palestine and Iraq)

– League of Nations – international organization to address diplomatic crises without going to war

Wilson wanted to focus on his Fourteen Points plan, while Great Britain and France wanted to punish Germany.

Debating Peace

Treaty of Versailles

• An agreement that ended World War I– 9 new nations created – ex:

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia

– Germany stripped of its army– Germany forced to accept the

war guilt clause – accept blame for starting war

– Germany required to pay $33 billion in reparations (payment of war damages)

– League of Nations created

Isolationists argued that the U.S. would lose the right to declare war for itself, and instead, be dragged into future European conflicts by the League of Nations.

Wilson suffered a stroke while campaigning for ratification of the treaty

Senate voted against the treaty (and therefore against joining the League of Nations)

Opposition to the League of Nations

Germany surrendered. Allies impose Treaty of Versailles.

◦Declares Germany guilty for war. ◦Germany must pay reparations to Allies.

This sets the stage for WWII! League of Nations formed to try to prevent war in the future.

What were the results?

Total troops mobilized by all countries in WW1 65,038,810

Total troops dead from all countries in WW18,556,315

Total troops wounded from all countries in WW1 21,219,452

Total missing or POWs 7,750,945

Casualties

The Jazz Age and Roaring 1920’s

League of Nations left much of America divided

Returning soldiers faced unemployment or took jobs away from women and African-Americans

Many responded by becoming fearful of outsiders◦ Nativism- prejudice against foreign-born people◦ Isolationism- policy of pulling away from

involvement in world affairs

Postwar Trends

People feared the spread of communism-economic and political system based on a single-party government ruled by a dictatorship.◦ In order to equalize wealth and power, communism

would put an end to private property, substituting government ownership of factories, RR, and other businesses.

The panic in the U.S. began in 1919 after revolutionaries in Russia (Bolsheviks) overthrew the czarist regime.

A Communist party formed in the US and 70,000 joined.

Called it the “Red Scare”

Communism

With the automobile came paved roads.◦ Route 66- from Chicago to California with little

towns on the way◦ New houses had garages or carports and a

driveway Liberated rural families to travel into the

city for shopping and entertainment Urban sprawl -cities spreading in all

directions Became a status symbol

Impact of Automobile

Gasoline powered much of the economic boom of the 20’s but electricity transformed the nation.

Electricity was no longer restricted to central cities but spread to the suburbs.

By the end of the 1920’s more and more homes had electric irons and wealthier homes had refrigerators, cooking ranges and toasters.

Electrical convenience

Superficial Prosperity During the 20’s most Americans believed

prosperity would go on forever. Industries provided another solution to the

problem of luring customers. Easy credit or “a dollar down and a dollar

forever”◦ The “installment plan” enabled people to buy

goods over an extended period of time without having to put down much money at the time of purchase.

The Temperance Movement ◦ Reformers succeeded in passing a constitutional

amendment that forbade the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. (18th Amendment)

Those in favor of Prohibition believed that alcohol consumption limited one's ability to participate productively in the new industrial society.

Those who opposed the amendment believed that an outdated moralism was responsible for Prohibition

Prohibition

http://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/videos#america-goes-dry-with-prohibition

To get liquor illegally, drinkers went underground to hidden saloons called speakeasies◦Spoke quietly inside to avoid detection◦Had to have a card or a secret password

People also learned to distill alcohol in secret◦Bootleggers (smuggled in boot legs)

Speakeasies and Bootleggers

Prohibition contributed to organized crime in every major city

Chicago was notorious because of Al Capone◦ Bootlegging empire netted over $60 million/year

Organized Crime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgFWsJTA6lI

Fundamentalists-skeptical of scientific knowledge◦Literal interpretation of the Bible

◦Rejected to theory of evolution◦Strong support in south and west

Science v. Religion

March 1925, Tennessee passed that nation’s first law that made it a crime to teach evolution

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) promised to defend any teacher who challenged the law◦ John T. Scopes, a young biology teacher, accepted the

challenge Was arrested and put in jail for reading an article in class

about evolution Trial was a fight over evolution and the role of

science and religion in public schools and American society

Scopes was found guilty and fined $100

Scopes Trial

The "new woman" first emerged in the late nineteenth century.

Challenged conventional gender roles and met hostility from men and women who objected to women's public presence and supposed decline in morality.

The new woman represented the tendency of young women at the turn of the century to reject their mothers' ways in favor of new, modern choices.

19th Amendment

Flappers

A symbol of young women's freedom and independence, the flapper redefined how a new generation of women expressed femininity.

Lively and full of energy, she was single but eligible. She dared to shorten her skirts (at first just to the ankles, eventually up to the knees) and bob her hair in a short cut - like a boy's, but longer.

Clothing- bolder colors, styles, lengths; make-up

Born in the early 20th century in New Orleans

Blended instrumental ragtime and vocal blues

Joe “King” Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band brought it north

Famous jazz musicians: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith

Jazz Age