Transcript The American Pageant: Chapters 29 and 30

The War to End War
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Serb patriot killed heir to the AustriaHungary throne
◦ Germany and Austria-Hungary sent message to
Serbia
◦ Serbia backed by Russia set eyes on Germany
◦ Germany attacked France through Belgium
◦ Great Britain joined with France
Gavrilo Princip
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
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Both central and allied powers wanted US
help
◦ Allies – German atrocities
◦ Central – relied on German-Americans
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Americans anti-German
◦ Against Kaiser Wilhelm II
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In recession before WWI
British and French need for product
J.P Morgan loaned 2.3 billion
Central powers complained
◦ Did not violate neutrality laws
◦ Could still trade with US
◦ British blockade
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1915 –Germany announces submarine war
area around British isles
◦ U-boats
◦ 90 ships sunk in first few months
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“try not to sink neutral ships”
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Passenger ship
Sank of Ireland on May 7, 1915
1,198 killed (128 Americans)
Germans argued ship carried ammunition
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Warning to Germany
Agreed in 1915 to not sink unarmed ships
without warning
Violated with sinking of Sussex in 1916
Sussex ultimatum
◦ Germany would not attack passenger ships
 Accepted by Wilson
◦ U.S. would help to remove British blockade
 Not agreed upon
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Wilson: “He Kept us Out of War”
Roosevelt refused to run as a progressive
Republican’s nominate Hughes
◦ Pro-business; attacked Wilson’s foreign policy
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January 22, 1917
Neutral rights
“Peace without victory”
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January 31, 1917 – unrestricted submarine
warfare
Wilson still wanted peace
March 1, 1917 - Zimmerman note
◦ German-Mexican alliance
◦ Recovery of TX, NM, and AZ
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4 unarmed US ships sunk in March
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Declared on April 6th, 1917
“to make the world safe for democracy”
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Appeal for peace
The first 5 points and their effects were:
◦ 1. A proposal to abolish secret treaties pleased liberals of
all countries.
◦ 2. Freedom of the seas appealed to the Germans, as well as
to Americans who distrusted British sea power.
◦ 3. A removal of economic barriers among nations was
comforting to Germany, which feared postwar vengeance.
◦ 4. Reduction of armament burdens was gratifying to
taxpayers.
◦ 5. An adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of both
native people and the colonizers was reassuring to the
anti-imperialists.
The largest achievement, #14, foreshadowed the
League of Nations - an international organization
that Wilson dreamed would provide a system of
collective security.
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Created by George Creel
Mobilize people for war
“four minute men” – patriotic speeches
Posters, pamphlets, and movies
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8 million German-Americans
Rumors of spying and sabotage.
◦ German-Americans were tarred, feathered, and beaten.
◦ hatred of Germans and things related to Germany
The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act
of 1918
◦ Socialist Eugene V. Debs and the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) leader William D. Haywood were
convicted under the Espionage Act.
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At this time, nearly any criticism of the
government could be censored and punished.
◦ Schenck v. United States (1919): freedom of speech
could be revoked when such speech posed a danger to
the nation.
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Civilian Council of National Defense
◦ to study problems of economic mobilization
◦ increased the size of the army
◦ created a shipbuilding program.
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Fear of big government
War Industries Board
◦ impose some order on the economic confusion.
◦ disbanded after the end of the war.
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Unemployed males threatened with the draft
The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) were victims of
some of the worst working conditions in the country.
◦ At the end of the war, the AF of L's (American Federation of Labor)
membership had more than doubled.
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Wartime inflation threatened to eliminate wage gains and
thousands of strikes resulted.
In 1919, the greatest strike in American history hit the
steel industry.
◦ More than 250,000 steelworkers walked off their jobs
◦ companies brought in 30,000 African-Americans to keep the mills
running.
◦ After several deadly confrontations, the strike collapsed, crippling
the union movement for over 10 years.
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Thousands of blacks were drawn to the North in wartime
by the allure of war-industry employment.
◦ Deadly disputes between whites and blacks consequently erupted.
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In 1919, the greatest strike in American
history hit the steel industry.
◦ More than 250,000 steelworkers walked off their
jobs
◦ companies brought in 30,000 African-Americans to
keep the mills running.
◦ After several deadly confrontations, the strike
collapsed, crippling the union movement for over
10 years.
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National Woman's party protested the war.
National American Woman Suffrage
Association, supported
Impressed by women's war work, President
Wilson supported women suffrage.
In 1920, The 19th Amendment was passed,
giving all American women the right to vote.
Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act of 1921
◦ providing federally financed instruction in maternal
and infant health care.
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Wheatless Wednesdays
Meatless Tuesdays
Alcohol manufacturing slowed
$21 billion raised
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Males 18-45
“Draft dodgers” and exemption
Key industries excluded
Patriotic Duty
4 million men raised
Women and African allowed to serve
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1917 Bolshevik Revolution
◦ Communist Russia toppled the tsar regime
◦ Pulled out of “Capitalistic”
◦ War now fought solely for democracy
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A year after Congress declared war, the first
American troops reached France.
◦ used as replacements in the Allied armies
◦ deployed in quiet sectors with the British and
French.
◦ Shipping shortages plagued the Allies.
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American troops were also sent to Belgium,
Italy, and Russia.
◦ Hoped to prevent Russian munitions from falling
into the hands of the Germans.
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Spring 1918 – Germans attack western front
◦ 500,000 German troops
◦ Marshal Foch (French commander in charge of
allies)
◦ 30,000 Americans sent to French frontlines
 First engagement of U.S. in Europe
◦ Halted German advance
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July 1918
Marked the beginning of a German withdrawal.
The Americans demanded a separate army;
◦ General John J. Pershing was assigned a front of 85
miles.
◦ Pershing's army undertook the Meuse-Argonne
offensive from September 26 to November 11, 1918.
 Cut the German railroad lines feeding the western front.
 Inadequate training left 10% of the Americans involved in the
battle injured or killed.
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As German supplies ran low and as their allies
began to desert them, defeat was in sight for
Germany.
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In October of 1918, the Germans were ready
for peace based on the Fourteen Points.
Surrendered on November 11, 1918
The United States' main contributions to the
victory had been foodstuffs, munitions,
credits, oil, and manpower.
◦ Only fought 2 major battles, at St. Mihiel and the
Meuse-Argonne.
◦ The prospect of endless U.S. troops, rather than
America's actual military performance eventually
demoralized the Germans.
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January 18th, 1919
The Big Four
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Wilson (1st president to travel oversees)
Orlando (Italy)
Lloyd George (Britain)
Clemenceau (France)
Wilson’s main goal: League of Nations
◦ World parliament
◦ Seats for all nations
◦ Controlled by major power
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France got the Security Treaty
◦ Both Britain and America pledged to come to its aid in
the event of another German invasion.
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Italy demanded Fiume, a valuable seaport
inhabited by both Italians and Yugoslavs.
◦ The seaport went to Yugoslavia after Wilson's insisting.
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Japan demanded China's Shandong Peninsula and
the German islands of the Pacific, which it had
seized during the war.
◦ After Japan threatened to walk out, Wilson accepted a
compromise in which Japan kept Germany's economic
holdings in Shandong and pledged to return the
peninsula to China at a later date.
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The Treaty of Versailles was forced upon the
Germans in June 1919.
◦ Outraged with the treaty, noticing that most of the
Fourteen Points were left out.
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Wilson, also not happy with the outcome of
the treaty, was forced to compromise away
some of his Fourteen Points in order to
salvage the more precious League of Nations.
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Critics of the League of Nations came from all
sides. Irish-Americans, isolationists, and
principled liberals all denounced the League.
In an attempt to speed up the passing of the
treaty in the Senate, President Wilson decided to
travel the country
The speeches in the Midwest did not go as well
as in the Rocky Mountain region and on the
Pacific Coast.
On his return to Washington, Wilson suffered a
stroke and suffered from physical and nervous
exhaustion.
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Senator Lodge, a critic to the president, came
up with fourteen reservations to the Treaty of
Versailles.
◦ These safeguards reserved the rights of the U.S.
under the Monroe Doctrine and the Constitution
and otherwise sought to protect American
sovereignty.
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After the Senate rejected the Treaty twice, the
Treaty of Versailles was defeated.
◦ The Lodge-Wilson personal feud, traditionalism,
isolationism, disillusionment, and partisanship all
contributed to the defeat of the treaty.
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Wilson proposed to settle the treaty issue in the
upcoming presidential campaign of 1920 by
appealing to the people for a "solemn
referendum."
The Republicans chose Senator Warren G.
Harding and Calvin Coolidge
◦ The Republican platform appealed to both pro-League
and anti-League sentiment in the party.
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Democrats nominated pro-League Governor
James. M. Cox as their presidential hopeful and
chose Franklin D. Roosevelt as their vicepresidential nominee.
◦ Warren Harding won the election of 1920. Harding's
victory lead to the death of the League of Nations.
What does this tell us about the League of
Nations?
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The Treaty of Versailles was the only one of
the four peace treaties not to succeed.
After the war, America did not embrace the
role of global leader.
In the interests of its own security, the United
States should have used its enormous
strength to shape world-shaking events.
It instead permitted the world to drift towards
yet another war.