SS- Chapter 18

Chapter 18: World War I

WWI began in Europe in 1914 and lasted until 1918. The US didn’t enter the war until 1917.

Causes for WWI:
1. Nationalism- there was strong nationalistic competition amongst the European nations, in particular after the reunification of Germany in 1871. There was also ethnic unrest- groups of Czechs and Slavs wanted to free themselves from being under Austria-Hungary’s rule.
2. Imperialism- the European nations and the USA were scrambling for colonies in developing war. The fight over colonies was tense.
3. Alliance system- because of the tensions that were building up, little groups of like minded nations joined together:
a. Triple Entente/Allies- France, England and Russia.
b. Triple Alliance- Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
The problem with the alliance system is that when countries are upset with each other, you end up with a huge war instead of the two countries that are upset.
4. Militarism- all the nations began building up their armies, especially Germany.

Why did America enter the war? (As a general, America was neutral)
1. Cultural ties- Americans felt connected to whichever countries they came from. Some felt connected to Germany, many to England- our mother country, and some to France- our old ally.
2. Economic links to these countries- the British blockaded the North Sea and that cut off our trade with Germany, intensifying our trade with England. Now that we had economic ties with England, we wanted to help them. Most Americans felt that trading with the Allies didn’t bridge our neutrality. Wilson won his second term in office in 1916 with the slogan, “he kept us out of war”.
3. Propaganda- the media influences our thoughts. The Allies launched a very successful media campaign- they pictured themselves as agents of democracy and the Triple Alliance as barbarians. Through billboards and news bulletins, they pushed their views.
4. Issue of freedom of the seas and German submarine warfare- in 1915, the Germans tried to use submarine warfare in an attempt to end the British blockade. Germany announced that the waters around England are within a warzone and that their u-boats would be sinking ships that come into these waters. They said that neutral ships also shouldn’t come into these waters. Since submarines are vulnerable when they surface, they decided to ignore the international law that demands that neutral ships be treated differently than war ships. America felt that their freedom of the seas was being abused. The American passenger ship, the Lusitania, was attacked.

Immediate events that led America to enter the war:
1. February 1, 1917- Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare. The Germans figured that by announcing this it would bring America into the war, but they also figured that the submarine warfare would be so effective that the blockade would be over before America came over. Why did Germany do such a dumb thing? Because they assumed they could outsmart America and they would win before America got across the Atlantic.
2. Zimmerman telegram- German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram to Mexico in which he asked for a military alliance- in case of war, join in an alliance and you’ll get back all the lands that you lost to American in the Mexican- American war. The US intercepted this telegram. It was printed in all the American newspapers and the Americans became angry at Germany for making such a suggestion.
3. March 1917- five American ships were sunk by the Germans.
4. March 1917- the Russian Revolution took place. The Russians overthrew the czar and set up a new government which seemed to be more democratic than the czar was. Wilson felt more comfortable with the new Russia as an ally. Wilson believed that he was entering the war in order “to make the world safe for democracy”.

America entered the war in April 1917. While they were still in a neutral state, they had already been preparing:
1. Nation Defense Act and the Navy Act (1916) - began the expansion of the army and navy.
2. Revenue Act (1916) - began to raise money to pay for the expansion of the army.

The idea of a draft had long been debated. Some people felt that a draft was wrong and that people should join voluntarily out of love for their nation. They felt that forcing people would hurt the poor people because the rich somehow always managed to get out of it. In 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which was a draft. All males between the ages of eighteen and forty- five had to join. The draft was questioned, but upheld in court. By the end of the war, 4.8 million Americans had served in the army and 2.8 million were draftees.

The US entered the war at a point when the allies were already exhausted. They supplied fresh, excited soldiers to join the weak atmosphere.

In order to get America ready for war, the government took over different aspects of society:
1. Housing
2. Labor relations
The thought behind this was that sometimes, when a country is in a state of wartime, the government takes control of fields that they hadn’t been involved in beforehand.

About sixteen percent of all males were in the military. Woman and African Americans took over their jobs.

The war was a crusade for President Wilson- he was making the world safe for democracy.

Constitutional issues during the war:
1. Opposition to the war- there were pacifists, such as Jane Adams and Robert Lafollette, who were against the war. Their actions sometimes led to reactions by the American government. In 1917, a law was passed which said that no one can come into the country without passing a literacy test. They said that the immigrants are our enemies and are causing trouble.
2. Espionage Act- it’s a crime to interfere with the draft.
3. Sedition Act- the postmaster general can bar treasonous mail.
4. Schenk vs. USA (1919)- Schenk was handing out anti-draft papers, so he was thrown into jail. He sued and when the case reached the Supreme Court, Oliver Wendell Holmes (chief justice) said that during war, freedoms can be abridged if they are presenting a clear and present danger. The example he gave was screaming “FIRE!” in a packed theater.

The war ended on November 11, 1918. America felt that they had a tremendous part in the victory.

Wilson had a dramatic role in the peace making process. He came up with a program called the Fourteen Points:
1. Open diplomacy- everyone will talk to everyone else and there will be no secrets.
2. Freedom of the seas- everyone is going to trade together and there will be no blockades.
3. No trade barriers.
4. Arms reduction.
5. Self determination- let every people decide how they want to live. America themselves had colonies, as they had fought a war in 1848 and got:
a. Guam
b. Cuba
c. Philippines
6. League of Nations- place to get together to discuss all the problems at hand.

Wilson came to Europe and was considered a hero. He was the first American president to leave American soil during his presidency. The European nations didn’t like the Fourteen Points. They wanted to make Germany pay, so they made up their own treaty.

Treaty of Versailles:
1. Germany had to admit that the war was all their fault.
2. Had to pay reparations.
3. Give up their army and colonies.

The only one of the fourteen points that was kept was the League of Nations.

Senate didn’t want to ratify the Treaty of Versailles because:
1. The Republicans were annoyed at Wilson (Democrat) that he didn’t involve them in the decision making. Henry Cabot Lodge was a powerful Republican who fought against it.
2. America wanted to go back to their policy of neutrality. They would only get involved if they wanted to.

Wilson went around the country trying to get people to sign. At this time, he had a stroke and his wife ran the country. America never signed the Treaty of Versailles, however they did sometimes send observers to the League of Nations.

After WWI, America changed from a debtor nation into a creditor nation. They emerged as a superpower.