Wilson and World War I Text chapter 21. Wilson and World War I Wilson was only the second Democrat...

Wilson and World War I

Text chapter 21


Wilson was only the second Democrat since Reconstruction.

Key people in his cabinet: William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of

State William G. McAdoo, Secretary of

Treasury

Woodrow Wilson


Wilson came to office in 1912 with a Democratic sweep in Congress as well.

3 topics he considered pressing: 1. Reduction of the protective tariff2. Reform of banking law 3. Strengthening anti-trust laws

Wilson and World War I The earlier Payne Aldrich Tariff had

set rates at 40% The new Underwood Simmons tariff

set rates at 29%. Congress instituted a graduated

income tax on citizens; 1% on all earnings over $4,000

This was far more than most American workers earned at the time


The handful of Americans who earned over $500,000 annually paid 7% of their income in tax

By contrast, the highest bracket today is about 35%


War broke out in Europe in 1914. Result of many factors: Imperialism by the powerful countries

in Europe Ethnic pride among smaller eastern

countries under the control of the Imperial powers


It was anticipated that the old Ottoman Empire in eastern Europe would break up

But who would get to control those lands?


Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Bulgarian throne, was assassinated

He was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia at the time

Regional and ethnic rivalries and hostilities

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia


Germany offered its support to Russia Russia was allied with Serbia and was

compelled to honor its alliance Regional alliances and rivalries soon

turned a local conflict into a global war


Wilson was determined to keep the US out of this war

None of the contributing causes had anything to do with Americans.

American immigrants watched war news with interest, however

The war was a hotly debated issue in many (ethnic) neighborhood clubs.


It was an issue for American businessmen as well.

American banks had millions invested in Europe, and industrialists valued their trade with both belligerents.

Wilson’s neutrality was more ideological than practical.

Wilson and World War I US trade with nations in the Central

Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey) was about $170 million in 1914

US trade with the Allies (Great Britain, France, and Russia) was nearly $825 million

It was hard to remain neutral when so much American capital was at stake


The dollars invested also drove industrialists to urge support of the Allies

Investment was nearly 4 times as great with the Allies as it was with the Central Powers


Wilson understood Though officially neutral (the US did

not send troops or sell weapons) the United States found ready markets for farm products and clothing with Allied buyers

US trade with the Allies nearly quadrupled between 1914 and 1917.


So WHY did we enter the war? All “WHY” questions have the same

answer: “Follow the money” But really, it wasn’t quite that simple

in this instance


Germany ordered a blockade of the western coasts of France and England. Only passenger ships could pass.

To evade the blockade, British shippers began to transport war supplies on passenger ships

But they didn’t tell the ticket-purchasing passengers


The Germans quickly realized what was happening

They used the newly-perfected submarine (“U-boat” or “untervasser boot” in German) to sink passenger ships as well.

The British ship Lusitania was sunk in 1915, killing nearly 1200 passengers – including 128 Americans.

Sinking of the Lusitania, 1915


Wilson was under great pressure to retaliate since American lives had been lost.

He settled for a pledge from the German government to sink no more passenger ships

This was the Arabic Pledge, named after another liner that was sunk


Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over Lusitania/Arabic negotiations

He felt that negotiating with a belligerent violated the principles of neutrality

Others in Congress felt that negotiation was not punitive enough.

Wilson still insisted on neutrality.

Wilson and World War I Early in 1916, Congress proposed the

Gore-McLemore resolution Urged Americans to avoid any travel

to Europe And particularly to refuse to travel

over British ships, since they regularly carried weapons

Wilson worked hard to see the resolution defeated

But neutrality seemed to be fading.

Wilson and World War I In Spring 1916, German subs sank an

unarmed French ship, the Sussex, in the English Channel.

Wilson threatened to cut off all trade with Germany (which had dwindled to nearly nothing anyway) unless Germany pledged not to attack unarmed commercial ships

Germany agreed, with the Sussex Pledge.

Wilson and World War I Wilson sent his close friend and political

advisor Col. Edward House to Europe on a secret mission to offer mediation to end the war

House made a public suggestion in London that Wilson should host a peace conference

If Germany didn’t attend, it would be taken as an act of war

But Germany was not expected to attend “Catch-22”

Wilson and World War I House signed an agreement with the British

Foreign Secretary (the House-Gray Memorandum)

In principle, the United States agreed to enter the war on the Allied side, should these things occur as expected.

Still insisting on neutrality, Wilson nonetheless acted to enlarge the US military.


The following month, Germany announced it would no longer honor the Arabic and Sussex pledges, and that it would renew submarine warfare against all vessels attempting trade with the enemies of Germany.

Wilson broke diplomatic relations with Germany in February 1917.

Wilson and World War I Later that month the “Zimmermann

Telegram” was intercepted A translation was given to Wilson by

the British Foreign Secretary The White House released it to the

press on March 1 Americans were outraged at the

alleged German plot to help Mexico “re-take” Texas and California.


Wilson called Congress into special session again, and requested a declaration of war against Germany.

In addition to the breaking of the two pledges, and the apparent unwillingness of Germany to enter any peaceful negotiation, two other factors convinced Wilson to seek war:


I. The communist revolution in Russia had taken that country completely out of the war as one of the Allies

Wilson feared that France and Britain alone could not withstand the German army and navy.


II. Wilson believed that he could never have a hand in the peace unless the US had a hand in the war

He saw an unusual opportunity to re-make the governments of Europe, end imperialism, and begin an era of international negotiation that would make war obsolete.


The Great War, in Wilson’s mind, would thus be “The War that Ended All Wars.”

AKA “The War to Make the World Safe for Democracy”


Congress passed a Selective Service Act over bitter opposition

This instituted the first draft since the Civil War

The first law made all males 21-30 eligible for military service

A later version extended the age limits to all males 17-46


Women could serve as clerks in the stateside military, or occasionally as nurses

The draft was also seen as a way to make the US military more representative or all races and classes

But non-whites were usually assigned to separate units under white officers

Wilson and World War I About 400,000 black men enlisted or

were drafted, over the objections of some segregationist politicians.

Few actually saw combat Most served in construction or other

labor battalions A small number were promoted to be

officers But no black officers were allowed to

command white troops.


The US army went into Europe It was called the American

Expeditionary Force, or AEF It was commanded by General John J.

“Black Jack” Pershing Pershing had led Wilson’s ill-fated

mission into Mexico to fight the bandit Pancho Villa a few years earlier


Pershing’s nickname came from the fact that as a 1st Lieutenant, he had commanded the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment (“Buffalo Soldiers”) in the 1890s

Some sources say that the nickname “Black” Jack is a sanitized, polite version of what he was actually called

General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing

Wilson and World War I Wilson created the War Industries

Board (WIB) It was supposed to control raw

materials, production, prices, and labor relations

Military leaders at first objected to what they saw as civilian interference in military purchasing

Wilson said it was covered by “emergency powers” in Constitution


Businessman Bernard Baruch was tapped by Wilson to chair the WIB

Baruch was the second man of Jewish background to be appointed to a major government position.

The WIB coordinated agriculture, transportation, and labor relations so that the war effort went smoothly.

Wilson and World War I Wilson created the War Labor Board,

chaired by former president William Howard Taft

It settled labor disputes and in effect prohibited strikes, but often did so by encouraging industries to offer higher salaries to workers

Union membership doubled during the war.

Wilson and World War I The war was paid for by the increased

taxes and by heavy citizen participation in purchase of war bonds and stamps.

The scarcity of products that were sent “for the boys” overseas created shortages at home

Prices rose about 100% over the two years of US participation in the war.


The Committee for Public Information (CPI) began a strong anti-German propaganda effort

In the ensuing anti-German hysteria, some communities went to bizarre ends

Pretzels could not be sold in some areas Doctors refused to treat “German

measles” unless patients called it “liberty measles” instead, etc.

Wilson and World War I The Espionage Act of 1917 provided

fines and possible imprisonment for people who spoke against the war, or incited young men to resist the draft.

The Sedition Act of 1918 forbade any criticism of the government, the flag, or the military

Even if these criticisms had no detrimental effect on the war effort.

Wilson and World War I Labor leader Eugene V. Debs of the IWW

drew ten years in prison for warning against militarism at an IWW convention.

The Supreme Court upheld these laws in its decision Shenk v. United States, 1919

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that the government could curtail free speech in cases of “clear and present danger.”

Wilson and World War I But making good on his plan to direct

the peace, Wilson had announced his “Fourteen Points” to Congress in January 1918

Described a postwar world in which the main causes of war – interference with trade, secret alliances, lack of respect for the cultural boundaries of small countries – would be outlawed.


Europeans distrusted the Fourteen Points, which they claimed lacked any understanding of the extent of suffering caused by Germany.

Some in America said it was too idealistic, and merely risked later involvement in yet another European conflict.


Wilson was stubborn when he went to Paris in 1919 to sit at the negotiating table to draft the peace treaty.

He made the insulting (and politically suicidal) decision to handle the negotiations alone, without consulting with experienced Congressmen from his own party or from the Republican Party.


Wilson won one important victory at Versailles

The treaty did set up a “League of Nations,” a forum where member nations would pledge to bring disagreements and settle through negotiation

Each nation would recognize the “territorial integrity” of the other

War was to be considered a last resort.

Wilson and World War I All of the rest of the Fourteen Points

were discarded: Germany signed an affidavit of full

responsibility for the war – under protest

The German empire was forced to sever its treaty relationship with Austria-Hungary, which was itself split into two separate nations.

Wilson and World War I Germany was forced to agree to a

war debt repayment (called “reparations”) of $33 billion dollars

This was to be a lump sum divided between the Allied nations according to the damage each had sustained during the war

Allied damage done to Germany during the war was not compensated

Wilson and World War I The German army and navy were

reduced to very small forces, suitable only for defense and not for conquest.

Germany’s rich coal fields in the region of Alsace-Lorraine (which had been captured from France in 1872) were returned to France.

Germany’s weapons industry was forbidden to exist any longer.


New eastern European nations (Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Poland) were created out of the old Ottoman Empire and conquered German lands

But no provision was made to keep them from being controlled by more powerful countries.

Wilson and World War I The war debt provision was the most

crippling of all to Germany It was a virtually impossible amount

to pay Especially given the fact that

Germany’s was stripped of her two most valuable commercial assets:

The coal fields and the weapons industry

Wilson and World War I The Treaty of Versailles was a total

humiliation for Germany It was not what Wilson had favored,

but served up the revenge that France and Great Britain felt was rightly theirs.

It also set the stage for the Great Depression of the 1930s

And for the eventual rise of Adolf Hitler.


Constitutionally, Wilson as president could sign the treaty on behalf of the United States

But it did not become binding on the country until ratified by the Senate.

It was during the ratification struggles that Wilson’s political arrogance with powerful Senators came to haunt him.


Wilson’s fellow Democrats for the most part fell into line behind him

But of 96 total Senators, they accounted for only 47.

49 others disagreed.


About half of these called themselves “Irreconcilables.”

Mostly Republicans, they felt the treaty over-committed the United States into perpetual involvement with European problems.

They opposed the treaty under any circumstances


The rest had what they called “mild reservations” (they were called “reservationists” by the newspapers)

They would likely have accepted the treaty if Wilson had offered some changes

They were concerned that the Fourteen Points, for which American young men had been asked to die, seemed to have been forgotten at the treaty table


Reservationists were led in the Senate by Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts

Lodge was a well-respected Republican with a high level of national popularity

Wilson began to characterize him as “the enemy,” and directed many of his pro-treaty speeches at Lodge personally

Henry Cabot Lodge

Wilson and World War I Wilson refused to bend to the

reservationists This was a political mistake Had he made the changes they requested,

the treaty might have passed by the constitutionally-required 2/3 majority of Senators

Wilson insisted that the treaty be ratified as written, with no changes

The battle was on

Wilson and World War I Wilson embarked on a speaking tour

of the states, promoting the treaty and urging citizens to write their Senators in protest of the lack of early ratification

This back-door approach angered some of the reservationists, who became even more determined to fight the treaty.

Wilson and World War I Wilson had suffered for years with high

blood pressure, which was not treatable in those days

He suffered a stroke in Colorado and was incapacitated for the remaining months of 1919

His campaigning for the treaty ended, but he continued a letter-writing effort to Senators urging them to “vote against Lodge.”


In November 1919, the final vote was taken in the Senate on US acceptance of the treaty

It failed to get the necessary 2/3 majority, either with or without the amendments Lodge’s group wanted

From his sickbed there was nothing further Wilson could do.

Wilson and World War I The US did eventually sign a

“separate peace” with Germany in 1921

The US never joined the League of Nations

It became a ceremonial and toothless organization that fell far short of the high goals Wilson had envisioned for it

Wilson and World War I With executive/legislative

relationships in disarray, the country faced many political hardships during 1919-1920.

These were not helped any by the typical post-war economic adjustments that come after any war

The wartime economy has to “re-tool” to meet peacetime needs, and the process is always bumpy.

Wilson and World War I Soldiers who had proudly served the

AEF came home to find many factories shut down

Their old places of work had become tank and weapon factories

It was about 18 months before that machinery could re-adjust to build cars and appliances

For a short time, unemployment was high.


In 1919 alone, there were over 2600 strikes

Unions insisted on continuation of the high benefits workers had gotten through the WIB (War Industries Board)

But low productivity in American factories made that impossible.


Meanwhile, large numbers of Russian immigrants were fleeing into the US to avoid the new communist regime in Russia

Now called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR


Given the economic uncertainty and shortage of jobs, Americans were suspicious of these new arrivals

Even more so than they had been of Russian immigrants in the past

As labor unrest grew in the US, Americans irrationally blamed all trouble on “communist sympathizers in the unions.”


The communist party in Russia had adopted red as the color of their flag and insignia during the revolution

Americans fell in to the habit of referring to anything communist as “red.”

The country went through a vast “red scare” in 1919-1921.


This red scare had many of the same symptoms of the anti-German hatred during the war

It absorbed much of the same fear-driven energy of Americans.

When the Boston Police Department struck for higher wages in 1919, it was called “red-inspired.”

Wilson and World War I Americans were used to workers in

industry striking But ever before had public

employees, those on whom people depended for day-to-day safety, gone on strike

Massachusetts Governor (later president) Calvin Coolidge came to national attention when he fired the entire police force and replaced them.

Wilson and World War I The AFL tried to unionize the entire

steel industry US Steel, though a private

corporation, argued that steel was as much a public interest as the Boston police force was

Federal and state troops helped break the strike in 1920

“Red” influence was blamed for steelworkers’ complaints.

Wilson and World War I Letter bombs began to appear in the

mail of federal and state office-holders around the country in 1919

Forensic police work was in its very early stages, and the origins of the bombs has never been determined

But many Americans “knew” who had done it:

It was The Reds.


Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer had received one of the letter bombs

Mitchell was an ardent red-hater who also wanted to be Wilson’s successor

“Reds” became the issue he hoped to ride into the White House.

Wilson and World War I Palmer formed a new Intelligence

Division in the Justice Department called the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”)

He named young J. Edgar Hoover to head it and organize an information-collecting effort directed at all radicals.

In November 1920 the department rounded up over 4000 suspected reds in a four-week sweep

Wilson and World War I There was no jail in the country large

enough to hold this many people New York’s Yankee Stadium served as

a temporary holding area. Many people caught up in the sweep

were able to prove they were neither red nor even foreigners

But nearly 600 of the detainees were eventually deported.

Wilson and World War I By late 1920, the unconstitutionality of the

red sweep was widely accepted The Red Scare died down and Mitchell’s

political future was over Hoover, however, maintained his

information-gathering position and his hatred for communism

He was a prominent figure in the Justice Department and remained Director of the FBI until his death in 1972

Wilson and World War I Returning black soldiers faced additional

hardship Hostility with whites over the shortage of

jobs re-awakened long-simmering race fears

Race riots broke out in 1919 in over 25 major American cities, killing hundreds and destroying millions of dollars of property

Some victims were black soldiers still in uniform.

Wilson and World War I Text chapter 21. Wilson and World War I Wilson was only the second Democrat...

Documents

Transcript of Wilson and World War I Text chapter 21. Wilson and World War I Wilson was only the second Democrat...