CHAPTER 19: WORLD WAR I
1914-1918
SECTION 19.1: WORLD WAR I BEGINS LEARNING TARGET 1
Identify the long-term causes and the immediate circumstances that led to World War I.
FOUR FACTORS (CAUSES) OF WWI
Militarism – development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy.
Imperialism – extending a nation’s authority over other countries by economic, political, or military means.
Nationalism – devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation.
Alliances – provided a degree of international security/protection; nations were hesitant to disturb the balance of power.
Balance of Power: kept one nation from assuming a predominating position so as to threaten the general peace.
What event sparks the beginning of WWI?
MILITARISM
The growth of nationalism and imperialism leads to increased military spending.
Nations wanted stronger armed forces than those of any potential enemy.
1890 Germany is the strongest in Europe; reserve system.
Britain had always relied on its geographic location for protection; navy was the strongest in the world.
Kaiser Wilhelm II pushes Germany to become a major sea power in order to compete with Britain.
France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. join the naval arms race.
IMPERIALISM
Nations build empires by establishing colonies around the world.
These colonies supplied imperial powers with raw materials and markets for manufactured goods.
As Germany industrialized, it competed with France and Britain in the conquest for colonies.
Control of colonies lead to conflict: France and Britain in Africa.
United States and Spain during Spanish-American War.
Japan and Russia for control of Korean and Manchuria.
NATIONALISM
Ethnic groups resented domination by others, wanted their nation to become independent.
Case Study: The Balkans
Region that is filled with never-ending ethnic, religious, and nationalist warfare dating back centuries.
Mixing ground of three different religions.
Lay astride to trade routes, making it land occupied by empires.
Field of the Blackbirds June 28, 1389, (Republic of Kosovo).
Serbs lose this battle to the Ottoman Turks, but remained determined to get it back.
The Ottoman Empire began to fall apart at the beginning of the 19th century.
Ideas of revolution and independence filtered into Balkan cities; began lobbying and fighting for freedom.
Treaty of Berlin allowed Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia-Herzegovina, keeping an aggressive Serbia in check.
Serbia achieved independence but they wanted what they lost during the Field of the Blackbirds—their ancient lands that included: Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Croatia.
FRANZ FERDINAND AND SOPHIE
Heir to the Austrian throne at the end of the reign of Franz Joseph.
June 28, visited Sarajevo, Bosnia, to observe military maneuvers… coincided with the anniversary of the First Battle of Kosovo in 1389, in which medieval Serbia was defeated by the Turks… and their wedding anniversary!
Austria-Hungary annex Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Serbian nationalists believed they should become part of the newly independent and Serbian nation.)
Franz Ferdinand proposed to replace Austro-Hungarian dualism with trialism, (a triple monarchy) giving the empire's Slavs an equal voice in government… along with the Germans and Magyars.
Austria-Hungary would be reorganized by combining the Slavic lands within the Austro-Hungarian empire into a third crown.
If this were to take effect, the nationalist feared that their kinsman would remain content under Austrian-Hungarian rule.
ASSASSINATION
Six young men of the Black Hand opposition movement, who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship, were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car would follow to the inspection.
The first two terrorists were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast.
The third terrorist threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke.
On their way to visit injured attendants from the car bombing, the driver took a wrong turn. Realizing his mistake he stopped the car and began to reverse. Gavrilo Princip, stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit the pregnant Sophia in the stomach, she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck. He died a short while later.
AUSTRIA’S REACTION
Austrians were immediately convinced that the Serbian government was behind the assassination.
Austria waited for more than three weeks before acting on its suspicions and seizing the opportunity to extract a high price from Serbia for its transgressions. Reason for delays: 1. Austria’s inability to decide how to proceed 2. Unwillingness to mobilize its forces until after the harvest.
Austria-Hungary, acting on a well-founded but unproven suspicion of Serbian complicity in the murder, saw an opportunity to crush Serbian and thereby solve the south Slav problem once and for all.
AUSTRIA’S ULTIMATUM TO SERBIA
July 1914 the Austrian government sent an ultimatum to the Serbians consisting of 11 demands.
Two days later the Serbian government replied; Of the 11 demands, only one was refused and five were accepted without reservations.
The Austrians pronounced the Serbian reply unsatisfactory, severed diplomatic relations, and mobilized parts of their army.
The Serbs were under no illusion about pleasing Austria, three hours before transmitting their reply, they had issued an order to mobilize their troops.
DEFENSE ALLIANCES 1907, 1915
Triple Entente 1907 Great Britain
France
Russia
Allies 1915
Great Britain
France
Russia
Italy
Triple Alliance 1907 Germany
Austria-Hungary
Italy
Central Powers 1915
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
WHAT’S WITH ITALY?
Technically a member of the Triple Alliance, proclaimed neutrality.
Insisted that Germany was not fighting a defensive war, wasn’t bound to go to their aid.
Remained neutral until 1915, entered on the side of the Entente (Allies).
Italy was bribed by the Allies with a promise of Austrian territories and a generous slice of the eastern shore the Adriatic Sea.
ALLIANCES: RUSSIA AND THE SLAVIC STATES
Pan-Slav Movement was based on the theory that all Slavs of Eastern Europe made up one cultural nation.
Russia, the most powerful Slavic state, acted as the protector of the smaller nations in the Balkans.
This official policy of the Russian government explains the aggressive stand in every quarrel that arose between Serbia and Austria.
MAINTAINING A BALANCE OF POWER: FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ITALY
Franco-Prussian War (France, Germany) To ensure France would not engage in a war of revenge against the Germans victors of 1870, Germany
was determined to isolate France by attaching all of its (France) potential allies to Germany.
Italians join out of fear of the French; they resented the French occupation of a territory they regarded as theirs (Tunisia).
By 1882, France was cut off from nearly every possibility of obtaining aid from powerful friends.
1907 European nations become more suspicious of each other. Germany is convinced they were surrounded by enemies, and needed to do everything in their power to retain allies, the biggest being Austria-Hungary.
AUSTRIA CALLS ON GERMANY
Austria sought an assurance of German support in eliminating Serbia.
Germany thought it was “better now than in one or two years’ time when the Entente will be stronger.” Russia has to rebuild army after the Russo-Japanese
war, and France were undergoing a three-year rebuild of its conscription laws.
MOBILIZATION OF ALLIES
The attitude of Germany was ambiguous. The Kaiser was shocked and infuriated by the assassination, but the German government did not make any threats until after the actions of Russia gave for alarm.
For a moment there was a possibility that the conflict might be contained. It was quickly transformed into a war of larger scope by the action of Russia.
The Russian government decided to respond to any Austrian military initiative against Serbia with a mobilization of troops, not only against Austria but Germany, as well.
The Germans were alarmed by Russian preparations for war; general mobilization meant war. Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia demanding mobilization cease, Russia refused.
Germany also sent an ultimatum to France demanding that its leaders make known their intentions. France stated they would act “in accordance with her interests” and immediately ordered a general mobilization of troops.
BRITAIN STEPS IN
In the beginning, the British foreign secretary was unsure of his country’s willingness to go to war; he convened with other country’s to help settle the Austro-Serbian dispute.
It is guessed if perhaps Britain declared its readiness to war on the side of France and Russian earlier, that declaration would have compelled Germany and Austrian to draw back.
THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM AT WORK
Japan declares war on Germany, partly because of their alliance with Great Britain, but mainly for the purpose of conquering German possessions in the Far East.
Turkey negotiated an alliance with Germany, and began the bombardment of Russian ports on the Black Sea.
Within five weeks after the assassination of the archduke, war was at hand.
SECTION 19.1: WORLD WAR I BEGINS LEARNING TARGET 2
Describe the first two years of the war.
GERMAN WAR STRATEGY
The Schlieffen Plan called for Austria to hold against the Russians. Germany will deliver a massive strike against France to defeat them quickly, leaving British forces stranded on the other side of the English Channel.
With France and Britain out of the war, Germany would then join Austria to defeat Russia.
German forces wanted to avoid the heavily defended French-German border by invading France through Belgium.
Germany demands of the Belgium government permission to send troops across its territory, promising to respect the independence of the nation and to pay for any damage to property.
Belgium refused. Germany invaded anyway on August 3-4, 1914. . (The same request was sent to Luxembourg, which was accepted.)
A GREAT ATROCITY?
Germany’s violation of Belgian neutrality was viewed as an outrage, but NOT a great atrocity against mankind.
Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium brings support for intervention. (In 1839, great powers signed a treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium.)
An ultimatum is sent to Berlin, demanding that they respect Belgium neutrality, and that Germany respond with a reply: they argued it was a matter of life and death for its soldiers reach France by the quickest route.
NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S WAR
The small Belgian army puts up unexpected resistance, giving the French and British time to rush troops into the battle.
Unable to out-maneuver the each other, both sides dig in for a defensive siege at the Marne River in France. (First Battle of the Marne.)
Both sides also realize that there would be no quick victory.
Leaders thought this war would resemble earlier conflicts—with cavalry charges, decisive battles, and a quick victory.
War Horse, charge scene… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKUdxkaDoNo
TRENCH WARFARE
Inside the trenches was a miserable existence; rats, lice, flooding, and drenched uniforms, dead soldiers lay unburied for days, unsanitary conditions caused disease and sickness that claimed nearly as many lives as the fighting.
Between the trenches lay “no-man’s-land,” a barren wasteland of wire, craters, land mines, and mud.
Battles began with massive artillery barrages. Then soldiers went “over the top” of the trenches and charged across the no-man’s-land toward enemy trenches. Thousands of soldiers were cut down by machine gun fire.
Warfare in WWI - TeacherTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9iR0xJW-Fk
The war remained locked in a stalemate throughout 1915; 1916 both sides prepared massive offensives.
MAJOR BATTLES, 1914-1917
Tannenberg, Aug. 1914 Germans stop Russian advance. complete German victory of the First World War, the encirclement and destruction of the Russian Second Army in late August 1914 virtually ended Russia's invasion of East Prussia before it had really started. Over 50,000 Russian soldiers were killed and some 92,000 taken as prisoners.
Gallipoli, April 1915-Jan. 1916 Allied forces defeated in bid to establish a supply route to Russia. Approximately 205,000 for the British Empire and 47,000 for the French, and 250,000 Turkish casualties.
Caporetto, October-Dec. 1917 combined German and Austro-Hungarian force scores one of the most crushing victories, decimating the Italian line along the northern stretch of the Isonzo River. Italian casualties at Caporetto totaled almost 700,000—40,000 killed or wounded, 280,000 captured by the enemy and another 350,000 deserted.
MAJOR BATTLES ON THE WESTERN FRONT, 1914-1917
First Battle of the Marne, Sept.1914 Allies stop German advance on Paris, the outcome of the Schlieffen Plan fails. 250,000 French soldiers were lost and the Germans suffered approximately the same. The British lost just under 13,000.
Second Battle of Ypres, May 1915 Germans use chemical weapons for the first time, 150 tons of chlorine gas. German army forced an the Allies retreat to the town of Ypres. Ends on May 25, with insignificant gains for the Germans.
Battle at Verdun, Feb.-July 1916 Germans launch an offensive to “bleed the French army white.” Begins with a 21-hour artillery barrage, 1 million German soldiers advance on 200,000 French defenders. French hold the line in longest battle of the war.
First Battle of the Somme, July-Nov. 1916 Disastrous British offensive; goal was to exhaust the enemy’s reserves. Scale of slaughter was horrific, British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day, final total 1.2 million. Only seven miles of ground changed hands.
SECTION 19.1: WORLD WAR I BEGINS LEARNING TARGET 3
Summarize U.S. public opinion about the war.
AMERICANS QUESTION NEUTRALITY
Americans see no reason to join a war 3,000 miles away; it was not a threat to lives or property.
Socialists see the war as capitalist/imperialist to control markets and colonies.
Pacifists see the war as evil and America should be setting an example of peace.
Many did not want to see their loved ones experience the effects of war.
Naturalized citizens still had ties to the nations they emigrated from. Examples: Many felt close to Britain because of a common ancestry/language and
democratic/legal system.
People of Irish descent remembered British oppression in Ireland, saw war as a means to independence.
NEUTRAL IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED
British propaganda—later proven untrue—swayed support to the Allies. Americans will absorb the message that Germany was evil
incarnate and needed to be crushed for the sake of the civilized world.
U.S. had stronger economic ties with Allied nations. Trade with Britain and France more than double compared
with Germany. First few years of the war, the U.S. experienced a labor
shortage due to increased demand for war materials.
U.S. MOBILIZES FOR WAR
Americans favor an Allies victory over the Central Powers.
By 1917, America mobilizes for two reasons: To ensure Allied repayment of war debt to the United
States.
Prevent Germans from threatening U.S. shipping.
BRITISH BLOCKADE
Britain uses naval strength to blockade the German coast to prevent civilian and military supplies fro getting through.
Blockade extended to neutral ports and mining the North Sea.
Results: 1.) American ships do not challenge the blockade, therefore, do not reach Germany, and 2.) Because of the difficulty to import goods, Germany experiences a famine and 750,000 Germans starve to death.
Americans are angry about the blockade, but will become outraged at Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare.
GERMAN UNTERSEEBOOT
German U-boats counterblockade Britain’s naval blockade.
Any ship, either British or Allied, discovered in the waters near Britain would be sunk, with or without warning.
Lusitania May 1915, Passenger ship carrying munitions, 1,198 persons lost, 128 Americans. American opinion turns against the Central Powers; Wilson sends a protest to German government.
Arabic August 1915, British liner, 2 Americans killed. U.S. sends another protest; Germany agrees to not sinking passenger ships; 6 months later break
promise.
Sussex March 1916, French passenger liner, 80 killed that included some Americans. U.S. warns it will break off diplomatic relations; Germany agrees under conditions: persuade Britain
to lift its blockade against food and fertilizer.
ELECTION OF 1916
Woodrow Wilson (D), “He Kept Us Out of War”
Charles Evans Hughes (R); Freedom of the seas, leniency towards Germany.
Election results went back and forth between the candidates; Wilson wins by 23 electoral votes.
Wilson wins, and begins to mediate between alliances.
Wants nations to work towards a “league of peace.”
SECTION 19.1: WORLD WAR I BEGINS LEARNING TARGET 4
Explain why the United States entered the war.
GERMAN PROVOCATION
Germany ignores Wilson’s calls for peace; resumes unrestricted submarine warfare, will sink both hostile and neutral ships in British waters.
“Actual overt acts” Zimmerman Note: telegram sent to Mexico from Germany.
Sinking of unarmed American merchants ships killing 36.
Oppressive Russian monarchy is replaced with a provisional, representative government, making it a war of democracies vs. monarchies.
AMERICA ACTS
April 2, 1917 Wilson delivers his war resolution speech. **Only Congress can declare war, the president merely “requests” the declaration.
Congress passes the resolution a few days later.
Jeanette Rankin, Montana the first woman elected to Congress pacifist was the only dissenting vote. loses next election, but will be re-elected votes against go to war during WWII loses next election.
SECTION 19.2: AMERICAN POWER TIPS THE BALANCE
Learning Target 1: Describe how the United States mobilized for war.
Learning Target 2: Summarize U.S. battlefield successes.
Learning Target 3: Identify the new weapons and the medical problems faced in World War I.
Learning Target 4: Describe U.S. offensives and the end of the war.
LEARNING TARGET 1: DESCRIBE HOW THE UNITED STATES MOBILIZED FOR WAR.
The U.S. is not prepared for war, only 200,000 in the military, few with combat experience.
To raise an army, Congress passes the Selective Service Act in May1917.
Required men to register; government would randomly select for service.
24 million men register, 3 million are called up.
2 million reach Europe before the truce, ¾ see combat.
Most have not attended high school, 1:5 was foreign born.
RAISING AN ARMY
About 400,000 black soldiers serve in segregated units. Mostly assigned to non-combative units
Exception: 369th Infantry, serving more continuous duty on the front lines than any other regiment.
Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts, first Americans to receive France’s highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre– the “cross of war.”
RAISING AN ARMY
Army reluctantly accepted women into the Army Corps of Nurses. Denied rank, pay, and benefits.
13,000 women serve with full military rank in noncombat positions—nurses, secretaries, telephone operators – in the Marines and navy.
BASIC TRAINING
Eight-month training period; partly in U.S., and partly in Europe. Seventeen-hour days of target practice, bayonet drill, kitchen duty, and
cleaning up the grounds.
Real weapons in short supply, soldiers drill with fake weapons: rocks = grenades,
wooden poles = rifles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAQkDUMg-g
MASS PRODUCTION
Four steps: Exemption/deferment from the draft for shipyard workers.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce public relations promotes the importance of shipyard work; distribute service flags, rides to work.
Used prefabricated techniques, reducing construction time.
Took over commercial and private ships and converted into war use.
LEARNING TARGET 2: SUMMARIZE U.S. BATTLEFIELD SUCCESSES.
Convoy system protects merchant ships traveling in war zone; 1917 losses are cut in half.
U.S. Navy lay a 230-mile barrier of mines to keep uboats out of the Atlantic Ocean.
Apart from the number of troops, American forces contributed freshness and and enthusiasm to the demoralized and exhausted Allied forces.
LEARNING TARGET 3: IDENTIFY THE NEW WEAPONS AND THE MEDICAL PROBLEMS FACED IN WORLD WAR I.
American Expeditionary Force (AEF) led by John J. Pershing.
Infantrymen nicknamed “doughboys” because of their uniform.
Most had never traveled from home; shocked by the horrors of the battlefield, and astonished by new weapons and tactics of modern warfare.
TECHNOLOGY IN WAR
Large scale weapons become standard in modern warfare.
Machine gun: was refined increasing firepower to 600 rounds/minute; changes the nature of warfare.
Mechanized warfare: the tank and the airplane.
Tank Used to mow down barbed wire and soldiers.
First used by the British during the first battle of Somme. (1916)
Not effective.
By 1917, British were effectively driving through defenses, clearing a path for infantry units.
AIRSHIPS AND AIRPLANES
Airplane Flimsily constructed.
First use was for scouting.
Dogfights—duals, pilots sit in open cockpits and shot at each other with pistols; later planes were constructed with mounted machine guns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUHZZwuybiY Germans introduce the interrupter gear.
Built to travel fast and carry heavy payloads.
Observation balloons Used by both sides.
Strategic importance; protected by aircraft
Targets for pilots.
NEW HAZARDS
Dysentery – filth, lice, rats, and polluted water.
Poison gas/death – inhalation caused sickness; lack of sleep, battle fatigue.
“Shell shock’ – nervous system shattered by noisy shelling.
Trench foot – standing in cold, wet trenches for long periods.
Trench mouth- painful infection of gums and throat.
“Basket case” – quadruple amputee.
Surgeons learn more about treating wounds and injuries. Fighting infections. Rehabilitation. Skin graft techniques; founded the field of plastic surgery.
LEARNING TARGET 4: DESCRIBE U.S. OFFENSIVES AND THE END OF THE WAR.
“Retreat? Hell, we just got here!”
--Captain Lloyd Williams, USMC at the Battle of Belleau Wood, when he was ordered to retreat by a French officer.
A group of Marines walk through Belleau Wood prior to the Memorial Day service here May 25.
“LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE!” 1777 AND 1917
Russia pulls out, Germans focus on the western front, 50 miles from Paris.
American troops joined the Allies in France.
Address given July 4, 1917, by Col. C.E. Stanton.
Photo taken at the grave of Marquis de Lafayette.
ALLIED VICTORIES
Russia pulls out of the war, Germans focus resources on the western front.
By May, German troops come within 50 miles of Paris.
Geography Skillbuilder: Allied Victories, 1917-1918
AMERICANS GO ON THE OFFENSIVE
Cantigny, May 1918, U.S. troops fill gaps between French and British lines during the second day of the German offensive, (Third Battle of the Aisne) . Minor action; first sustained American offensive of the war. American casualties 1,067.
Chateau-Thierry, June 1918, Part of the larger Second Battle of the Marne. Allied forces surprise attack the Germans: troops go "Over the Top" without a preparatory artillery bombardment. U.S. troops help stop the German advance on Paris.
Belleau Wood, June 1918, Second Division's Marine Corps were tasked with the taking of the wood. Involved a murderous trek across an open wheat field, swept from end to end by German machine gun fire. The wood was first taken by the Marines, then ceded back to the Germans - and again taken by the U.S. forces a total of six times before the Germans were finally expelled. U.S. forces suffer 9,777 casualties, of which 1,811 were fatal.
**The combined Chateau-Thierry/Belleau Wood action brought to an end the last major German offensive of the war.
AMERICANS GO ON THE OFFENSIVE
Second Battle of the Marne, July-Aug 1918, *TURNING POINT OF THE WAR.* Last major German offensive; significant Allied victory. Germans had not only failed in their aim to win the war in this offensive, but had in fact lost ground; a number of German commanders believed the war was lost. Casualties: France 95,000 , Germany 168,000, Britain 13,000 and the U.S. 12,000.
St. Mihiel, September 1918, Under the command of Pershing, U.S. launches first major offensive operation as an independent army. American casualties: around 7,000.
Meuse-Argonne, Sept-Nov 1918, Largest operation and victory of the AEF; American advance helps end the war. American losses: 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded; Germans losses: 28,000 killed and 92,250 wounded.
GREATEST AMERICAN WWI HERO
Alvin York Conscientious objector
Decided it was morally right if the cause was just.
Meuse-Argonne
Armed with rifle and revolver, killed 25 Germans
York and six others capture 132 prisoners.
Pershing, “outstanding soldier of the AEF.”
Foch, “the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all the armies of Europe.”
Promoted to sergeant, returned home a celebrity.
MORE ABOUT CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS…
Around 3,500 obtained C.O. exemptions.
Small number refused to cooperate with the military.
Reasons varied on philosophical, moral, and religious grounds.
Approximately 500 objectors were court-martialed and imprisoned.
COLLAPSE OF GERMANY
November 3,1918 Austria-Hungary surrenders German sailors mutinied against government. Mutinies spread, revolutionary councils formed.
November 9, 1918 Berlin, socialist leaders establish a German republic. Kaiser abdicates the throne.
*** There are no Allies in German territory, no decisive battles; Germans are simply too exhausted to continue fighting.
Armistice Day Eleventh hour, eleventh day, eleventh month of 1918.
THE FINAL TOLL
Bloodiest war up until that time. Death: 22 million, more than half of that number were civilian deaths.
Wounded: 20 million
Refugees: 10 million
Economic cost: $338 billion
U.S. Numbers 48,000 KIA
62,000 non-combat related (disease)
200,000 approx. wounded
Americans expect life to return to normal.
Lives at home changed as much as those who had fought in Europe.
19.3 THE WAR AT HOME LEARNING TARGETS…
Explain how business and government cooperated during the war.
Show how the government promoted the war.
Describe the attacks on civil liberties that occurred.
Summarize the social changes that affected African Americans and women.
LEARNING TARGET 1: EXPLAIN HOW BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT COOPERATED DURING THE WAR.
Entire economy had to be focused on the war effort, i.e. goods shift from consumer to war.
Business and government collaborate in production effort, thereby expanding the power of government.
Congress gives the president direct control of the economy and the power to fix prices and regulate industries.
WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD
Led by Bernard M. Baruch, prosperous businessman.
Encouraged mass production, and standardizing products to eliminate waste.
Set quotas and allocated raw materials.
Production increases by 20%.
Other federal agencies that regulated the economy: Railroad Administration
Fuel Administration
Monitored coal supplies.
Rationed gas and heating oil.
Daylight savings time.
WAR ECONOMY
WIB applied price controls at wholesale level, making retail prices soar.
Prices almost double than before the war.
Corporate profits increase in industries—chemicals, meatpacking, oil, and steel.
Workers’ wages increase; household income was undercut by increase prices in household goods.
Stockholders see large increase in profits.
Union memberships increase; 6,000 strikes. National War Labor Board created.
FOOD ADMINISTRATION
Helped to produce and conserve food.
Lead by Herbert Hoover. No rationing, instead “gospel of the clean plate.”
Sets a high price on products, such as wheat.
Farmers respond by planting an additional 40 million acres.
Rationing of bread and sugar.
One day each week was set aside to reduce consumption of foods. “meatless, sweetless, etc…”
Victory gardens.
American food shipments triple.
LEARNING TARGET 2: SHOW HOW THE GOVERNMENT PROMOTED THE WAR.
Government raised money for the war effort by raising taxes and selling bonds. Progressive
War-profits
Excise
“Victory” and “Liberty” loans
Bonds sold through volunteers. Propaganda… “ ‘a friend of Germany’ would refuse to buy war bonds.”
PROPAGANDA
Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel a former muckraker.
Persuaded artists and advertising agencies to create media that promoted the war effort.
“Four-Minute Men”
Ordered the printing and distribution of pamphlets, booklets, and leaflets.
Highly effective campaign, promoted both patriotism and violations of civil liberties.
LEARNING TARGET 3: DESCRIBE THE ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES THAT OCCURRED.
“Anti-immigrant hysteria”
Target those from Central Power nations.
Lost jobs.
Orchestras refused to play famous pieces of music, such as Mozart, etc…
German-named towns changed name; foods renamed.
Stop teaching German language.
Books of German authors removed from libraries.
Physically attacked and/or killed.
ESPIONAGE AND SEDITION ACTS
Fines and jail time for interfering with the war effort, saying anything disloyal, or abusive about the government or war effort.
Publications could lose mailing privileges.
Discrimination in employment.
Targeted socialist and labor leaders… Eugene V. Debs, Emma Goldman, “Big Bill” Haywood.
LEARNING TARGET 4: SUMMARIZE THE SOCIAL CHANGES THAT AFFECTED AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WOMEN.
African Americans’ opinion of the war was divided. DuBois: support the war effort.
Trotter: don’t support a racist government.
“Great Migration” Escape discrimination
Boll weevil infestation, drought, and floods ruined crops.
Job opportunities in the North.
Propaganda articles contrasting life in the South vs. North.
Overcrowding and discrimination in the northern cities.
WOMEN IN THE WAR
Women move into jobs that had been held by men.
Volunteered in Red Cross, selling of war bonds, victory gardens.
Peace Movement
1919 Congress passes the 19th Amendment, 1920 ratified by the states.
FLU EPIDEMIC
Worst plagues in history, second to the Bubonic plague (1347-1351).
Shut down several industries, staggered working hours.
Shortage of coffins, unburied for days.
Treatment: cleanliness, quarantine, snuff, chewing tobacco, removing tonsils, extracting teeth, sprinkling sulfur in shoes.
In the army, contagious diseases spread more rapidly. More than ¼ catch disease.
Kills about 500,000 Americans, 30 million worldwide.
“THE WAR TO END ALL WARS”
After four years, World War I comes to a sudden end.
Leaders meet at Versailles to work out the terms of peace.
Wilson and a delegation attend the peace conference. Does not include a single influential Republican; diplomat Henry White is a Republican but does not have a close connection to the party… RINO.
19.4 WILSON FIGHTS FOR PEACE LEARNING TARGETS…
Summarize Wilson’s Fourteen Points.
Describe the Treaty of Versailles and the international and domestic reaction to it.
Explain some of the consequences of the war.
THE CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES
Built by Louis the XIV, on a marshland, about 10 miles west of Paris.
Construction at the castle started in 1664 and lasted for close to 50 years. Up to 15,000 builders worked together at any given time
The Château de Versailles is one of the largest castles in the world, and boasts more than 2,000 windows, 700 rooms, 1250 fireplaces, 67 staircases and more than 1,700 acres of garden.
LEARNING TARGET 1: SUMMARIZE WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS.
Delivered his plan, Fourteen Points, to Congress in January 1918.
Points were divided into three groups: prevention, boundaries, creation of an international organization.
Points 1-5, Prevention of another war. No secret treaties.
Freedom of the seas.
Economic barriers—the tariff—lowered or abolished.
Arms reduction.
Consideration of empire/colonial interests.
Points 6-13, Changes in boundaries based on self-determination and nationality.
Groups that claimed a distinct ethnic identity formed their own nation-state, or to what state they would belong.
POINT 14, THE CREATION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Purpose: provided a forum for nations to air their grievances, and settle matters without going to war.
Wilson didn’t understand the politics and anger felt by Allied nations. Clemenceau (France) saw two German invasions of France and was determined to prevent future
attacks.
David Lloyd George (Britain) won his re-election on “Make Germany Pay.”
Vittorio Orlando (Italy) wanted control of Austrian-held territories.
Who wasn’t represented at the peace conference? Russia
Smaller Allied nations
Central Powers nations.
***Wilson concedes on most of the points in order to get the League of Nations established.
THE HALL OF MIRRORS.
More about the Hall of Mirrors…
1871, Kaiser Wilhelm's grandfather was proclaim head of the German state, a.k.a. the “Second Reich,” in the Hall of Mirrors.
The French found it to be an appropriate location to sign a treaty marking Germany’s defeat, and the end of the Second Reich.
LEARNING TARGET 2: DESCRIBE THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC REACTION TO IT.
The “Big Four” and leaders of the defeated nations meet in the Hall of Mirrors to sign the treaty, that they hoped would bring stability.
Provisions:
Established nine new nations, shifted the boundaries of other nations.
Carved out five areas from the Ottoman Empire, gave control to France and Britain as mandates or colonies, until the areas were ready for self-rule.
As for Germany…
Barred them from maintaining an army.
Return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France.
Stripped of colonial possessions in other regions of the world.
Pay $33 billion in war reparations to the Allies.
War-guilt clause.
“A WAR TO END ALL WARS…” REALLY???
Flaws in the treaty… Humiliated Germany; had to accept full responsibility for
starting the war.
Germany couldn’t pay reparations when resources were taken away.
You snooze, you lose… Russia suffers more causalities than any other nation, but because they were not present at the conference, they lose more territory than Germany.
Ignored pleas for self-determination of colonized people.
NO WAY, JOSE!
Wilson faces strong opposition from Congress. Too harsh.
Sell-out to imperialism.
Didn’t satisfy the demands for self-determination.
League of Nations threatens U.S. foreign policy—isolationism.
Disliked the joint economic and military action provision against aggression.
LEARNING TARGET 3: EXPLAIN SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR.
A return to normalcy or a transformation?
In the United States…
In Europe…
Thanks, Treaty of Versailles… for nothing.
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