Transcript US enters WW1 p33 Notes

2/11
WEDNESDAY
TOTD: In your opinion
should the United States
have entered World War I
or stayed with isolationist
policies? Explain your
thoughts in 3-5 sentences.
Agenda:
P33 notes
Timeline/PLP WW1
Trench Warfare:
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=kUox_hQAih8
U.S. Enters War
-Peace without Victory:
-idealistic peace plan
-Submarine warfare continues
-Zimmerman Note intercepted
-Wilson calls for War
“War to make world safe for
democracy”
-Russian Revolution takes Russia
out of the war:
o Neither side could advance much beyond
their held territories.
o Recognizing this dilemma President
Woodrow Wilson called on European
leaders to agree to a “peace without
victory.”
o On January 22, 1917 Wilson addressed
the Senate & requested this
o Wilson’s plea fell on deaf ears in Europe
o Germany escalated their submarine
warfare, sinking any ship flying enemy
colors
April 2nd 1917:
o President Wilson asked Congress on this
o bought about the
day for a declaration of war against
transformation of the Russian
Germany.
o The speech is most famous for his
Empire into the Union of
declaration that “the world must be made
Soviet Socialist Republics
safe for democracy.” While that phrase is
(USSR), replacing Russia’s
an iconic part of American culture, few
traditional monarchy with the
people are aware of his prophetic warning
world’s first Communist state.
in the same speech: “If there should be
disloyalty, it will be dealt with a stern
hand of repression ….”
Military Operations
-Selective Service Act
o 6 weeks after US formally
entered the war, U.S
Congress passes this May 18,
1917
o Gave US president the power to
draft soldiers.
o drafted over 3 million troops
o recruits trained for 9 months
o transportation problems gov’t
control of industry use of
convoy system
Military Operations
-”Over There”: No US soldier
really knew where they were
headed
-”Dough Boys”: nickname for
American soldiers in WWI aka
the AEF (yanks/sammies)
American Expeditionary Force
-Alvin York-American Hero: most
decorated WWI (med of hon)
-General
John Pershing
• general officer in the United States
Army who led AEF
• He is only person to be promoted in his
own life time to the highest rank ever
held in the US army
-Armistice (ended fighting)
Nov. 1918 (11 a.m. on
11/11/1918…no battles fought
in Germany
 Armistice:
truce signed by
representatives
of France, Great
Britain and
Germany. It was
an agreement to
end fighting
 The Treaty of
Versailles signed
6 months later
would act as the
peace treaty
between the
nations.
Fighting Over There
-most U.S. soldiers were
not experienced travelers
-huge cannons, Zeppelins,
machine guns, poison
gases, tanks, airplanes
-poor medical care
shell shock, trench foot,
2/12 Thursday
TOTD: The Armistice was designed to end the fighting of WWI
 Terms of it would make it impossible for Germany to restart the war
 They were ordered to give up
 2,500 heavy guns
 2,500 field guns
 25,000 machine guns
 1,700 airplanes & all submarines
 Several warships
 If Germany broke any of the terms of the Armistice, such as not
evacuating areas they were ordered to evacuate, not handing over
weapons or prisoners of war in the timescales given or causing
damage to any individual or their property, fighting would begin again
with 48 hours notice.
 Do you think this was fair? Explain in 3-5 sentences
AGENDA:
 TOTD
 End of War Chit-Chat
 Info Check
 Project Options
GREAT MIGRATION
WWI created lots of industrial jobs in the
cities of the NE and MW
African
Americans moved North to find
work/equality
6
million African Americans moved out of
the rural South to the urban Northeast,
Midwest, and West
occurred
Why
between 1910 and 1970.
would African Americans be eager
to leave the South?

During
GREAT MIGRATION

Before

After
GREAT MIGRATION
ESPIONAGE & SEDITION ACTS
 Fear
of dangers amongst
America led the government
to pass these in 1917
any info that
would interfere with military
operations or help our
enemies would be a criminal
offense

Espionage Act (1917)
Provided for the
imprisonment of up to 20
years for persons who
either tried to incite
rebellion in the armed
forces or obstruct the
operations of the draft.

Sedition Act (1918)
Prohibited anyone from
making "disloyal" or
"abusive" remarks about
the US government.

What does this violate?
 Communicating
What might be
Constitutionally
problematic about these
wartime laws?
EUGENE V. DEBS

American union leader
 Labor
union leader (Pullman Strike!)
5-time candidate of the Socialist
Party of America for President of the
US

Gave a speech protesting military
recruitment tactics and got 10 years
in jail!
 When
else have we seen
constitutional rights taken away
during an American war? (Civil War:
Writ of Habeas Corpus)
 America
FOURTEEN POINTS
had put the Allies over the top to win WWI in just
over 1 year of fighting
 January 8, 1918 Wilson gave this speech to Congress
about a plan to have world peace
 President Woodrow Wilson had a plan to avoid future
wars and as the war came to an end he started to push it
at home and abroad
 Wilson’s 14th point was the most controversial – and
unpopular @ home






#1: Open Diplomacy
#2: Freedom of the Seas
#3: Equal Access to Trade
#4: Disarmament
#5: National Self-Determination
#14: International Peace-Keeping Group
 Why
does Wilson think he gets such a voice in the
post-war treaty-making process?
WILSON’S 14 POINTS

1. No more secret agreements ("Open covenants openly arrived at").

2. Free navigation of all seas.

3. An end to all economic barriers between countries.

4. Countries to reduce weapon numbers.

5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be impartial

6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop
her own political set-up.

7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.

8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine

9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "along
clearly recognizable lines of nationality."

10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary.

11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for
the Balkan states.

12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in
the old Turkish Empire should govern themselves.

13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea.

14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial
independence of all states.
TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
 Treaty that officially ended World War I
 June 28, 1919
 signed at the Palace of Versailles in France
 The leading figures at the treaty negotiations were:
 Premier Georges Clemenceau of France
 Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain
 President Woodrow Wilson of the United States.
 The treaty was far more punishing toward Germany than Wilson's Fourteen
Points;
 It required Germany to give up:
 land
 army and navy
 & pay extensive reparations for damages
to civilians in the war.
 The treaty also created the League of Nations.
Treaty of Versailles had the following requirements:
• German responsibility - According to the treaty's 'War Guilt
Clause,' Germany had to claim total responsibility for starting
the war.
• Reparations - $$ Germany was required to pay damages for
wartime destruction.
• Territory - Parts of German territory were transferred to France,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and Denmark. Germany also
lost control of its overseas colonies.
• Military restrictions - The German military was restricted to
100,000 soldiers/The Germans were not allowed to have tanks,
armed aircraft, or poison gas. They could not import or export
weapons. The German navy was limited to 15,000 men and a
few ships.
• The League of Nations - international organization to maintain
world peace in the future by mediating disputes between
nations.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
 International
organization to promote world
peace and cooperation that was created by the
Treaty of Versailles in 1919/ dissolved April 1946.
 Isolationists
in America feared the League
 The
Senate refused to ratify the treaty including
the League of Nations
 Wilson
campaigned heavily across the country for
the League, but the US never bought into the
international peace-keeping group
Why would isolationists fear joining the League of
Nations?
WHY DIDN'T THE US JOIN THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS AFTER WW1?
 Joining
the League of Nations would be like signing a
blank check :America didn't want to have to ship its troops
half way across the world for disputes that didn't concern
them. (Isolationists didn’t like it)
 It
didn't want to risk its economy or any more American
lives after the losses of WW1.

The Republicans wanted to return to Isolationism - being
an independent country and not involving itself in other
countries affairs.
 America
also strongly disagreed with the Treaty of
Versailles: Many Germans lived in America and
Americans felt it was far too harsh.
Preparing for War
-War Industries Board
-Opportunities for Women /Minorities
-Conservation efforts
Wartime agency of 1917–1918
designed to coordinate the war role of
American industry
Victory Gardens:
veggies/fruits grown to help
reduce the pressure on the
public food supply brought on by
the war effort/boosts
morale/contribute
Daylight Savings Time
(1918)
-Liberty Bonds, increased
taxes
Influence U.S. public opinion regarding
Americans role in WWI.
Used every way to create enthusiasm
for the war effort and enlist public
support (James Montgomery Flagg)
Public Opinion
-Committee on Public Information
George Creel: head of the CPI
4 Minute Men;
Volunteer Speeches
given by volunteers ANYWHERE:
movie theaters, churches, synagogues,
labor union headquarters… 75,000
amateur orators had delivered over
7.5 million speeches to more than 314
million people.
“I want You” Campaign
-Anti-immigrant sentiment
-Espionage and Sedition
Act
Schenck v. United
States
"Neither
slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except
as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United
States…”
Social Changes
-African Americans
Great Migration brought
increased opportunities
Civil Rights Debated??
-Women
took the jobs left by
many men
19th Amendment was
passed…
(1920)
Epidemic
-World War brought disease to
a new level
-large groups of people were
exposed
-Influenza (flu) outbreak of
1918 spread all over the world
-1/4 of the U.S. fell victim and ½
million died
-as many as 40 million dead
worldwide