Chapter 19: World War I

American History

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 anti-American 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 Austria-Hungary 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 Chateau-

Thierry The Americans participated in a massive

counter-attack along the Western front (Argonne Forest) Suffered heavy casualties, but shattered

German defenses

The War EndsWith the surrender and fall of the Ottoman and Austria-

Hungarian Empires, German officials revolted, demanding the kaiser to step down

The war ended with Germany surrendering in 1918A 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 IThe 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