AMERICA AND WORLD WAR I

(1916-1920)

Chapter 19

American International Relations Roosevelt Corollary

Roosevelt announced that the U.S. would intervene to ensure the stability and solvency of Latin American nations○ Particularly the Dominican Republic, Panama,

and Cuba○ Many of these nations were in severe debt

with EuropeRoosevelt also wanted to build a canal

across the Isthmus of Panama○ Opened in 1914

American International Relations Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

Taft tried to substitute economic force for military power○ Money over the military○ Use economic investment and loans for

persuasionWorked in the Caribbean

○ However, it alienated China, Japan, and Russia

American International Relations Wilson’s Moral Imperialism

Rescinded Dollar Diplomacy and announced that he would respect Latin America’s independence

Believed that the spread of manufactured American goods and investments would spread democratic ideals

In reality, Wilson got the U.S. more involved militarily in Latin America○ More than any President before or since

Wilson also got involved with the Mexican Revolution○ Mexicans viewed American soldiers as invaders instead

of liberators○ America’s presence complicated issues in Mexico greatly

Principles of Just War War must be waged as a last resort War must be waged by a legitimate authority

against another legitimate authority War must be waged to redress a wrong suffered War must be waged with a reasonable chance of

success The ultimate goal of war is to reestablish peace Violence must be used proportionally to the injury

suffered Combatants must discriminate between mutual

combatants and non-combatants (civilians)

World War I Phase 1 – Neutrality

Wilson urges Americans to stay neutral in regard to the conflict in Europe○ In reality, he and most Americans were sympathetic

to the AlliesEarly in the war, a British luxury liner named the

Lusitania was sank by German submarine○ Germany sank a few other ships, but then pledged to

not attack any more ships without warningThese events gave American commercial ships

pause and concern over Germany’s neutrality toward the U.S.

World War I Phase 1 – Neutrality

Diplomats, politicians, and military experts began to debate the role the U.S. would play in world affairs; especially the situation in Europe

Debates over neutrality○ Immigrants wanted the U.S. to stay neutral because

Americans had a long tradition of neutrality and immigrants did not potentially want to get involved in a war against countries they shared ethnic backgrounds with

○ Progressives wanted to get involved with the war as quickly as possibleThey believed that Wilson’s reluctance to side with the Allies was

controlled by big business interests

World War I Phase 2 – Preparedness

By the end of 1915, Wilson began promoting a policy of preparedness regarding the conflict in Europe

Wilson began to negotiation with an increasingly aggressive Germany and a hostile Mexico in 1916○ Democrats champion him as the man “Who Kept

Us Out of the War”In the last months of 1916, Wilson appeals for

the embattled nations to work towards a “Peace Without Victory”

World War I Phase 2 – Preparedness

Wilson initially wanted to run his reelection campaign on a platform of Americanism and preparedness○ Better judgment called for him to run on a platform of

neutrality and “Keeping the Country out of the War”○ Wilson wins by only a ½ million votes despite a large

turnout by women votersGermany violated the U.S.’s neutrality agreement

shortly afterwards○ Germany reasoned that the U.S. had declared their

intent to side with the Allies because the U.S. was frequently trading with England

World War I Phase 2 – Preparedness

The Zimmerman Telegram○ A telegram from Germany to Mexico indicating that

Germany would wage unrestricted warfare on the seas against the United States

○ Germany wanted to offer Mexico financial support so Mexico could reclaim its lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

○ After the U.S. intercepted the message, Wilson orders all American merchant ships to arm themselvesHe also ordered the U.S. Navy to sink any aggressive

submarines

World War I

Phase 3 – Declaring WarFive U.S. merchant ships were sunk by

German submarines in March 1917○ This propels Wilson to declare war

Wilson’s Secretary of War, William Jennings Bryan quits because of his fundamentalist stance against war

Wilson formally declares war on 2 April 1917

World War I Phase 3 – Declaring War

Americans initially believed they would fight the war by sending supplies to the Allies○ However, they quickly realize they would have to commit

troops because of the high casualty rates due to trench warfare in Europe

Americans thought the war would be like a safari○ Propaganda greatly portrayed it as such

The Wilson administration enacts the Selective Service Act○ Drafts over 2 million soldiers

June 1917 – American troops land in France Summer 1918 – American forces combined with Allied

forces were strong enough to persuade the Germans to ask for peace

World War I Under Just War Standards Wilson constantly portrayed America as an

innocent nationFree of self-interest and righteous in its cause; good

vs. evil Americans were fighting for the rights of

mankindFuture peace and security in the worldAmericans desire no conquest and see no dominion

Wilson effectively sets the tone for how Americans view foreign policy for the rest of the century and into the 21st century

World War I Under Just War Standards A tyrannical and total evil requires a total

responseEveryone has to be involved in the warWomen and minorities become involved

despite significant domestic issues Wilson was ultimately biased

Believed Germans started the problem and Britain was the savior trying to fix it

World War I Under Just War Standards Wilson’s view on conducting business

on the seas while remaining neutralIn reality, from 1897 to 1914, American

overseas investments soared to over $2.6 billion dollars

Unrestricted German warfare on the seas definitely cuts into profits

The shipping industry was vital to America’s economic prosperity

World War I Under Just War Standards Was it a just war?

World War I destroyed an entire generation of European men○ Europe never recovers from World War I spiritually○ Most stop going to church, lose hope in the traditional

sense of a benevolent God loving and protecting themIn contrast, Americans view themselves as the

victors who saved the day○ Europe could not have won without us

The American clergy gets a boost from their ardent support of the war○ Fundamentalism grows throughout the next decade

The Progressive Clergy’s War Christian fundamentalist theologians

saw the war as a chance to confront the timeless problems of Christian theology in the context of total warSort of a spin on the social gospel;

Americans would be serving the kingdom of God by embarking on a religious war against a pagan nation (Germany)

Their goals required the war to be an epic battle between good and evil

The Progressive Clergy’s War Wilson’s administration becomes

intimately tied with the Progressive clergyNational week of prayer after war broke out

in EuropeWilson becomes the poster boy for Southern

Baptists who believed he was God’s chosen agent to fix the ills of the world

The Progressive Clergy’s War Unique blend of social service, personal

salvation, and military servicePastor William P. Merrill: “The best mark of a

‘saved’ man is not that he wants to go to heaven, but that he is willing to go to China, or the battle-field in France, or to the slums of the city, or to the last dollar of his resources, or to the limit of his energy, to set forward the Kingdom of God.”

The Progressive Clergy’s War Even after the war is over, the clergy

tried anything to keep the agenda of social service, personal salvation, and military service goingThey wanted military conscription and

training to be permanent features of AmericaAlways willing and diligent to go forth as

Christian soldiersBeginning of a new American militarism

Prohibition: The 18th Amendment Progressive agenda called for the

banning of intoxicating liquorsSaw national legislation as the best strategyA resurgence of the temperance movement

World War I gave this agenda backingProgressive clergy at the forefront of the

media and very willing to help the Progressives out

The amendment did not ban all alcohol, but made it extremely difficult to obtain

Prohibition: The 18th Amendment One of the few amendments to have a

time constraint on ratification Only amendment to be repealed

21st amendment repeals the 18th amendment

The 18th amendment went into effect in January 1920

Organized crime and illegal liquor trafficking go up astronomically

Women’s Suffrage: The 19th Amendment The U.S.’s entry into World War I threatened the

suffrage movement The National Women’s Party militantly fought for

suffrage despite World War IUrged people to vote against Senators who would not

recognize women’s suffrage in the 1918 mid-term elections

Women’s efforts during the war won them the respect they needed to get the 19th amendment passed

Wilson began to publically support the amendment in January 1918

In August 1920, the 19th amendment was certified

The Espionage and Sedition Acts Espionage Act of 1917 – prohibited spying,

interfering with the military draft, and making “false statements” that might impede military success

Sedition Act of 1918 – forbade Americans to use “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” regarding the U.S. government, flag, or armed forces during times of warThe act also allowed the Postmaster General to

deny mail delivery to dissenters of government policy during wartime

The Espionage and Sedition Acts Wilson’s support from the Progressive

Democrats and clergy allowed him to easily support these harsh policies that fostered a culture of paranoia

The passage of these acts turned World War I into a holy, righteous warOpposite of the just war that the United

States was committed to win

100 Percent Americanism Overall push to Americanize – make a more

homogeneous national cultureThis became the battle cry for the Ku Klux Klan

in Texas during the 1920s Anti-German sentiment

Germans were persecutedGerman literature was destroyed, German

teachers were fired, education was almost non-existent for German-Americans during the war

Germans became a symbol of total and ultimate evil during World War I

100 Percent Americanism Eugenics Movement

A very Progressive idea that combined Social Darwinism with Evolution○ Selective breeding should be applied to humans in

order to improve the speciesEugenics professionals studied the mental

characteristics of different races extensively○ Gave anti-immigration and racism a significant

boost, making it seem ‘professional’Eugenics festivals

○ Prizes for families with the best lineage; awarded on a point system

100 Percent Americanism Black Protest

Roosevelt and Wilson both felt that blacks were unfit for suffrage○ Largely ignored the 14th and 15th amendments

W.E.B. DuBois wrote the Souls of Black Folk○ A Progressive attempt to investigate, expose,

and reconcile conflicting ideals of American freedom for blacks and whites

DuBois also was a co-founder of the NAACP

Spanish Influenza What is a pandemic?

Virtually all parts of the world are affected by an illness

What was the Spanish Influenza?Subtype of the H1N1 flu virus (similar to the Swine

flu)Lasted approximately from March 1918 to June

1920Began as a strain that resembled typical flu

symptomsMutated into a deadlier strain in the latter part of

1918

Spanish Influenza

What was the Spanish Influenza?Troop movements in war zones probably

hastened the mutation of the virus○ Due to the poor conditions the troops were

living in; trenches○ Living and traveling in small quarters and in

large groupsTroops became the most vulnerable to the

virusCivilians typically developed immunity to the

lighter strain of the virus

Spanish Influenza

Mortality rateRoughly 3 to 6 percent of the world’s

population25 million dead in the first 25 weeks aloneSpread to the Arctic and Pacific IslandsAffected healthy, young adults; made the

immune system go into overdrive

Spanish Influenza Why was it called the Spanish Influenza?

Spain was a neutral country during World War I○ News and media was not censored like the rest of

the worldGave the disproportionate notion that Spain had

the most cases of the virus○ Led people to think that the virus originated there

No one really knows where the virus came from Survivors of the virus

Woodrow Wilson, Walt Disney, and Gen. John J. Pershing

The Strike Wave of 1919 Wartime rhetoric regarding economic

democracy and freedom helped inspire the labor uprising

The uprising started world-wideSocialism and Communism began to influence the

United States again The strike wave began in Seattle in January

1919 Great Steel Strike – striking for union

recognition, higher waves, and an 8-hour work day

Wilson’s Fourteen Points “It took God Ten Commandments, and it

took Wilson Fourteen Points” Basically, this was his outline for peace and

to bring about a lasting peaceCopies of the speech were dropped behind

enemy lines as propagandaHe was encouraged when the Germans asked

for peaceHe thought his Fourteen Points would prevail

during the peace talksUltimately, they did not

The Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty for World War I Wilson attends with Great Britain and

France’s leadersThe terms of agreement definite are not

what he wanted The victors take a much harsher policy

towards GermanyGermany has to pay back all the war debtHas to acknowledge they are completely

responsible for the war

The Treaty of Versailles

Wilson’s language of self-determination and hope does not apply to Britain and France’s point of view

Wilson has to accept these terms in order to convince France and Britain regarding his “League of Nations”Got support to add this into the conditions of

the treaty

Wilson’s League of Nations Goal: “Making the world safe for

democracy” Wilson saw this as the holiest of goals and

the greatest potential legacy Opponents saw it as a way for America to

lose its freedom of action in times of warToo much legislation and red tape to go through

in order to act when needed The League of Nations is essentially a

precursor to the United Nations

The Red Scare

Alarmed by the violent acts of a few anarchists and Communists after World War I, the government resorted to the illegal roundups of innocent people and forcible deportation of aliensLasted roughly a year and a half

The government’s actions encouraged lynchings and other forms of terrorism against radicals and immigrants (blacks were still included)

The Red Scare The Secretary of Labor eventually secures

the release of political prisoners arrested in the witch hunt

This effectively causes the Red Scare to collapseMakes a resurgence in the 1950s with

McCarthyism Republican Warren G. Harding won the 1920

election by promising a return to “normalcy”Everyone was getting tired of the Progressives,

Democrats, and the Red Scare

The Red Scare

The Red Scare quickly subsided, but nativism, bigotry, and fear of foreign influence left its mark on the country well into the 1920s

Legal restrictions on immigrants increased