World War I and the Roaring 20s

1. GPS 15 and 16 (#’s 140 – 159)
World War I and Roaring 20’s

2. • Imperialism: Competition for colonial lands in Africa
and elsewhere led to conflict among the major
European powers.
• Militarism: By the early 1900s, powerful nations in
Europe had adopted policies of militarism, or
aggressively building up armed forces and giving the
military more authority over government and foreign
policy.
• Nationalism: One type of nationalism inspired the
great powers of Europe to act in their own interests.
Another emerged as ethnic minorities within larger
nations sought self-government.
• Alliances: In a complicated system of alliances,
different groups of European nations had pledged to
come to one another’s aid in the event of attack.

3. • US bankers loaned large amounts of money to Great Britain and
had a vested interest in them winning the war.
• In addition, the British had cut the main lines of communication
from Germany to the US and all information was pro-Britain. As
time passed, US came see Germany as a ruthless aggressor,
out to destroy democracy and freedom.
• Germany’s sinking of the commercial cruise liner, Lusitania –
1915
• 1917, Germany resumed attacks on US merchant and
commercial ships.
• The Zimmerman Telegram – US intercepted a telegram from
Germany to Mexico, urging Mexico to attack the US; in return,
Germany promised to help Mexico win back the territories they
lost in the Mexican-American War.
• With more sinking of US ships and b/c of Wilson’s urging,
Congress passed a war resolution in April of 1917 – the US

4. • Germany’s policy of attacking all ships was known as
unrestricted submarine warfare.
• One of Germany’s fiercest weapons in WWI was their
dreaded U-boats – submarines that traveled underwater,
undetected, and fired on any and all ships without
warning.

5. • Woodrow Wilson helped establish federal agencies to
oversee the nation’s wartime economy and to encourage
public support for the war.
• Through movies, pamphlets, newspapers, and
magazines, the government painted a picture of the
Germans as evil monsters that it was the nation’s duty to
fight and defeat.
• Herbert Hoover (future president) became the head of
the Food Administration and its task was to encourage
the US population to conserve food that could be used in
the war effort.
• The government launched efforts to conserve fuel and
this led to the idea of “daylight savings time” – by turning
clocks ahead one hour during certain months, people
would have more daylight and burn less fuel.
• Congress passed the Espionage and Sedition Acts.

6. • Because of the demand for products during WWI,
combined with the fact that many young men left their
jobs to fight in the war mean that there were more jobs in
northern cities where most the nation’s factories existed.
• As a result, many African American began leaving the
rural South (to northern cities) in growing numbers to
pursue better economic opportunities and in hopes of
escaping southern racism .

7. • In the name of protecting national security, Congress
passed the Espionage and Sedition Acts.
• These acts made it illegal to interfere with the draft,
obstruct the sale of Liberty Bonds, or make statements
considered disloyal to, or critical of, the government, the
Constitution, or the U.S. military.

8. • Socialist leader, Eugene Debs was actually sentenced to
ten years in prison under the Espionage and Sedition
Acts for criticizing the US government.
• Debs had once led the Pullman strike and ran for
president several times as the candidate for the US
Socialist Party.

9. • Wilson’s goal at the Paris Peace Conference was to help
establish peace and stability and he put forth a peace
proposal known as the Fourteen Points.
• The plan called for a reduction of weapons, the right of
self-determination (power to govern oneself) for ethnic
groups like those in Austria-Hungary, and he also
proposed the formation of the League of Nations – its
purpose would be to provide a place where countries
could peacefully discuss solutions to their differences,
rather than go to war.

10. • Opponents to the Treaty of Versailles which ended the
war and sanctioned the League of Nations, feared that
commitment to an international organization would lead
to binding alliances that might drag the nation into
another costly war.
• Wilson wanted peace and stability, many of his European
allies wanted retribution – the Treaty of Versailles made
Germany take total responsibility for the war and required
the Germans to pay reparations to the Allies.

11. • Congress now had the power to collect taxes on the
incomes of businesses and individuals. This amendment
increased the federal government’s revenue and
eliminated the need to tax according to the proportions of
state populations.
• Progressives viewed this reform as important for curbing
corrupt business practices that kept tons of profits in the
hands of big business owners, while paying very little to
laborers.
• Progressives also wanted to see more money from
business go to the government, so that it could afford to
expand and regulate more of society.

12. • This law established that US senators would be elected
directly by the people of a state, rather than by state
legislatures.

13. • The government prohibited the making, selling, or
transporting of alcoholic beverages.
• This era was known as “Prohibition” and it gave rise to
organized crime.
• This amendment was later repealed by the 21st
Amendment.

14. • Gave women the right to vote.

15. • A system in which people in society cooperate and own
property mutually, thereby making governments
unnecessary. It is preceded by a socialist form of
government.
• The Bolsheviks modeled their ideas about government
after the teachings of Karl Marx who believed that
oppressed workers would eventually rise up and throw
down capitalism.
• According to Marx, socialist governments were meant to
provide order while societies made this transition from
capitalism to Communism.

16. • 1917, Russia pulled out of WWI due to the Russian
Revolution at home where a party know as the
Bolsheviks took over and installed a socialist
government.
• A socialist government is one in which the state owns
most of property, regulates the economy, and runs most
of the major industry.
• Individual freedoms are not nearly as important as the
welfare of the state.

17. • An economic system based on free markets and privately
owned industry.

18. • Bolshevik leaders believed that, in order for their vision to
become reality, workers in other countries needed to rise
up and establish socialist governments as well.
• This greatly alarmed people in the US – business
leaders, gov’t officials, and a growing number of private
citizens feared that such a revolution might occur the US.
• This led to a period known as the “Red Scare”, in which
many people became fearful of anyone who might be a
Communist or threat to US freedom and were very
suspicious of immigrants and congress passed
restrictions on immigration.
• Congress passed a temporary limit to the number of
immigrants who could come to the US in 1924 and a
permanent ban 1929.

19. • Henry For was the first to perfect and successfully market the
automobile – 1907, he sold 30,000 of his first mass produced
car – the Model T.
• What truly set Ford apart was his visions for mass production.
• He decided to produce enough automobiles that he could
afford to sell them at greatly reduced prices, thus allowing
“ordinary people” to be able to afford his cars.
• He relied heavily on the assembly line – which existed before
– but his was innovative because it had the employees stay in
one spot while the assembly line brought the parts to them.
• He also paid his workers $5 a day so they could afford the car
too!
• The car made Americans more mobile, live farther away from
where they worked, and attended activities and events.

20. • Radios became the first source of mass communication
and entertainment available to people in their own
homes.
• Radio united the nation and molded a national culture like
never before as people across the country enjoyed the
same shows and heard the same news reports.
• It also transformed politics by giving leaders direct
access to larger numbers of people.

21. • Louis Armstrong – a trumpeter and singer from New Orleans
was among the most noted jazz musicians.
• Jazz became a popular form of music after WWI, as musical
artists from Louisiana and Mississippi brought their talents to
the northern cities with a fast paced rhythm.
• Langston Hughes wrote memorable poetry, short stories, and
plays about the black experience that reminded black
Americans of their African heritage.
• Irving Berlin was one of the most famous musicians
associated with Tin Pan Alley; he composed over 3000 songs
– among his famous hits are the traditional Christmas favorite
“White Christmas”, “God Bless America”, and “There’s No
Business Like Show Business”.
• Tin Pan Alley grew to be an important center of the music
industry and the name referred to the various music houses in
New York City where songwriters and musicians composed