Chapter 21 Study Guide

America and the Great War

I. America and the World 1901-1917

Roosevelt and Civilization:
Civilized nations were predominantly white and Anglo Saxon
Had the right to intervene in the affairs of a backward nation to
preserve order and stability
Protecting the Open Door in Asia:
1904: Japan staged an attack on the Russian fleet in Manchuria
that both Russia and Japan hoped to control
Roosevelt agreed to a Japanese request to mediate an end to the
conflict; trade freely with Japan; ended the Russo-Japanese War
Iron-Fisted Neighbor:
Venezuela began to renege on debts to European bankers;
blockaded Venezuela in response
Roosevelt used the threat of American naval power to pressure
the German navy to withdraw to bombard the Venezuelan port
Roosevelt Corollary: the US had the right not only to oppose
European intervention in the Western hemisphere but also to
intervene in the domestic affairs of its neighbors proved unable
to maintain order and national sovereignty on their own
-assumed control of Dominican customs and dist. 45% of the
revenues to the Dominicans and the rest to foreign creditors
Platt Amendment: granted indep. To Cuba but gave US the right
to prevent any other foreign power from intruding into the new
nation; quelled the fighting of domestic uprisings
The Panama Canal:
Linked Atlantic and Pacific; Philippe Bunau Villa helped organize a
revolution in Panama and prevented Colombian forces from
suppressing the rebellion and recognized Panama as an indep.
Nation; new govt agreed to terms the Colombian senate had
rejected; canal opened in 1914
Taft and the Dollar Diplomacy:
Knox encouraged American bankers to offer substantial loans to
the new government in Nicaragua to increase leverage on the
country
Diplomacy and Morality:
When Wilson began to fear that the Danish West Indies might be
about to fall into the hands of Germany, he bought the colony
from Denmark and renamed it the Virgin Islands
When the Mexicans refused to have the Huerta forces fire a 21
gun salute to the American flag as a public display of penance;
Wilson used it to seize the Mexican port of Veracruz
 Strengthened the Carranza faction which captured Mexico City
and forced Huerta to flee the country; Pancho Villa was leading a
rebel army and Wilson supported him instead of Carranza
Wilson abandoned Villa and granted preliminary recognition to
the Carranza govt
-b/c of this American betrayal, Villa shot 16 American miners and
killed 17 more in NM
Wilson ordered Pershing to lead a force but never found Villa;
withdrew from the war and recognized the Carranza regime
II. The Road To War:
Collapse of European peace:
Triple Entente: Great Britain, Russia, France
Triple Alliance: Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy
Conflict emerged when Ferdinand was shot by a Bosnian Serb
within the Austro-Hungarian Empire;
Germany declared war on Russia and France and had invaded
Belgium in preparation for a thrust across the French border
G.B. declared war on Germany and Russia and A. Hungary began
hostilities on August 6
Wilsons Neutrality:
The British had imposed a naval blockade on Germany to prevent
munitions and supplies from reaching the enemy; US had the
right to trade with Britain and Germany but to trade with
Germany, they had to defy the blockade
By 1915, US was transformed into the arsenal of the Allies
Germany used submarines to try to stem the flow of supplies to
England, enemy vessels would be sunk
1915: German submarine sunk the British passenger liner
Lusitania causing American deaths; demanded that Germany not
repeat
Germany attacked the unarmed French steamer Sussex, injuring
Americans and Wilson demanded that Germany abandon its
unlawful tactics; German govt relented, still hoping to keep
America out
Preparedness vs. Pacifism:
Wilson at first sided with the antiprepardness forces, denouncing
the idea of an American military buildup as needless and
provocative
Endorsed proposal for a large and rapid increase in the nations
armed forces; went on national speaking tour to arouse support
for proposal
1916 Election: Wilson did nothing to discourage the candidate
Hughes was more likely to lead nation into war
Won reelection and democrats retained control over Congress
A War For Democracy:
Wilson stated that the nation was committed to using the war as
a vehicle for constructing a new world order, based on some of
the progressive ideals that had motivated reform in America
Germany launched series of assaults on France and hoped that
allied forces would collapse before US would intervene
New Germany policy and two additional events made American
entry into war inevitable:
1) British gave Wilson a telegram intercepted from the German
foreign minister, Zimmermann and proposed that in the event of war
between Germany and US, the Mexicans should join with Germany
against the Americans to regain their lost provinces like Texas when
war was over
2) Russian revolution toppled the czarist regime and replaced it
with a new republican govt; now US would be spared embarrassment
with allying itself with despotic monarchy
-After Germany toppled 3 American ships, Wilson asked Congress
to declare war
III. War Without Stint:
Entering the War:
No American troop ship was lost at sea when aiding the British
navy and traveling overseas
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin negotiated a peace with the
Central Powers, thus freeing additional German troops to fight on
the western front (1918)
American Expeditionary Force:
Selective Service Act: draft brought 3 million men into the army
and 2 million joined various branches; known as the American
Expeditionary Force
Women were permitted to enlist in the military but were not
allowed in combat
400,000 AAs were enlisted or drafted into the army and navy;
under white commanders
-Group of soldiers in Houston subjected to abuse people in the
community using military weapons to kill 17 whites; 13 AAs were
hanged and 40 sent to jail
American Psychological Association gave IQ tests to soldiers
The Military Struggle:
Under Pershing, the army joined the allied forces
Trenches decreased the morale for the Americans, British, and
French
American forces at Chteau-Thierry assisted the French in
repelling a German offensive that had brought German forces
within 50 miles of Paris; Allies had halted German advance
 Argonne Offensive: pushed Germans back toward their border
and cut the enemys major supply lines to the front
Germany wanted a ceasefire and in 1918, war ended
The New Technology of Warfare:
Trenches, tanks, flamethrowers, chemical weapons like gas,
required troops to carry gas marks and made it possible to attack
entrenched soldiers without combat
Faster machine guns, motorized vehicles, airplanes played a role
British battleships like Dreadnought made use of new
technologies such as turbine propulsion, hydraulic gun controls,
electric light and power
Submarines like German U-boat; driven by diesel engines
High casualty rates in Germany, Britain, France but light in US
IV. The War and American Society
Organizing the Economy for War:
Govt relied on solicit loans from the American people by selling
liberty bonds to the public; new taxes were bringing in 10 billion
some from levies on the excess profits of corp. much from new
income and inheritance taxes
Wilson est. the Council of National Defense which set up local
defense councils in every state and locality
War boards would oversee the railroads, fuel supplies, and
another to handle food to succeed in meeting essential war
needs without paralyzing the domestic econ.
War Industries board: coordinate govt purchases of military
supplies
Brach decided which factories would convert to the production of
which war materials and set prices for goods
Centralized regulation of the economy that some progressives
had long urged
Ensured that manufac. Who coordinated their efforts with his
goals would be exempt from anti-trust laws; helped indust. Earn
profits from their efforts
Accomplishments: Hoovers efficient organization of domestic
food supplies, McAdoos success in untangling railroads and
others
Labor and the War:
National War Labor Board resolve labor disputes, pressured
industry to grant important concessions to workers; 8 hour day,
maintenance of minimal living standards, equal pay for women
doing equal work, right of unions to organize, but forgo all strikes
Western Federation of Miners staged series of strikes and state
militia defeated the strikers
 Ludlow Massacre: joined by strikebreakers and others, the militia
attacked the workers tent colony and 39 people died; precursors
to continued conflict in the mines that war itself did little to
discourage
Economic and Social Results of the War:
Employment increased and new opportunities for AAs, women,
Mexican and Asian workers bc of booming economy
Farm prices rose to their highest levels and agric. Production
increased
Great Migration: prospect of factory jobs in urban North for
blacks to enjoy more freedom and autonomy; Chicago: 70,000
new black residents
Dramatic growth in black population in NY, Chicago, Cleveland,
and Detroit
White mobs started to attack the black population like in Illinois
and shot and burned their houses
Women Industry Board was created to oversee the movement of
these women into the jobs left behind by men; dedicated to
protecting the interests of women in the workforce
V. The Futile Search for Social Unity:
The Peace Movement:
Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader for womens suffrage created the
Womens Peace Party (abandoned peace cause to support the
war for suffrage)
Women peace activists were divided: National American Woman
Suffrage Association supported the war and dedicated to
advance the effort
Woman suffrage as a war measure to ensure that women would
feel fully a part of the nation; Jane Addams and Gilman opposed
the war effort
Women peace activists shared socialist views to the mother half
of humanity
Selling the War and Suppressing Dissent:
Committee on Public Information: rallied public support by
created propaganda for pro war
Billy Sunday leading revivalist dropped opposition to support the
military effort
Directed by George Creel and distributed pro-war literature,
posters, newspapers
Represented Germans as savages and demonized them in
posters
Espionage Act of 1917 gave the govt new tools with which to
respond to such reports of people who supported the enemy
(spying, sabotage)
 Sabotage Act and the Sedition Act: expanded meaning of the
esp. act to make illegal any public expression of opposition to the
war
Targets of legislation: the wobblies (IWW) and Socialist Party
(Debs imprisoned)
American Protective League attempted to impose unity of
opinion on their communities
Targets were usually immigrants like Irish Americans because of
their animosity toward the British and how Jews hated the
Russians for the anti-Semitic policies and most German
Americans supported Germany
VI. The Search for a New World Order
The Fourteen Points:
Eight specific recommendations for adjusting postwar boundaries
and for est. new nations to replace the Austro-Hung. And Ottom.
Empires; principles of self-determination
5 general principles to govern international conduct in the future;
freedom of the seas, open covenants instead of secret treaties,
reductions in armaments, free trade, and impartial mediation of
colonial claims
League of nations to implement new principles and territ.
Adjustments
Provided no formula for deciding how to implement the national
self determination
Once the international community accepted certain basic
principles of conduct, and once it constructed modern inst. To
implement them, the human race could live in peace
Announced the 14 points in part to ensure that the world looked
to the US, not Russia, for guidance (Lenin refused to keep Russia
in the war)
Early Obstacles:
British PM Lloyd George insisted that the German Kaiser be
captured and executed; he and Clemenceau of France were
determined to the end to gain something from the struggle to
compensate them for the catastrophe
Wilson unwisely appealed to American voters to support his
peace plans by electing democrats to congress in the November
elections; repub. Caught majorities in both houses and domestic
econ. Troubles had been the most import. Factor in the voting
Wilson further antagonized the republicans when he refused to
appoint any important Repub. To the negotiating team that would
rep. US at the peace conf. in Paris
The Paris Peace Conference:
 George of Britain, Clemenceau of France, Orlando of Italy, Wilson
of US-The big four
Wilson ordered the landing of troops in the Sov. Union and
claimed to help 60,000 Czech soldiers that were trapped;
assisted the White Russians (anti-Bolsheviks) in their fight
against new regime; Wilson refused to recognize new govt
Despite his support for impartial mediation of colonial claims, he
was forced to accept a transfer of German colonies in the Pacific
to Japan; self determin. Received several assaults
The reparations combined with other territorial and econ.
Penalties constituted an effort to keep Germany weak
Created Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and secured approval of
a plan to place many former colonies and imperial possessions in
trusteeship under the L. of Nations the so called mandate system
Most visible triumph: creation of a permanent international org.
to oversee world affairs and prevent future wars; all mistakes
would be corrected by the League
Question unanswered: how the League would enforce its
decisions
The ratification battle:
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge loathed the president and used
every tactic to delay and amend the treaty; public sentiment
favored the treaty
Series of reservations or amendments to the League covenant
limiting American obligations to the org.
Wilsons Ordeal:
After a tour and after speaking in Pueblo, Cali, Wilson returned to
Washington bc of his health
When the full senate voted in November, Wilson said they must
vote only for a treaty with no changes and any other version will
be defeated
42 democrats joined with 13 irreconcilables to reject the treaty;
38 senators voted to approve while 55 voted no
VII. A Society in Turmoil:
Industry and Labor:
Accompanied by raging inflation; econ. Bubble busted as many
of the temporary forces that had created it disappeared and as
inflation killed the market for consumer goods
Boston Police Strike: responded to layoffs and wage cuts by
demanding recognition of its union; Coolidge called in National
Guard to restore order and Boston officials dismissed the entire
police force and hired a new one
 350,000 steelworkers walked off the job, demanding an 8-hour
workday and recog. Of their union; setback from which organized
labor would not recover from; defeated
Demands of African Americans:
Black soldiers expected their military service to enhance their
social status so black factory workers regarded their move north
as an escape from racial prejudice and an opportunity for econ.
Gain
Whites on Chicago beach stoned a black boy for swimming in
their beach; angry blacks gathered in crowds and marched into
white neighborhoods to retaliate; 38 people died; Chicago riot
was the worst but not the only racial violence during the so-
called red summer of 1919
Garvey encouraged AAs to take pride in their own achievements
and to develop an awareness of their heritage; United Negro
Improvement Association launched a chain of black-owned
grocery stores and pressed for the creation of black businesses
Urged blacks to return to Africa but was deported to Jamaica
The Red Scare:
American Communist Party formed in 1919 and were responsible
for series of bombings in the spring of 1919 that produced
national alarm
One of bombings damaged Palmers home in Washington (att.
General) and terrible explosion on Wall Street which killed 30
people
Anti radical newspapers and politicians now began to portray
almost every form of instability or protest as a sign of a radical
threat
Womens group such as the National Consumers League came
under attack by antiradicals because so many feminists had
opposed American intervention in the fighting in Europe
Palmer and his ambitious assistant, J Edgar Hoover orchest. A
series of raids on alleged radical centers and arrested more than
6000 people
Palmer Raids: intended to uncover large caches of weapons and
explosives
Sacco and Vanzetti: confessed anarchists that were convicted
and died in electric chair in an unfair trial
Refuting the red Scare:
The National Civil Liberties Bureau launched in 1917 was
renamed the American Civil Liberties Union
The Retreat from Idealism:
 Congress passed the Shepard Towner Maternity Act and Infany
Act that provided funds for supporting the health of women and
infants
1922 Cable Act which granted women the right of US citizenship
independent of their husbands status and for the proposed but
never ratified 1924 const. amendment to outlaw child labor
Republican nominee in election of 1920: Harding won on his
ideals to return to normalcy; republicans gained majorities in
both houses