Download Muck and Muckrakers

Muck and Muckrakers
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Muck is another word for dirt, slime and filth.
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During the late 1800s and early 1900s
courageous journalists wrote sensational and
critical articles about certain businesses.
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These writers were said to stir up muck or dirt
by exposing corruption or injustice.
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Ida Tarbell a journalist [reporter] writer based
out of New York wrote dozens of investigative
reports about the tactics of the Standard Oil
Company.
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Many people believed the stories were
instrumental in the passage of the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act that broke up the oil trust.
Muck and Muckrakers
• Novelist Upton Sinclair, another muckraker,
wrote about the scandalously organized
meat packing industry.
• His best selling book The Jungle detailed
how unsafe working conditions in the meat
packing industry that burdened mostly
immigrant workers.
• His tales of extremely poor sanitation
conditions threatened the lives of consumers
who ate products often housed among
rodents, roaches and other vermin.
• As a result, shortly after the novel was
released, Congress passed the Pure Food
and Drug Act and the FDA [Food and Drug
Administration] was founded to protect food
safety.
Jacob Riis and his Photos
 Jacob Riis was an immigrant from Denmark.
 He was a photo-journalist [photographer who told
stories with photos] for New York City newspapers.
 He told thousands of photos showing how immigrants
lived in squalor [horrible poverty], and
unsafe/unsanitary conditions.
 In 1890 he published a collection of his photos titled
How the Other Half Lives showing how the poorest of
the urban poor lived. Americans were outraged!
Lincoln Steffens
• Published a book called the
Shame of the Cities in 1902.
• The stories described by
Steffens political corruption in
cities throughout the United
States.
• Because he sought to reveal
bad things for the benefit of
most citizens he was
considered a muckraker.
Urban slums
• Areas in large population cities often have sections that are “run down”
and poor.
• During the late 1800s urban slums were miserable, crime infested and
unsafe places to live.
• During the late 1800s and early 1900s newly arrived immigrants lived in
these areas because they could not afford to live anywhere else.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
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Tragic fire at New York City’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911.
More than 100 people [mostly women workers] were killed due to fire related death or
from jumping out of the windows to avoid burning.
The factory was notorious for very poor working conditions as was known as a
“sweatshop.”
The factory owners had barricaded the doors shut to prevent employee theft and
excessive work breaks. After the fire started workers could not escape.
The tragic fire forced many workplace changes and improved building fire codes.
Jane Addams and Hull house
• Center in New York that was created to help new immigrants,
especially women, transition to the New World.
• Help new comers cope with big city life and learn English.
• Provided cultural activities such as block parties, rent parties and
street festivals.
• Jane Addams using the Hull house organization provided health care
and job training for women. She also advocated against child labor
and sweat shops
16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• In order to increase the amount of
revenue [money coming in] to the
federal government the U.S. Congress
created the federal income tax.
• The U.S. Constitution was amended to
give the federal government the right to
collect a portion of citizens’ incomes in
1913.
• The wealthiest Americans paid the
highest percentage of income tax.
• The money was used to fund federal
government programs to improve the
lives of citizens.
As this image indicates the federal
government “shakes” money out its
citizens through income taxation.
17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• In 1913 the U.S. Constitution was amended again to give citizens the
power to elect U.S. Senators by direct vote.
• Before 1913 U.S. Senators were chosen by the state legislatures of each
state.
• Most U.S. Senators got their positions from the ruling political party and
the appointment was usually patronage [a political favor].
Carrie A. Nation
 One of the most courageous and aggressive
leaders of the temperance movement was
Carrie A. Nation.
 She was born to slave owners in Kentucky and
later moved to the Midwest [Texas and
Kansas].
 She was very religious and thought alcohol
consumption to be evil.
 She often would enter saloons and sing hymns
to convince drinkers to stop consuming alcohol.
 One night, according to Nation, she ha a
“vision” from God that she should hatchet
saloons to the ground.
 Nation became famous for vandalizing saloons
to protest alcohol consumption.
18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution [Volstead Act]
 In 1919 the 18th Amendment was passed to prohibit the manufacture,
possession and consumption of alcohol.
 The Temperance movement was successful at making America “dry.”
 The Volstead Act was a law passed to make specific the methods of
enforcing the 18th Amendment.
 Organized crime figures in major cities such as Chicago and New York like Al
Capone made millions of dollars making and selling “bootleg” liquor.
 People drank liquor secretly in places called speak easies [secret bars].
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
• In 1920 women in the United States
were finally granted suffrage.
• Suffrage is the right of a citizen to vote.
• Activists such as Susan B. Anthony
protested for years and lobbied the U.S
Congress to add an amendment to the
Constitution granting suffrage.
• The 19th Amendment gave women in
the United States suffrage equality.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
 Congress passed an anti-monopoly federal law to control the power of trusts
controlled by powerful oil, steel and railroad companies.
 The law was aimed at reducing anti-competitive practices of business [eliminating
business competition].
 Enforcement of the law eventually resulted in the break up of Standard Oil
Company.
U.S. v. E.C. Knight, Co. (1895)
• This U.S. Supreme Court case was important because it ruled against the
federal government.
• The U.S. government wanted to break up sugar trusts.
• The Court ruled that Big Sugar did not pose a threat to the United States
because sugar was not essential.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal
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President Theodore Roosevelt was outraged by The Jungle.
Roosevelt ordered review of all major business industries and wanted to install
tighter government control to prevent abuse by Big Business.
Roosevelt’s solution was to unveil a domestic policy called the Square Deal
predicated on environmental conservation, consumer protection and trust
busting.
Many citizens doubted he could control the immense power of companies such as
U.S. Steel and Standard Oil.
Many new anti-trust regulations were passed during and after his administration
and millions of acres of forest were saved by national parks.
Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902
 Pennsylvania coal miners had been extremely tired of working 12-18 hour days for what
they believed were low wages [salary/pay].
 The coal miners formed a labor union called the United Mine Workers of America.
 The miners went out on strike in 1902 for the 3rd time in 4 years.
 President Roosevelt was worried that winter coal shortages would affect too many cities.
 The federal government intervened to end the strike by granting a pay raise to miners,
shorter work days and higher coal prices for mining companies.
Northern Securities Co. vs. United States
• Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the owners of major railroad
companies to break up their railroad trust [monopoly].
• The breaking of the railroad trusts was another important example of
progressive federal government reforms.
• Another monopoly was broken up the U.S. government.
Elkins Act
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Federal law passed as part of President Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal to reform the United
States domestically [at home].
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In 1903 Railroad companies were forbidden from paying rebates [partial cash refunds] to Oil,
Cattle and Steel trusts.
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Remember that a trust is a company that is powerful because it has a monopoly. These trusts
forced railroads to give them cheaper transport rates than smaller companies. This was bad for
competition because Big Business received an unfair advantage.

This law was a strengthened version of the earlier Interstate Commerce Act.
President William Howard Taft
• Elected as President of the United States in 1908 he continued the progressive
reforms of Roosevelt who was his friend and decided not to run for re-election.
• Roosevelt did not like that Taft was not as forceful in “going after” Big Business
[Trusts/Monopolies].
• In 1912 Roosevelt, sick of Taft, ran again for president to fix the “mess” Taft had
allowed develop by not being as aggressive on Trusts and foreign countries
[remember his Dollar Diplomacy].
Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909
 Roosevelt left Taft to face some postponed political problems
Roosevelt managed to avoid. One of them was the tariff [taxes on imported
goods to raise their prices in order to help American businesses] rates had
risen to excessive levels. Representative Sereno E. Payne passed a bill that
provided many reductions to the tariff. But in the Senate, the Protectionists
[people who favored high tariffs to protect American businesses] tried to
amend the bill to revise rates upward while the Progressives believed that
tariff only satisfied special interests [Big Business]. Taft was trapped between
reformers who claimed to preserving Roosevelt's antitrust campaign
and Protectionists who dominated the Senate.
 At the end, the Protectionists won. Other Protectionists and Senator Aldrich
amended many cuts made and Taft signed the bill. Progressives saw Taft as
the wrong person to fill in Roosevelt's Progressive shoes.
American Tobacco vs. United States
• This was another in a long line of progressive anti-trust court cases.
• The lawsuit brought by the American Tobacco owned by the Duke family of
Durham [they paid to have their name on the University].
• The result of the case was that the Tobacco trust was forced to dissolve
itself [break into separate companies] because it was an illegal monopoly.
Mann Act
• In 1910, Congress passed this law that
prohibited any interstate and
international transportation of a
woman for immoral [anti-religious]
purposes, mainly prostitution. This
law was another example of
government's growing concern on
moral issues such as the 18th
amendment, but this law could not
protect women who were sexually
assaulted in homes and workplaces.
Robert LaFollette
• Robert M. La Follette was one of the
most powerful Progressive
politicians. As a Wisconsin's
governor, he introduced reform
program including direct primaries,
more reasonable taxes, and
regulation of railroad rates known as
the Wisconsin Plan. In 1906 he
entered the Senate and expanded
his progressive reform ideals
nationwide.
Presidential Election of 1912
 4-way race between Taft, Roosevelt,
Wilson and Debs.
 Taft probably would have won reelection if Roosevelt had not ran as
the Progressive Party candidate.
 Roosevelt and Taft split the
Republican party vote and Wilson
was able to win the Electoral
College votes.
 Taft and Roosevelt were bitter
enemies during the election of 1912.
Bull Moose Party
 Teddy Roosevelt after sitting out the
1908 presidential campaign hated what
Taft had done to the Republican party
and the U.S.
 Roosevelt could not wrest the
Republican nomination but ran as a
Progressive party candidate to promote
reform.
 His platform was based on tighter
federal regulation to control powerful
trusts.
 Monopolies run by Morgan, Rockefeller
and Carnegie needed to be busted up
according to Roosevelt.
 The progressive party got its nick name
Bull-Moose because of a quote from
Roosevelt saying he was as “fit as a
moose” after being shot by a would be
assassin giving a speech in Milwaukee.
President Woodrow Wilson
 Elected president of the United States
in 1912 after the one term failure of
Republican William Howard Taft.
 He was a well known and influential
professor and president at the
prestigious Princeton University.
 During the crowded 1912 election he
received 41% of the popular vote
among 5 candidates.
 The Electoral College gave him a
majority enabling him to secure the
presidency against the incumbent Taft
and former president Teddy Roosevelt.
 After he was elected president he
continued progressive policies such as
reducing tariffs.
Federal Reserve Act
• The Federal Reserve Act is the
federal law Congress passed that
created the Federal Reserve
System, the central banking
system of the United States of
America, and granted it the legal
authority to issue legal tender
[cash].
Clayton Anti-Trust Act
 This act corrected some weaknesses of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by outlawing such practices such
as price discrimination and interlocking directorates [a business that has managers that work for
different companies and can help control different types of markets], or management of two or more
competing companies by the same executive. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 was enacted in
the United States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law government agents by seeking to
prevent anticompetitive practices at the beginning. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust
Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices considered harmful to consumers (monopolies,
cartels, and trusts). The Clayton act specified particular prohibited conduct, the three-level
enforcement scheme, the exemptions [exceptions].
Local Forms of Government created during the
Progressive Period
Commission
Type of county government
Council-Manager
Type of city government that
replaced the county
system where representatives
are elected by citizens to pass
laws and create progressive
laws to benefit citizens.
commission system because it
allowed a council [city
legislature elected by citizens]
to elect a “manager” to run
the finances of the city. If the
manager did a poor job he
could be fired by the council.
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case: Plessy vs. Ferguson
Background information
Louisiana law allowed for separate train
cars for whites and blacks.
A “justice” committee with members who
were both white and black decided to
protest the law because it was unfair
and racist according to them.
The “justice” committee found a man
named Homer Plessy, who was very,
very light and could “pass for white” so
he would be allowed to buy a ticket in
the “white section.” They also raised
money and got a lawyer to challenge
the law just in case Plessy was arrested.
After Plessy boarded the train he
announced that he was black and
was told to go the “black car.” He
refused and was arrested.
He was found guilty in court and fined
$100 [a lot of money at the time].
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case: Plessy vs. Ferguson
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Because Homer Plessy believed his
conviction and $100 fine were wrong he
appealed his case which went all the way
because the issues at stake were so
important.
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According to the 14th Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution all U.S. citizens had
equal protection under the law.
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The Court ruled against Plessy because it
said the Louisiana law provided public
facilities such as trains that were
separate but equal.
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The Court’s ruling reinforced the legal
concept of de jure segregation.
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De jure is a Latin term for according to or
by law.
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So basically the U.S. government allowed
racism from that point on.
Wilmington Race Riot of 1898
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In the late 1800s Wilmington, N.C. was the
most populated North Carolina city and
was also majority black.
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On November 10, 1898 hundreds of heavily
armed racist white supremacists decided to
overthrow the black-controlled local
government.
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Using Gatling machine guns on top of
wagons and lynching [illegal hanging].
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Probably over 100 blacks were murdered
during the riot and the city government
was overthrown by coup d’etat.
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White supremacist candidates won
elections in Wilmington and 2 years later a
racist named Charles B. Aycock was
elected North Carolina’s governor in 1900.
Booker T. Washington
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Washington was born a slave to an
enslaved mother and rich white planter
father in Virginia.
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Washington was freed as a young boy.
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He became trained in trades such as
carpentry and masonry and learned to
read.
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He became a teacher at a well known black
school in Virginia [Hampton] and later led
his own school in Alabama.
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The Tuskegee Institute in Alabama was led
by Washington for more than 20 years.
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He gave a famous speech called the Atlanta
Compromise that asked blacks to work
hard and partner with whites to “get
ahead.”
Booker T. Washington
• At Tuskegee has made friends with rich
white men who gave the school millions
of dollars.
• Black students were educated and
trained in trades such as teaching,
plumbing and construction.
• He believed it was important for students
to be able to “pay their bills” by their own
labor and self-reliance.
W.E.B. Du Bois
• William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was
different than Booker T. Washington in
many ways.
• He was born in Massachusetts to free
black parents who were also free.
• He was highly educated becoming the
first black person to earn a Ph.d in
1895.
• He studied in the North, South and
overseas in Germany where he had
many opportunities to develop his
intellect.
W.E.B. Du Bois
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During the first few years of the 1900s he joined with other educated and motivated
blacks to form the Niagara Movement to find ways to legally improve the conditions of
blacks in the United States. The groups was originally forced to travel to Canada for
hotel rooms because American hotel owners would not accept them.
In 1909 he was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People [NAACP].
He was the editor of The Crisis magazine of the NAACP which detailed stories about
everything from politics to poetry.
He believed blacks were entitled to equality immediately. He became frustrated and
moved to Ghana in Africa.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
• Ida Wells was a Mississippi born and educated journalist [newspaper writer].
• She traveled all over the South investigating hate crimes and wrote extensively
on the practice of lynching.
• Lynching is when someone accused of wrong doing is captured by an angry mob
and hanged from a tree or pole until death. While execution is legal in many
states you must have a trial and be found guilty of murder.
• Wells wrote dozens of ant-lynching stories and spoke out for women’s suffrage.
Disenfranchisement
• Disenfranchisement is the act of limiting or prohibiting someone’s suffrage [right
to vote].
• All over the South tactics designed to discourage black suffrage [poor uneducated
whites too].
• The Poll Tax a fee for voting was usually just high enough to prevent poor blacks
from being able to vote. This policy was later outl
Disenfranchisement
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Another voter discrimination tactic
used in the South was the so-called
literacy test.
• Before voters could cast their ballot
[vote] they had to take a multi-page
test.
• Many blacks in the South were poorly
educated and had limited reading
ability so they usually did not pass
the test [sometimes they were also
tricked].
• This practice limited black suffrage
rights.
The Great Migration
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Because of rampant racism, lynching, terror tactics by the K.K.K. and Jim Crow laws
millions of blacks from 1910 to 1970 left the South.
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Big cities such as Los Angeles, Kansas City, Detroit, Chicago, Boston and New York gained
black migrants to work in factories producing military weapons, cars, trains, ships and
machinery.
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Every major city had large black population however they mostly lived in segregated
communities.
Jim Crow Laws
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In order to preserve the worst parts of the Southern culture [way of life] racist laws were
passed to segregate [separate] blacks and whites in public places.
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Blacks who tried to use public facilities such as water fountains, buses and schools could be
fined, arrested or lynched [hanged without trial by an angry mob of people].
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Because these were segregationist laws they were also examples de jure segregation.
George Westinghouse
• Westinghouse was an inventor from New York.
• He made a fortune selling his railroad air brake.
• He later made millions organizing the Westinghouse
Electric Company that used the principle of AC [alternative
current].
• Electricity became very popular in many American homes.
Westinghouse Electrical Power Plant
Mail Order Catalogs
 Department stores such as Montgomery Ward [1872] and Sears-Roebuck
[1886] began mail-order businesses.
 Rural general stores were replaced for most household goods.
 The goods were generally very inexpensive and disposal.
 The waste produced by packaging created challenges for cities for garbage
removal management.
The Kodak Camera
 In 1892 George Eastman founded the Eastman-Kodak Company.
 Eastman manufactured cameras that were small, had self-contained film and
were durable.
 The price of the cameras were low enough that most middle class people could
afford them.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
 The Wright Brothers started out as bicycle makers and salesmen in
Indiana.
 They were fascinated with birds in flight and wanted to make a flying
machine.
 After many months of design and testing the Wright brothers flew several
successful short flights using gliders [wind aided] and flyers foot or leg
power] in the town Kitty Hawk, N.C. in 1903.
 The longest flight lasted 26 seconds.
Henry Ford and his achievements
 Henry Ford had been an employee
of several early car companies in
Michigan where he was from.
 He started in own car company, The
Ford Motor Company, in 1903.
 His company paid its workers an
excellent wage $5 a day.
 To increase productivity and make
cars faster, more cheaply he created
an assembly line.
 Production tasks were separated
and people got better at their tasks
because of the repetition.
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The
Model
T
Ford rolled his most popular car the Model T in 1908.
 It started off costing $825 but within 5 years cost $300 or less.
 He was able to sell it cheaply because of the assembly line.
 The car made individual travel much easier and safer.
Workers as consumers
• Ford paid his workers very well and they had
disposable income more than most American
workers.
• As a result of having good wages and income Ford
workers participated in the economy as consumers
[buyers].
Skyscrapers
 Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s large multi-story buildings were built
all over America’s largest cities.
 Chicago and New York City were the two best examples of cities with skyscrapers.
 The Chrysler and Empire State buildings both soared across the New York City
skyline.
Militarism
Who were the “good guys”
and why?________
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Alliances
Key incident #1 that provoked
the United States__________________________
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Causes of World War One
M.A.I.N.
Key incident #2 that provoked the
United States___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
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Imperialism/Isolationism
Who were the “bad guys” and
why?________________
__________________________
__________________________
____________________
Nationalism
Some causes of WWI
• In June of 1914 The Archduke of AutriaHungary, Franz Ferdinand, was
assassinated by a “crazy” person named
Gavrilo Princip from the neighboring
country of Sebia who did not like him.
• Germany, his country’s ally, believed its
enemies were behind his murder and
started to get its troops ready to attack
countries such as France and England.
Sinking of RMS Lusitania
•In May of 1915 a passenger
cruise ship, RMS Lusitania, was
sunk by a German U-Boat
[submarine] off the coast of
Ireland killing nearly 2,000
people including almost 200
Americans.
•This aggression caused the
Americans to be even angrier
at Germany and made them
confident they made the
correct decision to fight them
and eventually win.
Militarism
• Two principal reasons
for the rise of
militarism:
• (1) Desire to be
powerful in order to
take over other
countries.
•
(2) Desire to defend
themselves from
powerful countries.
Weapons of War
• Many new weapons were
invented for use during the
Great War.
•
Such as?
• Machine guns, warplanes,
land mines, tanks, chemical
gas and gas masks.
• Purpose?
• To kill or injure as many
people as possible.
Weapons of War
• Tanks- Soldiers were able to travel on the battlefield quickly with protection
and heavy firepower.
• Landmines- Soldiers were able to place explosive devices beneath the ground in
order to injure, maim or kill without great risk to themselves.
• Mines activated by weight pressure of person walking on top of mine.
• Exception: Landmines would sometimes malfunction and kill the person placing
it.
Striving to be the best
• The principal goal of war is to destroy the enemy.
• Two basic goals during war.
• Attacking (offense) or defending against attack (defense).
• Tactic used both on offense and defense were trenches.
No Man’s Land
• The most dangerous area on the World War I battlefield was No Man’s Land.
• The area between enemy trenches exposed troops to enemy fire and land mines.
• Stalemates were often ended when troops entered No Man’s Land.
How can a government convince its people to think
or feel a certain way?
• Using propaganda.
• What is that?
• Speeches, books, posters or
images used to influence
someone.
• Sometimes they are meant to
scare, warn, help or
encourage people.
Taking Sides
• Europe had a “trouble
maker ” from the 1850s1914.
Kaiser Wilhelm
• Who was it?
• Germany
• The Kaiser [German
monarch] wanted more
land and power.
Alliances
• Triple Alliance:
• Germany, Austria-Hungary
and Italy.
• Goal:
• Protect members of the
alliance.
• To dominate Europe and
control it.
Alliances
• Triple Entente:
• Russia, France and
England.
• Goal:
• protect themselves
from the Triple
alliance.
The Zimmerman Note [telegram]
•The foreign secretary of
Germany, Arthur Zimmerman,
in January of 1917 sent a
telegram [old version of a text
message] to the president of
Mexico in “code” asking him to
attack the U.S. in exchange for
return of territories [Texas,
New Mexico, and Arizona].
•The telegram was intercepted
and angered the U.S. to the
point of joining the allies
against Germany.
Isolationism: American Involvement
• France got their butts kicked
by Germany and needed
help.
• The United States wanted to
remain neutral and isolate
[isolationism] itself from the rest
of the world.
• The United States came to their
aid and joined their alliance in
1917.
• American firepower and
industrial power was the key
the Triple Entente’s victory.
Nationalism
• Extreme feelings of pride for
a country.
• What can this lead to?
• Feeling jealous, envious,
suspicious, fearful or hateful
toward another country.
• These “feelings” can be
exploited by a government’s
leadership.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• To attempt to control Germany’s up and coming powerful navy the British
decided to blockade German ports.
• Every ship, German or not, was stopped by England and inspected for
contraband [illegal cargo including military weapons].
• Germany responded by declaring it would sink any ship around English
waters using U-boats [submarines].
• Germany sank many ships including the Lusitania in 1915.
WWI Propaganda
The Idealism of Wilson
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President Wilson for several years attempted to keep the
U.S. neutral and isolated from European conflict.
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He hoped his idealism could be viewed as constructive to
world peace.
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However, after German aggression via unrestricted U-boat
submarine warfare and plotting with Mexico to invade the
U.S. he had no choice but to enter WWI.
•
Wilson promised to break off connections with Germany if
they continued unrestricted submarine warfare. Germany
got nervous and promised to end its bombing called the
Sussex Pledge.
•
To supply military personnel the U.S. Congress passed the
Selective Service Act in 1917 requiring men 21-30 to
register for the draft.
•
A random lottery would determine who was called to
serve first.
Election of 1916
• Because of the power of Big Business and his crusade against them Wilson
almost lost his re-election bid in 1916.
• However, because many citizens did not want to change president during the
war Wilson won the election by less that 500,000 votes.
Democrat
Woodrow Wilson
Republican
Charles Evan Hughes
Isolationism and Pacifism
• Isolationism was rejected by most
Americans after Americans died
aboard the Lusitania and the
Zimmerman Telegram was made
public.
• The first woman elected to the
U.S. Congress Jeanette Rankin to
represent a district in Montana.
• She voted against a declaration of
war against Germany and she
was ruined publicly.
• She voted for a draft to get
Americans to think about the
consequences of a world war.
The Peace at Paris
• The Allied Powers [led by the U.S.]
defeated the Central Powers by
1918.
• The Germans were forced to
surrender.
• Everyone involved in the war met at
Versailles to negotiate a treaty.
• Forced to pay reparations [pay
damages].
• Forced to sign a guilt clause [take
blame for starting the war] on the
treaty.
• The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the
treaty.
WWI U.S. Soldiers: Doughboys
• Millions of American men were drafted or
volunteered for service in World War I.
• Almost 400,000 African-American men were
drafted as well but they were unfortunately
placed into segregated units with only white
commanders.
• American soldiers who fought fiercely and
victoriously came to be known as doughboys.
• The origin of the name is unclear but many
people believe it either came from the chalky
white dust that covered uniforms during the
Mexican-American War or from the types of
food they cooked in the field which was usually
biscuits and rice.
General John J. Pershing Commander of the American Expeditionary Force
• General John J. Pershing, also known as Black
jack had been well known for his pursuit of
Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa in 1911.
• General Pershing was assigned by President
Wilson to lead the American Expeditionary
Force [U.S. armed forces army and marines]
against the Central Powers in Europe.
• Pershing was well known for his refusal to
allow U.S. troops to be integrated [mixed into]
into British and French forces.
• He believed U.S. forces should be lead by U.S.
commanders. Wilson supported his decision.
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
• During WWI Russia had been part of the Triple Entente [later the Allied Powers.
• The Russian Tsar [King] had not handled Russia's involvement very well and many
Russian citizens suffered food and fuel shortages.
• Many Russian citizens were furious with the Russian royal family. Tsar Nicholas II
abdicated [gave up] his throne in 1917.
• The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the temporary Russian
government that was set up after the Tsar abdicated.
• Bolsheviks withdrew from the Allied Powers to focus on creating a strong
communist party and made Germany’s task to win the war easier.
President Wilson’s 14 Points
• Towards the very end of World War I President Woodrow Wilson gave a
speech to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918.
• The purpose of the speech was to assure the United States that America’s
purpose in the war and its aftermath was just.
• Wilson laid out 14 main points but perhaps the most important were
points 1-5 and 14.
[1] There should be an end to all secret diplomacy amongst countries.
[2] Freedom of the seas in peace and war
[3] The reduction of trade barriers among nations
[4] The general reduction of armaments
[5] The adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the inhabitants as well
as of the colonial powers
[14] A league of nations to protect "mutual guarantees of political
independence and territorial integrity to great and small nations alike."
The League of Nations
• President Wilson’s 14th Point wanted to
create a League of Nations.
• The League of Nations was to act as a world
wide alliance to prevent future wars.
• However, members of the U.S. Senate who
were known as Reservationists because they
had reservations [doubts] about the League
refused to allow the treaty to be ratified.
• According to the Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
[leader of the reservationists] only Congress
had the power to declare war and this treaty
would give foreign nations power to bring
the U.S. into future wars.
18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
• The Temperance movement had a profound
effect on American culture.
• After decades of pressure by Christian
socialists and Progressives the 18th
Amendment was passed to prohibit the
manufacture, possession, sale and
consumption of alcoholic beverages.
• Passage of the Volstead Act made
enforcement of Prohibition more powerful
because the federal government used the
U.S. Treasury Department to conduct raids
on speakeasies and bootlegging factories.
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
•
On August 26, 1920 universal women’s suffrage was granted in the United States.
•
Because of de jure and de facto discrimination against women throughout U.S.
history many women had been unwilling to be active in fighting for civil rights.
•
However, courageously active women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth
Cady Stanton protested and lobbied legislatures relentlessly and were eventually
able to secure voting rights for American women.
Popularity of American Propaganda
• In order to generate public support for
World War I President Wilson created
the C.P.I. Committee on Public
Information.
• An experienced news journalist named
George Creel was assigned to lead the
CPI in order to sell the war to the
American people.
• From 1917 forward propaganda
became a very powerful tool used by
the United States government in order
to influence popular opinion.
Food Administration led by Herbert Hoover
 The federal government was also successfully
able to mobilize citizens by encouraging them
to ration food.
 Citizens were encouraged by the U.S. Food
Administration to conserve food, avoid waste
and grow their own food when possible.
 Citizens grew victory gardens as a symbolic
way to support the war effort.
 The goal of the U.S. Food Administration was
to increase food production while reducing
civilian consumption.
 Future president Herbert Hoover was in
charge of the agency.
The W.I.B. War Industries Board led by Bernard Baruch
• In order to coordinate all of the necessary
materials to create weapons and other essential
products President Wilson created the W.I.B.
War Industries Board.
• Wealthy and powerful Wall Street banker
Bernard Baruch was assigned to run the federal
agency.
• The agency had the power to allocate and ration
raw materials and force companies whatever
materials the U.S. needed to win the war.
• Some examples included car companies making
military vehicles and aviation companies making
fighter planes.
Espionage and Sedition Acts
• Two laws were passed by Congress to curtail [limit] the civil
liberties of U.S. citizens during the war.
• The Espionage Act imposed strict sanctions on anyone
opposing the war or spying and passing sensitive information
to foreign governments.
• The Sedition Act forbade U.S. citizens from speaking out
against the war in public.
Espionage and Sedition Acts
 These laws were challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
 Charles Schenck was arrested for mailing pamphlets to draftees telling them
to protest the war.
 He was arrested and convicted for sedition. He appealed citing his 1st
Amendment Free Speech rights his case was known as Schenk vs. United
States.
 The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and the Sedition Act citing
national security interests during war time.
 Eugene V. Debs was also jailed on similar charges of protesting against the
U.S. government. Debs was the rowdy and vocal socialist labor union leader
and agitator.
I.W.W. Industrial Workers of the World
• If you remember from previous lessons labor unions fought for the rights of
workers by organizing.
• The federal government believed that radical union behavior during the was such
as strikes would harm the war effort.
• The U.S. Department of Justice conducted raids on labor union buildings and during
meetings.
• Through law enforcement and propaganda public opinion was turned against labor
unions during World War I. So much so that so labor leaders were lynched.
Power and Paranoia of the Federal Government
• After the Great War the United States had
increased powers based on the Espionage and
Sedition Acts.
• To uncover threats against the United States the
U.S. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer ordered
raids on suspected communists and anarchists.
• The Palmer raids were conducted by federal agents
to uncover domestic threats to the U.S.
Ransacked office of
an alleged
seditious U.S.
citizen by federal
agents during the
Palmer Raids.
Washington Naval Conference
• This was the first major international meeting in the United States about
disarmament.
• The purpose of the meeting to avoid future military build ups [especially
naval] in foreign nations.
• The Empire of Japan managed to scheme a way to building a very
powerful navy heading into WWII.