The United States Enters WWI

WWI NotesChapter 30The War BeginsAustrian Archduke, and heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in June 1914A man shot the Archduke and his wife and the Serbian government knew about itThey wanted a war to bring down the Austro-Hungarian EmpireAustria-Hungary joined Germany against France, Russia, and SerbiaGermany declared war on Russia who had been sending troops to the German border and WWI began

American Neutrality

President Wilson believed that the US should avoid being drawn into a foreign war by remaining neutralAmerican citizens were on both sides of the fenceSome supported Britain because of our strong English heritageSome supported France because of our historic links to them and their aid to us during our RevolutionPro-British SentimentPresident Wilsons cabinet and military leaders supported the BritishBritish officials worked to win American support by using propaganda to influence the publicBritain cut the transatlantic telegraph cable from Europe to the US so we could only get British reportsAmerican banks began lending money to the Allies, so Americans had an interest in their success

Moving Toward WarGermans knew Allies depended on food, equipment, and other supplies from the USTo get around the British blockade of the North Sea, Germany used their U-boats (submarines) and announced they would attempt to sink any ship they found near Britain without warningThis violated an international treatyThe Lusitania, a British passenger ship, entered the war zone and a German submarine sunk it1200 passengers, including 128 Americans, were killedGermany attacked a French ship and President Wilson demanded that the German government stop using these methods of submarine warfare or risk war with the USThe United States Declares War

A German official, Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to the German ambassador in Mexico (which was already involved in conflict with the US) proposing an alliance that would give Mexico its lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona after the warBritish intelligence intercepted the telegram and leaked the information to American newspapersThe next month Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and sank 6 US merchant ships within 45 daysPresident Wilson finally had no other choice but to declare warWWI Propaganda Posters

Preparing for WarArmy had 100,000 men, but General Pershing said it needed 1 million within a year and 3 million the following yearSelective Service Act authorized the draft11,000 women served as volunteers in America, 14,000 served abroad in government agenciesTraining was often cut short to save timeAll ships began to travel in convoys (a group of unarmed ships surrounded by a ring of destroyers, torpedo boats, etc.)

African Americans in WWI

The more than 300,000 African American volunteers/draftees served in segregated units and most never saw combatThe marines did not accept African Americans at all and the navy only accepted them for basic tasks and manual laborAn entire unit known as the Harlem Hell Fighters convinced their officers to loan the regiment to the FrenchThe French integrated them and allowed them to serveAll men in the regiment received Frances highest combat medal: Croix de GuerreTurning the Tide of WarGermans negotiated a peace agreement with Russia after helping Vladimir Lenin gain control thereThey could now focus on conquering the western front and taking ParisThe Americans stepped in and began to push the Germans back

New Technology

The tank was a new weapon that allowed the Allies to cross trenches and roll through barbed wire to break German linesWe manufactured hundreds of planes to keep up with the technology of the AlliesAirplanes were used to scout enemy positions, but later flyers engaged in dogfights with pistols and machine gunsGerman zeppelins (blimps) killed more than 1500 civilians in London aloneLater, planes would be used to drop bombs to destroy railroads and enemy targetsEnding the WarThe Allies pressed on and Germanys allies (Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary) began to fall apart and make peace individually with the Allied powersGerman commanders begged for peace, but the Allied refusedGerman naval command ordered the fleet to leave the port and confront the British Navy for one last battle, but the sailors mutinied and this revolt quickly spread to other ships, ports, factories, and industrial cities until Kaiser Wilhelm fled to Holland and the government of Germany signed an armistice

The Influenza Epidemic

Flu killed more people worldwide than all of the wartime battlesA strand first detected at a training camp in Kansas was taken overseas by American TroopsIt caused severe pneumonia within a couple days and people literally suffocatedThe virus spread easily in crowded, unsanitary conditionsThe death rate in some units reached 32%Before it ended, over 500,000 Americans and nearly 30 million people worldwide died of the fluResults of the WarAmericans lost 50,000 soldiers in battle and many more to diseaseTotal European death toll is over 8 million soldiers and sailors (more than 5,000 every day)Many soldiers had their feet amputated because they developed trench footSoldiers were permanently blinded and had lung damage from poison gas attacksMillions of civilians died of starvation, disease, or war-related injuries

Setting the Scene

Wilsons Fourteen Points were a way to make and keep peace after the warHe hoped they would be the basis of peace negotiations and Germany assumed they would as wellAllies cooperated in the beginning but they started coming up with their own plans and discarding hisThe Paris Peace ConferenceWilson shared power with the leaders of Britain, France, and Italy who wanted to make the Central Powers pay for their part in the war with land, livestock, goods and moneyThey also wanted to divide up Germanys colonies in Africa, China, and the PacificWilsons only goal was to create an agency to allow countries to work together to resolve disputes peacefullyWilson convinced the other powers to create the League of Nations and came back to the US to convince us of his planPart of the plan pledged that members would regard an attack on one country as an attack on allThe plan was rejected because 39 senators feared the plan could be used to drag the US into wars

The Versailles TreatyThe conference created 9 new countries out of he territory of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and GermanyNew borders created new ethnic minorities in several countries, causing new problemsThe Ottoman Empire was all but destroyed and what was left became TurkeyGermany was forced to pay reparations in the form of $33 billion, which they were unable to payGermany never forgot or forgave this humiliationThe Germans at first refused to sign the treaty, but gave in when threatened with French invasionReactions at HomeMany Americans, including politicians, were unsure of the League of Nations provision of the Versailles TreatyWilson toured the country to get support and suffered a stroke that paralyzed one side of his body, leaving him an invalid for the rest of his termThe Senate voted on the treaty in several forms, but could not agreeOn May 20, 1920 Congress voted to disregard the Treaty of Versailles and declare the war officially overWilson vetoed it and the next year another resolution was passed, but this time with Warren G. Harding in office (who signed it)

An Economy in TurmoilInflation after the war was rampant because businesses that had been regulated by the government were no longer regulatedWorkers wanted higher wages because of inflation, companies wanted lower wagesThis led to strikes

Boston Police Strike75% of the police force walked off the job, riots erupted, and the governor had to send in the National GuardStrikers tried to return to work and the police commissioner fired them and hired new workers instead

Racial UnrestThousands of American soldiers returned from Europe and needed to find jobsWhite and African American soldiers returned to a heros welcome, but African American soldiers were discriminated against when it came to housing and jobsMany African Americans who had moved north during the war were also competing for jobs and housingIn the summer of 1919 over 20 race riots broke out across the nationThe worst violence happened in ChicagoAfrican Americans had gone to a whites-only beach and both sides began throwing stones at each other, setting off a riot that lasted for 2 weeks and left 38 people dead and over 500 injuredThe Red Scare

Labor riots did not help the fear of communismPeople became afraid of anarchyThe postal service intercepted more than 30 parcels addressed to leading businesspeople and politicians that were triggered to explode when openedIn June, 8 bombs in 8 cities exploded within minutes of one another, suggesting a nationwide conspiracyThe agency that would eventually become the FBI was created to conduct raids on the headquarters of radical organizationsMost raids were unsuccessful and did not turn up hard evidenceAn End to ProgressivismWarren G. Harding ran on a platform of a return to normalcy, the simple days before progressive reformsThis struck a chord with voters and he won by a landslide against the ticket of Ohio governor James M. Cox and Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt who ran on the platform of continued Progressivism