Transcript World War I - North Penn School District

Objectives
 Describe
the underlying causes of
WWI
 Explain the chain of events that
trigger WWI
 Outline the chain of events through
which America entered WWI
Essential Questions:
1. What were the causes of WWI?
 2. How did the US respond?
 3. Why did the US eventually declare war?
 4. How did the US mobilize for the war?
 5. What was Wilson’s vision for a post war
world? Which ideas were included in the Treaty
of Versailles?
 6. What effects did US involvement have at
home?
 7.What repressive actions by the gov. were taken
during the war?

What were the causes of
World War I?
Militarism…Weapons
Alliances…Secret
Imperialism…Economic
Nationalism…Pride
Queen Victoria was sometimes called
the Grandmamma of Europe...
– During World War One there were no less than
seven of the Queen's direct descendants, and
two more of her Coburg relations, on European
thrones.
– Before WWI, can anyone blame this family of
kings, or their subjects, for assuming that a
war between these crowned cousins was all
but impossible?
Fragile Alliances
 1871
last great European conflict
 1907 two camps evolve:
– Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
 Germany,
A-H, Italy
– Triple Entente (Allies)
 GB,
France, Russia
Important Dates
 June
1914 – Assassination of
Archduke
 August 1914 – WWI begins
 March 1917 – Russian Revolution
 April 1917 – US enters the war
 Nov 1918 – War ends
Europe was a “powder keg” waiting
for a spark to ignite
 Assassination
of the
Archduke Ferdinand heir to the AustroHungarian throne and his wife
 A chain of events
follows leading Europe
to war
The assassin…
Gavrilo Princip
A
Serbian
nationalist
trained in Serbia
The “Black
Hand”…
The chain of events…
AFF
assassinated in Bosnia
AH blames Serbia
AH makes harsh demands
of Serbia
AH asks Germany for
support
continued >>>
New Alliances
Allies
Great Britain
France
Italy
Serbia
Russia
Japan
Belgium
Central Powers
Germany
Austria – Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
America should
be “neutral in
fact as well as in
name-impartial
in thought as
well as in
action.” –
Woodrow Wilson
What was the American response?
 War
would threaten U.S. business
interests
 Many saw no reason to become
involved
 Wilson: America should remain
above the conflict and he would
serve as peacemaker
 Neutrality Proclamation: U.S. was
not committed to either side and
should remain neutral
How did Americans
feel about the war?
Some Americans felt personally involved 1/3 were first or second generation
immigrants
 4 million Irish-Americans and 8 million
German-Americans were hostile to Great
Britain
 Most favored Allies - Saw Kaiser as an
autocrat or saw opportunity to gain
markets - liked Allies - common English
ties - French our friends ...

What is a consequence of
propaganda?
 Anti-German
hysteria
 German music and literature banned
 German language not taught
 Harassment of German Americans
 Name changes: Sauerkraut – liberty
cabbage, German measles – liberty
measles, Dachshund – liberty puppy,
hamburger – liberty sandwich,
frankfurter – hot dog
What were America’s economic
ties with the Allies?
As a neutral power we could trade with
belligerents
 Trade with Germany ended because of
British blockade practices

– Munitions: 1914 - $6,000,000 explosives sold
to the Allies – by 1916 – 80X that amount
– Exports to Allies: 1914 - $824 million and in
1916 - $3.2 billion
– Loans to Allies $2.5 billion and to CP $27
million by 1917
 Neutral
in name only
German Trench near the
Hindenburg Line
British prepare to go “over the top”
at the Battle of the Somme
Modern weapons made the trenches a grim reality
The effects of mustard gas
How did Germany violate
American neutrality rights?
 February,
1915 – Germany
announced waters around Great
Britain as a war zone
 Warned neutral powers identification
at sea a problem
 Wilson informed Germany that will
be held in strict accountability
 American response: “an indefensible
violation of neutral rights”
Lusitania
 British
liner – departed from New
York
 Sunk off the coast of Ireland
 128 Americans died
 Wilson condemned the act as
barbaric and insisted on sending a
warning to Germany
 Was carrying munitions to Allies in
its hull.
The Sussex
 Unarmed
French ship
 Sunk by Germany – March, 1916
 4 Americans injured
 Wilson protested
 Sussex pledge:
– Germany agreed to warn all ships
before sinking puts the decision of
when the U.S. goes to war in Germany’s
hands
Fading opposition to the War
 War
becomes viewed as a positive
force for social change
 War required greater government
involvement in American life
 Women believed they could win the
right to vote
 Middle-class women became
community leaders
Who opposed the war?
American Union against Militarism
 Jane Addams, Lillian Wald – progressive
reformers, socialists, pacifists
 Suffrage movement: “I didn’t raise my
boy to be a soldier.”
 Anti-war feeling in the South and Midwest
 Wilson’s campaign slogan in 1916 – “He
Kept Us Out of War”

Safe for Democracy
 Germany
resumes sub warfare
 Gambles on ending the war before
American entry
 Wilson’s two goals:
– US neutrality
– Freedom of the seas
 Wilson
breaks off relations
 Zimmerman note made public
 Arms US ships against subs
Why did the U.S. enter the war?
Germany – fearful of loss unless she cut
British supply lines – announced
resumption of unlimited submarine
warfare
 Wilson broke diplomatic relations – Feb, 3,
1917
 Zimmerman note…
 Russian Revolution…
 Wilson ordered Am. Merchant ships armed
in March
 Germany sank 7 Am. Merchant ships

The Russian Revolution and
America’s Response

Czar’s repressive and corrupt
government falls
– Germans smuggle Lenin into Russia
Provisional government under
Kerensky stays in war
 Soldiers hate the war
 Lenin promises “peace, land,
& bread”

– Signs treaty with Germany

Bolsheviks call for a worldwide
revolution against capitalism
U.S. Declared War on Germany
 April
2, 1917 – Wilson addressed
Congress
 Submarine warfare – “warfare
against mankind”
 “The world must be made safe for
democracy”
 Senate – 82 to 6
 House – 373 to 50
 Declaration of war – April 6, 1917
President Wilson delivers his War
Message to Congress April 2, 1917
Central Powers v.
Allied Powers
Austro-
United
Hungarian
Empire
Germany
Ottoman
Empire
France
Great
States
Britain
Italy
Belgium
Japan
Serbia
American Mobilization
Objective: describe how the US mobilized the minds of Americans at
home and soldiers overseas.
Selling the War
Committee
for Public Information
(CPI) led by George Creel
–Pamphlets, articles, books, posters,
slides, newspaper ads, and films
promoting the war
–Bond rallies w/ movie stars
–“Four Minute Men”
Selling the War
 Creel’s
3 themes:
– America is morally unified
– Crusade for peace & freedom
– Hatred of all things German
 Consequences:
– Abandonment of Old World ties and
become “unhyphenated Americans”
– Attacks on German Americans, radicals,
and peace activists
“You’re in the
Army Now”
How did the U.S. raise an army?




1917 – only 200,000 men in the service
Selective Service Act
– 24 million register
– 2.8 million are drafted
– 2 million volunteer
– Democratic procedures controlled by local draft
boards
New IQ test shows illiteracy at 25%
Most had not attended high school and 20% foreign
born
– “The military tent will rank next to the public schools
among the great agents of democratization,” Teddy
Roosevelt.
Americans in Battle
Commander of the
American
Expeditionary Force
(AEF)
Believed in the total
destruction of his
enemy
Hated the defensive
nature of the
trenches
General “Blackjack”
Pershing
Americans in Battle
The Convoy System
Racism in the Military
Segregated units or exclusion
 Low status jobs
 Overt racism and violence
 200,000 serve in France with 1 in 5
experiencing combat

– The 369th Harlem Hellfighters fought with
the French
– 191 days in the trenches
– French award them the Croix de Guerre
Objectives:
 Summarize
the effect of WWI on the
American home front.
 Describe the effects of WWI on
America’s economy, politics, and
cultural life.
Essential Questions
How did American labor mobilizes
for World War I?
What were the consequences of
WW I for labor, women and African
Americans?
What was the US’s economic and
military role?

How did the power of the
government expand?
 Convert
economy…
 Business and government
collaborated
 Congress gave Wilson direct
control over much of the
economy
–Fix prices
–Regulate war related industries
What was the function of the
War Industries Board?
 Organizing
the Economy
– Bernard M. Baruch (Wall Street
speculator)
–
–
–
–
Increase production….
Reduce waste….
Set production quotas….
Allocate raw materials…..
What was the function of the Fuel
Administration?
 Monitored
coal supplies
 Rationed gasoline and heating oil
–Gasless Sundays
–Lightless nights
–Daylight savings time
What was the function of the
Food Administration?
 Herbert
Hoover
– Imposed price controls
– Raised prices on grain to
increase production
– No rationing of food
 Persuasion
 High
prices
 Voluntary controls
– “Hooverizing” – food conservation
– “meatless Tuesdays”
– “Food will win the war”
“Hooverizing”
How did the government finance the war?
 Cost
$33 billion
 Three ways:
– Income taxes
 replace
excise and customs levies
 Increase the number of Americans paying income tax
– Liberty Bonds
 Raises
$23 billion
– Federal Reserve
 Expanded
 National
money supply with easy borrowing
debt grows from $1 billion to $20 billion
Financing the War
WW I Liberty Bond
Support for Liberty Bonds
 Sec.
of the Treasury
William McAdoo
 Liberty Bond Booths
were set up by the
Boy/Girl Scouts
The Business of War
 Corporate
profits nearly triple
 Larger businesses do even better
 Du Pont quadrupled profits
 Farm production increases 20-30%
 Economic legacy of corporate and
government cooperation
– Entire industries and economic sectors
are organized, regulated, and subsidized
Labor and the War
 Labor
shortage causes government to
recognize labor unions
 Higher wages and a better standard of
living resulted
 Unions become a junior partner in
mobilizing the economy
 President of the AFL Samuel Gompers
– Skilled white males
– Building trades, railroads, and miners
Samuel Gompers and “business
unionism”
President of the
AFL
 Skilled, white
males
 Collective
bargaining…
 Concrete gains –
bread and butter
issues
 Served on the
National War
Labor Board

Labor and the War
 Union
membership rises
 NWLB establishes the practice of
government intervening on behalf of
labor
 Labor shortages in the SW ease
immigration restrictions on Mexican
workers
– Early example of the growing importance of
cheap Mexican labor to the region’s economy
Eugene Debs
Gave speech
defending antiwar protesters
 Sentenced to 10
years
 Ran for Pres.
From jail
 Served 32
months
 Pardoned by
Harding in 1921

The Espionage Act
 Espionage
Act of 1917 attacks
antiwar sentiments
– 20 yrs in prison & $10,000 fine
– Aid to the enemy, obstruction of
recruitment, or causing insubordination
– Postal service stops treasonous
newspapers & magazines
 Enforcement
the FBI
leads to the creation of
The Sedition Act
 Amendment
to Espionage Act added
in 1918 outlaws:
– “any disloyal, profane (contempt),
scurrilous (vulgar), or abusive language
intended to cause contempt, scorn,
contumely (rudeness), or disrepute” to
the government, Constitution, or flag.
 21,000
cases combined aimed at
socialists, radical labor, & pacifists
 Eugene Debs 10yrs (serves 32 mo.)
Suppression of Dissent
 Schenck
v. United States
– Justice Holmes, restriction of speech is
Constitutional when it “creates a clear
and present danger.”
 Debs
v. United States
– Affirmed guilt
 Abrams
v. United States
– Convicts 4 Russian immigrants
denouncing US intervention in the
Russian Revolution
Labor Strife
 1919
more than 4 million workers
conduct 3,600 strikes
 Causes:
– Modest wage increases wiped away by
inflation and high prices for food, fuel, and
housing
– End of government control on industry,
allowed many employers to withdraw their
recognition of unions
– Continuation of 12-hour day
– Demobilized servicemen
Labor Strife
 Seattle
shipyard strike ends with federal
troops occupying the city.
 Boston police strike ends when Gov.
Calvin Coolidge calls in the Nat’l Guard
and fires the entire force.
 Midwestern steelworker strike fails when
Elbert Gary uses black strikebreakers,
armed guards, and propaganda.
How did the war affect women?
Women in Industry Service – Mary Van
Kleeck
 Formulated standard for treatment of
females

–
–
–
–
–
–
8 hr. day
Equal pay for equal work
Rest periods and meal breaks
Restrooms
No night work
Minimum wage
Reality of women’s work?
 Accepted
goals – not enforced
 Received roughly ½ the pay as men
for the same work
 Lost jobs at the end of the war
 Accelerated women’s work in
traditional fields
 Led Congress to est. Woman’s
Bureau in the Dept. of Labor
What new opportunities did the war
offer women?
 Women
moved into jobs previously
held by men…
 Continued traditional jobs ….
 Red cross volunteers
 Bolstered support for women’s
suffrage amendment
 19th Amendment - 1920
Women’s Suffrage…
 Battle
for the vote prior to WWI…
 National American Women’s Suffrage
Association – Carrie Chapman Catt…
 Alice Paul – National Women’s
Party…
 “The fight for democracy must begin
at home.”
 1917 Wilson – suffrage amendment
“vital to the winning of the war.”
Woman Suffrage
 New
wageworkers
 Highly visible volunteer work
– Selling bonds
– Saving food, organizing benefits
 National
American Woman Suffrage
Association (NAWSA)
– Carrie Chapman Catt
– Anna Howard Shaw
– Patriotic support of the war
Woman Suffrage
 National
Woman’s Party
– More radical and militant than NAWSA
– Alice Paul
 Catt
urges
“war
measure”
 Passage of
the 19th
Amendment
Prohibition
 Drinking
seen as a source of working
class problems
– Family violence
– Unemployment
– Poverty
 Anti-German
feelings
 Conserve grain
 18th Amendment = worthy moral reform
 Stimulates growth of organized crime
Public Health
 More
Progressive Governmental Reforms
– Venereal disease
 Free
treatment
 Educational campaigns
– Child welfare
 care
for children of working mothers
 Child labor and delinquency
 Prenatal and obstetrical care
– Disease prevention
Influenza
 Worldwide
pandemic killing 20
million
 Sept 1918 sweeps military bases and
eastern cities
 350,000 Americans die in 10 months
 Congress appropriates $ to suppress
the spread
 Aid from Red Cross and local
volunteers
Economic Opportunity
 Between
1914-1920 some 300,000
to 500,000 leave rural South for the
North
 Labor shortages
 Few receive high-paying skilled
positions
 Most are construction laborers,
teamsters, janitors, or porters
How did the Great Migration
increase racial tensions?
300,000
to 500,000 African
Americans moved to northern
cities
Labor shortages in the North
Better economic opportunity
Less racial violence
What were African American
expectations?
 Supported
war effort
 Hoped cooperation would
improve their situation
 Experienced equality in France
 Frustrated at home
 Intolerance increased
Racial Violence
 Lynching
in the South
 Not limited to the South
 Two of the worst race riots in US
history occur in the North:
– East St. Louis, Illinois 1917
– Unions refuse to accept blacks
– Owners using black labor against Union
demands
– 200 African Americans killed
What caused the collapse of
Germany?
Nov. 3, 1918 Austria Hungary surrendered
 Critical food shortages and prospect of
U.S. reinforcements for the Allies
 14 Points…
 Nov. 9, socialist leaders in Berlin
established the German Republic
 Kaiser abdicated
 November 11, 1918 – cease – fire armistice

Essential Questions
were Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
 Why did the Allies not agree with
Wilson?
 What was the Treaty of Versailles?
 Why did the US Senate reject it?
 What were some consequences of the
war?
 What
Wilson in Paris
The Big Four
Hailed by the European
public, Wilson found a
hostile atmosphere at
Versailles among the
“Big Four”
France:
George Clemenceau
Italy: Vittorio Orlando
U.S.: Woodrow Wilson
G.B.:
David Lloyd George
What were Allied Motives?
–Clemenceau wanted to make
sure Germany never invaded
France again
–David Lloyd George wanted
revenge
–Orlando wanted land from
Austria
What were the 14 Points?



Wilson’s blue print for peace
Rooted in progressive liberalism
Moral vision – road to lasting peace
General principles
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Freedom of the seas
Open covenants – no secret
treaties
Free trade
Reduced armaments
Mediation of competing colonial
claims
The Fourteen Points
 Three
main elements:
1. Right of all peoples to “national selfdetermination”
2. General principles governing
international conduct
3. A League of Nations which would
implement these principles and resolve
future conflicts
Article X
The most controversial both at home
and abroad
 “members undertake to respect and
preserve as against external aggression
and territorial integrity and existing
political independence of all Members”
 U.S. critics

1. Surrender of national sovereignty
2. Power to declare war held by Congress
The Treaty Of Versailles
 Self-determination
finds limited
appeal
– Nine new nations in Europe
– No independence for German colonies
– GB, France, and Japan seize
 War
guilt clause and the forced
reparation of $33 billion to GB and
France
– The seeds are sown for the rise of
the Nazi Party
 League of Nations is accepted
The Treaty Fight
 Wilson’s
miscalculations
 1918 midterm elections
– Republicans capture Congress
Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge
 No
Republicans with US delegation
 extreme enemies or “Irreconcilables”
headed by Senator Borah
 Republican Henry Cabot Lodge
(reservationists)
– Opposed to League, but
– Offers amendments weakening League
How did Wilson respond to his
opposition?
 Took
the Treaty and the League to
the American people
 8,000 mile speaking tour
MidwestPacificEast
 36 speeches in 23 days
 Sept. 25 – collapsed in Pueblo, Colo
 Suffered stroke – partially paralyzed
 Congress never signs the Treaty
The Treaty Fight
 Mutual
hatred
 Wilson refuses
– Takes his League to the American people
– 8,000 mile journey
– Suffers a paralyzing stroke
– Calls on Democrats to vote against Lodge’s
version
– Treaty fails ratification
– The US never signs the Treaty nor does it
join the League of Nations
The Election of 1920
 Possessed
virtually no
qualifications for
president
 A “return to normalcy”
 Biggest landslide to date
 Repudiated Wilson’s
idealism and progressive
reform
Conclusion
A
“second industrial revolution”
 Progressive movement ends
 Prohibition
 Powerful new industries of advertising
and public relations
 Political xenophobia and racism
 Overwhelming desire for “normalcy”
 Smoldering resentment in Germany
grows