The remainder of Chapter 22

1. America and the Great War
 Today we will:
 Look at the US before entry
 After US entry
 The end of the war
 Next time we will:
 Begin looking at the Interwar period

2. The Outbreak of War
 Americans were probably more surprised by the outbreak of war than Europeans
 Europeans had decades to get used to the idea of conflict between the major
powers, and newspapers often played upon the feeling that war would come soon
 Wilson’s government was particularly concerned, with good reason, about the large
number of immigrants in the US that would have strong feelings, one way or the
other.
 Many German-Americans supported the German Empire
 Many Irish-Americans were not fans of Great Britain (in fact an Irish revolutionary period
occurred simultaneously to the war years)
 English-Americans favored the British, of course
 Wilson seeks to avoid possible split loyalties, and wants to keep the US neutral,
however, in private he wants to support GB and France as much as possible

3. The Economics of War
 Since the European powers thought this would be a short war they had not
adequately prepared for an extended conflict
 After 7 to 8 months of fighting, they were starting to run short on supplies and war
materials, but also food (for everyone)
 The US is able (as a neutral country) to legally trade with both sides
 Manufacturing of munitions, weapons, and supplies skyrockets (surpassing GB)
 Farmers income increases by 25%
 US banks and the US government lend money and credit to the Europeans
 In some ways this is betting on both sides, but more was always bet on the Allies
 William Jennings Bryan (our old populist friend) actively tried to prevent even commercial
involvement with the war, and was probably the most pacifist person in the government – he
would later leave his position as Wilson’s Sec. of State over this issue
 While able to trade with any country, overwhelmingly we traded with the Allies
 This is mostly because of our historical connection to GB, but also because GB would use
warships to halt and search commercial ships crossing the Atlantic

4.  Factors contributing to skyrocketing trade with
Allied powers
 Relationship with GB
 The policy of GB seizing goods bound for
Central Powers
 The blockade of the Baltic and North Seas by GB
 All that being said, American companies
continued to operate within the Central
Powers, even as animosity toward American
support for the Allies continued to grow, and
when America entered the war

5. Before Entry
 Even before the US entered the war there were many Americans involved
 Some 45,000 Americans volunteered serve in Europe
 In the British, Canadian, and French militaries (including 300 pilots)
 Native Americans (around 4000) joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force
 Teddy Roosevelt’s son Kermit joined the British Expeditionary Force
 American Red Cross sent doctors and nurses

6. American Entry: Key Factors
 The British decision to search and seize ships from neutral countries and to
establish a blockade
 This hastened the use of U-boats by the Germans who began attacking all ships in
waters around the British Isles, including passenger vessels
 While Wm. J. Bryan was Sec. of State he felt that both were violations of previous wartime
norms and encroached on sovereignty, Wilson really only ever called out the Germans
 May 1915, the Lusitania was sunk, it was a passenger liner, 1198 people died, including
128 Americans
 The Germans had claimed the ship was armed, that it secretly carried Canadian troops, and that
it secretly had weapons and munitions in its hold (two of these were actually true).
 Ships with Americans aboard were sunk again in Sept. 1915, and Mar. 1916, with the
Germans pledging to stop after each time
 After the Lusitania, Wilson asked the Depts. of the Army and Navy to develop plans
for a $1 billion dollar expansion
 This was opposed by pacifists, and by war mongers (who felt it was not ambitious
enough)

7. American Entry: Key Factors (cont.)
 In 1916 a number of acts of sabotage are directed at US munitions and war material
distribution locations
 Crippling of ships, setting fires, etc.
 In July 1916 in Jersey City on the New York Harbor German agents blew up the Black Tom
munitions depot, a huge shipping center where, at one point, ¾ of all munitions to Europe
were shipped from
 7 people died, hundreds were injured, the explosion was so large it blew out windows in Times
Square, and woke people up in Maryland and Philadelphia
 This was followed by more attacks in 1917 in New York and California
 In 1916 Congress passed the National Defense Act, which would increase the army from
90,000 to 223,000 over five years
 January 1917 – Germans renew unrestricted submarine warfare
 February 1917 – Zimmerman telegram, promising Texas, NM, and AZ to Mexico
 March 1917 – Five US ships were torpedoed, this is the last straw for Wilson
 April 2, 1917 – Wilson calls on Congress to declare war, which they do to a standing ovation

8.  “My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it
seems to applaud that.”
– Woodrow Wilson after asking Congress for a declaration of war.
 “You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. I want to stand by my
country, but I cannot vote for war.”
– Jeannette Rankin, Representative from Montana, the first woman elected to the House.

9. Going to War
 When war was declared, there were only 127,000 men in the US Army
 May 1917 – Selective Service Act – registers men for the draft
 Many rush to enlist before being drafted
 Immigrants make up a huge amount of those that volunteer
 40% of the first 100,000 new troops were Polish, though Poles only represented 4% of the US population
 Hundreds of thousands of African-American join the military and serve in segregated units
 Mostly away from the front lines and in support positions
 David Barkley Hernandez – first Mexican-American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
 Died in 1918 shortly before the war ended, he had enlisted in San Antonio, TX and had to drop his last name
 The economy and industry is transformed to support the war
 Women and Persons of Color are recruited to fill the jobs of men that left to go to war
 Over 400,000 African-Americans leave the South for factory jobs in the North and Midwest
 Federally initiated wartime propaganda is widespread
 Civil liberties are curtailed, the Espionage Act of 1917
 Immigration is severely restricted, Immigration Act of 1917, bars all Asian immigrants except
the Japanese and Filipinos, puts literacy tests in place for those over 16

10. The (brief) Role of US Troops
 American troops arrive at the Western Front just as a renewed German push towards Paris
slows down, May 1918
 This was perfect timing, as French and British forces were exhausted and extremely diminished
(sometimes even revolting against their commanders)
 The influx of 650,000 fresh, newly (barely) trained soldiers created an immediate shift in
momentum, crushing the German advance and bringing a surrender on November 11
Totals
8.5 million dead
21.2 million wounded
7.7 million missing or imprisoned

11. I Have a Rendezvous with Death
By Alan Seeger
I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air—
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath—
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.
God knows ’twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I’ve a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.

12. Spring in War-Time
By Sara Teasdale
I feel the spring far off, far off,
The faint, far scent of bud and leaf—
Oh, how can spring take heart to come
To a world in grief,
Deep grief?
The sun turns north, the days grow long,
Later the evening star grows bright—
How can the daylight linger on
For men to fight,
Still fight?
The grass is waking in the ground,
Soon it will rise and blow in waves—
How can it have the heart to sway
Over the graves,
New graves?
Under the boughs where lovers walked
The apple-blooms will shed their breath—
But what of all the lovers now
Parted by Death,
Grey Death?

13. After the War
And 1919 in America.

14. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
 President Wilson’s plan for a post-war peace. A “new world order.”
 When did he first present these ideas?
 What international organization did he call for the creation of?
 Called for no more secret treaties
 Open navigation of the seas and open trade
 Readjustment of (some) colonial/imperial borders
 Reduction of arms to fit domestic safety
 Russian, Belgian, and French territories restored
 ”National” self-determination of groups in:
 Austria-Hungary
 Former Ottoman Empire
 Balkans
 Independent Poland
 An association guaranteeing the independence of all states (political and territorial)

15. Paris Peace Conference
 President Wilson attended himself (rather than send diplomats)
 Why is this significant?
 What did other world leaders do?
 Which countries were in attendance?
 Which countries actually had a say?
 What could you do if you didn’t have a say?
 What were viewed as the major causes for the war, and how did world leaders seek
to prevent them from happening again?
Belgium
Brazil
Canada (UK)
China
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
France
Greece
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Italy
Japan
Liberia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nicaragua
Panama
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Siam (Thailand)
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia
Who wasn’t invited?

16. Treaties
 The allied powers drafted a number of treaties ending the war
 Versailles – Germany
 Massive monetary reparations, billions of dollars
 Saint-Germain – Austria
 Officially acknowledged the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
 Neuilly – Bulgaria
 Trianon – Hungary
 Sevres – Turkey
 Officially dissolved the Ottoman Empire
 Replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne
Did the US ratify the Treaty of Versailles?
What happened to Wilson’s 14 points?

17. Changes in Europe

18. Changes in Africa
German East Africa (Tanzania) and
German Southwest Africa (Namibia)
revert to British Control
Cameroon is jointly controlled by
Britain and France

19. Changes in the Middle East
As the Ottoman Empire is dissolved, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, and the territory around the Saudi
Peninsula change to British control. Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus change to French control.

20. 1919 in America

21. Influenza Reaches America
 Widespread flu pandemic begins during WWI in Europe
 Spanish Flu
 When the war ends, the flu is carried back to the US by
returning soldiers
 Sweeps across the nation
 675,000 Americans died by the end of the pandemic in 1919
 Globally, up to 50 million dead, 500 million infected
 Camp Funston, near present day Fort Riley
 Soldiers bring the Flu to the US, and spreads

22. Labor and Economics
 What happens when soldiers return home?
 What happens when wartime production slows down?
 What could unhappy workers do after the war that they couldn’t
do during it?
 Cost of living was double that of 1916
 Wages had not kept up with wartime inflation
 Nearly 4 million workers participated in over 3,000 strikes

23. Racial Unrest and Violence
 Context: The Great Migration
 Large numbers of African-Americans moved from the southern US to urban centers in
northern states, the Midwest, and to a lesser extent the west. This began in 1916
 White soldiers returned home from the war to find their former jobs filled by
African-Americans and other persons of color
 Soldiers of color returned from the war as proud veterans
 Urban communities had also changed demographically
 These changes sparked racial violence against men and communities of color, and
occasionally those communities fought back
 The “Red Summer” of 1919 saw at least 25 race riots in cities across the nation in
which 250 people died
 This occurred while white supremacist groups grew stronger and lynchings grew
more prevalent in the southern states

24. From the Russian Revolution to the
(original) Red Scare
 After the period of revolutions in Russia in 1917 and the creation of the Soviet Union,
communism and less radical forms of socialism became increasingly popular in America
and Europe
 This was due in part to the economic hardships of the time
 It was also actively encouraged by Soviet communist leadership
 A plot (or plots) involving letter bombs (most of which were intercepted, but 8 did
explode) was used as a catalyst to crack down on “radicals” of any kind
 Known (and suspected) communists, socialists, anarchists, and members of the
Industrial Workers of the World (a union) were persecuted
 A. Mitchell Palmer (the US attorney general) had been targeted by one of the bombs,
and tasked his new director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, to organize raids on “radical”
meetings.
 These “Palmer Raids” and the Red Scare resulted in the arrest and incarceration of
thousands, including some who had been elected officials

25. Connecting the Dots
 While the end of the war did mean the return of “peace” in America, violence did
continue in Europe (primarily in Eastern Europe) after treaties were signed
 Though the US did not suffer casualties during the war on the same level as other
countries, the Spanish Flu pandemic resulted in a massive loss of life and health
paranoia stateside
 The combination of economic hardships, demographic changes, and the return of
soldiers brought social unrest and violent racial conflicts to a head
 This, combined with the fear of communism, socialism, and anarchism, inspires the
first Red Scare in the US
 President Wilson was out of the country for 6 months during the Paris Peace
Conference; returns and travels the country trying to gain support for ratification
 While on tour he suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and
effectively unable to lead the country; ratification of Versailles fails

26. Final Thoughts
 For next time:
 Read Chapter 23
 More from the Interwar Period
 Have a good weekend!