Transcript Chapter 19: World War I

Wilson’s involvement in Mexico
 President Wilson desired for the U.S. to be
democratic and lead in example to the other
nations, preventing war and revolutions
 many forces got in the way
 The Mexican Revolution broke out in 1911
 Wilson intervened, but quickly placed a leader,
Venustiano Carranza, in power to escape antiAmerican feelings in Mexico
 Opposers to Carranza, led by Pancho Villa,
crossed the U.S borders and raided towns,
hoping for a response from Wilson
 Wilson sent troops, but recalled them after
unsuccessfully finding Villa
Outbreak of World War I
 A number of factors contributed to the outbreak of
World War I in 1914
 Building of alliances in Europe
 Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary)
 Naval race between Great Britain and Germany
 Crisis in the Balkans
 Feelings of nationalism and self-determination from
Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, attempting to
break free from Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian
empires
 Immediate factor was the assassination of AustriaHungary heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife,
Isabella, in Sarejevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of
the “Black Hand”, a Serbian revolutionary group
War is declared
 After the assassination, Austria asked Germany for support against Serbia
 gave Serbia an ultimatum
 Serbia, in turn, asked Russia to help, and Russia then asked France and
Great Britain to help
 Austria declared war on Serbia, then Russia declared war on Austria, then
Germany declared war on Russia, then France declared war on Germany
 Two sides were:
 Triple Alliance (Central Powers): Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman
Empire (Turkey)
 Triple Entente (Allies): Russia, Great Britain, France, Serbia, Italy, Balkans, and
North Africa
The Schlieffen Plan
 Germany’s initial plan was the send troops west to France to quickly
eliminate their offense, then circle around back to Germany and battle
the Russians in the east to eliminate their offense
 One issue lied in crossing neutral Belgium without causing a conflict there
 German’s crossed anyway, and Great Britain declared war on them
 Plan worked, at first, until the Russians invaded Germany and the
Germans sent troops back to defend
 Loss of troops resulted in loss of major offensive, giving France and Great
Britain the advantage of pushing the Germans back
 Germans had major success in eastern front, pushing Russians and Balkan
troops back
American neutrality
 On the outbreak of the war, Wilson
declared the United States neutral
 Americans, however, mostly favored
supporting the Allies in the war effort
 Many cabinet and military members were
pro-British
 Britain desired to gain American
involvement through the use of
propaganda, or information designed to
gain opinion
 A series of events, however, would lead
the Americans to join the war effort
The United States goes to war
 In the beginning of the war, Britain established a blockade on German
merchant ships
 In response, Germany sent U-boats to intercept and sink any British vessel
 Germans sunk Lusitania, a luxury liner with American passengers aboard,
and torpedoed the Sussex, a French liner with American passengers
 Germany issued the Sussex Pledge, promising not to harm civilians, under
certain conditions
 A telegram, going to Mexico from Germany, was intercepted by the British
 Zimmerman telegram-persuaded Mexico to attack the U.S. for promise of
lands taken during the Mexican War
 Upon knowledge of this, Wilson persuaded Congress to go to war, and so
they did in 1917
Building up the military
 In the beginning, only 300,000 troops were
available from the army and national guard
 A form of conscription, or forced military
service, called selective service, was issued by
Wilson
 Lottery system that organized how the draft
should be ordered
 African Americans, despite experiencing
discrimination, fought valiantly during the war
 The war was the first to involve women in
military service, but in non-combat positions
 Those who actually would serve in the army
were the Army Nursing Corps.
Building up industry
 The U.S. established agencies and boards to
monitor business during the war
 War Industries Board, organized to coordinate
the production of war materials
 Food Administration, responsible for
increasing food production while reducing
civilian consumption
 Encouraged civilians to plant victory gardens
to grow their own vegetables
 The U.S. also had to find ways to make
money for the war
 Increased income tax rates
 Sold Liberty Bonds and Victory Bonds to
citizens, agreeing to pay interest once
repayment began
Mobilizing the Workforce
 The government knew it needed
cooperation from everyone in order for
the war effort to continue
 Established the National War Labor
Board, in order to mediate labor
disputes and prevent strikes
 Increased work opportunities for
women, who filled in for the men going
overseas
 Wartime jobs opportunities increased
for African and Mexican Americans, due
to immigration being cut off and white
males going overseas
Gaining public support
 The government also focused on gaining support for the war from the people
 Established the Committee on Public Information, to “sell” the war opinion through
the use of propaganda
 Passed legislation to fight antiwar activities
 Passed the Espionage Act of 1917 to punish those committing in espionage, or
spying, and giving secrets to the enemy
 Passed the Sedition Act of 1917 to punish those speaking out against the war
 Fear of espionage and and emphasis on patriotism led to mistrust and
discrimination against German Americans, socialists, pacifists, and labor activists
 The Supreme Court limits the freedom of speech during the case of Schenck v. the
United States
 Declared freedom of speech was ok unless words uttered were a “clear and present
danger” to the American people
Tactics used during the war
 A number of tactics were used
during the war, combining old
and new
 Trench warfare
 “No Man’s Land
 New weaponry, including the
rapid fire machine gun
 Poison gases
 Tanks
 Airplanes
Russian Revolution
 Russian support for the czar and the monarchy
dwindled since the beginning of the 20th century
 Riots broke out in 1917 over the mishandling of the
war effort and over scarcity of food and fuel
 Czar Nicholad II abdicated the throne, leaving the
government under provisional leadership
 The Bolsheviks, a group of Communists, under the
leadership of Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Russian
government and established a Communist
government
 Lenin’s first order of business was taking Russia
out of the war

Agreed to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany,
giving up Ukraine, Finland, and Polish and Baltic
territories to the Germans
American Involvement
 An influx of 2 million American soldiers, or
“doughboys” came into Europe
 came over safely in convoys, or protected
merchant ships
 These Americans played an important role
in containing the German offense moving
towards Paris from Eastern Europe
 Won victories in Cantigny and ChateauThierry
 The Americans participated in a massive
counter-attack along the Western front
(Argonne Forest)
 Suffered heavy casualties, but shattered
German defenses
The War Ends
 With the surrender and fall of the Ottoman and AustriaHungarian Empires, German officials revolted, demanding the
kaiser to step down
 The war ended with Germany surrendering in 1918
 A peace conference in Paris resulted in the Treaty of Versailles
 Germany was blamed for the cause of the war, was stripped of
armed forces, and was demanded to pay reparations, or war
damages, to each of the Allied powers
 Harsh terms towards Germany, but they were forced to accept it
 Will later come up before the beginning of World War II
Fourteen Points
 Wilson, during the peace conference, drafter a plan to promote peace and
justice throughout the world
 Known as the Fourteen Points
 In the first five points, Wilson proposed to eliminate the general cause of the
war through free trade, disarmament, freedom of the seas, impartial
adjustment of colonial claims, and open diplomacy
 Other eight points addressed self-determination
 Most important point was the construction of the League of Nations, or a
general association of nations set up to settle disputes before the escalated
into war
 Senate would reject the Treaty of Versailles and Wilson’s Fourteen Points,
except for the League of Nations
End of World War I
 The end of the war came inflation in the U.S.
 Goods being rationed were quickly coming back into the market, and
being bought up rapidly
 Increased the cost of living, or the essentials needed to survive
 With inflation rising, wages are going down in companies to keep
the cost of operations, resulting in strikes
 Seattle General Strike: shipyard workers organized a general strike, or a
strike involving everyone from a particular area
 Boston Police Strike: policemen in Boston went on strike; were fired and
replaced with new police force
 Steel Strike: immigrant steel workers go on strike
The Red Scare

Strikes, along with the rise of the Communist Party, brought
fear that communism would come to the U.S.

Was known as the “Red Scare”

In April 1919, a series of bombs were intercepted in packages
addressed to different locations

In June, 1919, eight bombs went off in different locations, one
injuring Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer

From continued terrorist actions, Palmer set up the General
Intelligence Divisions, led by J/Edgar Hoover



Would later turn into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Detained thousands of suspects and deported them, or expelled
them out of the country
With increased tensions in the U.S. came the end of the
Progressive Era