Download From Neutrality to War

From Neutrality to War
Was it in the national interest of the US to stay neutral or
declare war in 1917?
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 1914 T Roosevelt observed that the US was lucky
to be almost “alone among the great civilized
power in being unshaken by the present
worldwide war.”
 How did the murder of the archduke turn into a
global conflict?
 System of alliances that linked Europe to one another
 If your alliance was in trouble you had to come to their
aid
 Germany/Austria-Hungary (Central Powers) vs France,
Britain, Russia (Allied Powers)
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 1860s – While the US was fighting the Civil War
German kingdom of Prussia launched a series of
wars to unite the various German kingdoms into
one nation
 1871 – Prussia had united Germany and
proclaimed a German empire
 New Germany industrialized and became
powerful
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 This transforms European politics
 1870s Prussia attacks and defeats France
 Force France to give up territory along German
border
 This makes France and Germany enemies
 Germany allied with Italy and Austria-Hungary to
protect itself
 They became known as the Triple Alliance
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 This alarmed Russia and feared Germany would move east
into Russia
 Russia and Austria-Hungary were fighting for influence in
southeastern Europe
 Many people in southeastern Europe were Slavs – same
ethnic group as Russia – Russia wanted to support them vs
Austria-Hungary
 Russia and France opposed Germany and Austria-Hungary
 1894 signed Franco-Russian Alliance – promised to help
each other against the Triple Alliance
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Nationalism – strong feeling of pride in and
loyalty to a nation or ethnic group
 Led some European powers to put national interests
first – regardless of consequences for the other
countries
 EX – Germany’s pride = rapid growth and military power
 Kaiser Wilhelm II was looking for overseas empire for his
country – wanted Germany to be a world leader
 Smaller ethnic groups expressed nationalism by
seeking independence
 Serbs in Bosnia who didn’t like Austro-Hungarian
rule wanted to unite with other Slavic people in
Serbia
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Part of nationalism is the right to selfdetermination: idea that people who share a
national identity should have their own country
and government
 1800s nationalism led to a crisis in the Balkans
 Ottoman Empire and Autro-Hungarian Empire had
ruled the Balkans – these empires were made up
of many different nations
 Different national groups began pressing for
independence
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Groups wanting independence were Serbs, Bosnians,
Croats and Slovenes
 Similar language and saw themselves as one people
 Serbs got independence first – Serbia – in between
Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian Empires
 Russia supported Serbs and Austria-Hungary tried to limit
Serbia’s power
 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia – which belonged to
the Ottoman Empire – Serbs were mad – wanted Bosnia as
a part of their country
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Militarism- policy of glorifying military power and
values
 Germany modernized army and added to navy;
Britain felt they needed to do the same
 Other European powers did the same thing – all of
Europe was in a military buildup
 Imperialism – Britain and France had colonies in
Africa and Asia
 Raw materials from the colonies
 Germany wanted in like Britain and France – they
would have to take land from someone else
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 German militarism forced Britain to get involved
in this system
 Britain tried to support weaker countries vs
strong countries to keep one nation from
becoming too powerful
 Britain and Germany in an arms race
 Britain joins France and Russia – doesn’t want a
set alliance so enters in a “entente cordiale” – a
friendly understanding – Triple Entente
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Wilson had declared neutrality
 Loans and weapons to both sides
 Aug 19, 1914 – Wilson urged Americans to remain
“impartial in thought, as well as action”
 This European war, Wilson said, is one “with
which we have nothing to do, whose causes
cannot touch us”
 G. Washington urged the US to stay out of foreign
affairs
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 War would help the US financially if we did not
get involved
 1914 – 1/3 of the US was foreign born or children
of foreign born parents
 Had ties to their “home” country still
 Americans are debating getting involved but war
raged on
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Gavrilo Princip – shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand
 Austro-Hungarian government blamed Serbia for the
attack and wanted to crush Serbia in order to prevent
Slavic nationalism from undermining its empire
 Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary
 Austria-Hungary issued ultimatum to the Serbian
government
 Serbs counted on Russia to back them up
 Russia counted on France
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia.
 Russia mobilized its army
 Aug 1 Germany declared war on Russia and 2 days
later declared war on France
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Germany had planned to invade France and knock
them out of the war
 Germans had to go through Belgium to do this
 When Germans crossed through Belgium, Britain
declared war to help protect Belgium’s neutrality
 Triple Entente = Allies
 France, Russia and Great Britain and Italy
 Triple Alliance – Germany and Austria-Hungary
joined Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria = Central
Powers
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Germans were successful at driving France back at first
 Russia then invaded Germany
 Germany had to remove some troops from France and
send them back to Germany to help with Russia
 Germans were 30 miles from Paris when they were
stopped and had to turn back
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Eastern Front: Russia advances into Germany and
Austria-Hungary  German countered and
stopped the advance
 2 key battles = 250,000 Russian causalities
 Western Front: Germans easily rolled across
Belgium and into France
 British, French and Belgian armies stopped the
Germans
 End of 1914 there was a stalemate – deadlock
 Neither side could win and neither side wanted to
stop for peace
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
 Why did President Wilson’s decision to stay out of
WWI in 1914 please many Americans?
 A: Many felt Europe’s quarrels did not concern
them. US could make loans and sell supplies to
both sides
The US Tries to Stay Neutral
What was the status of combat in Europe in 1914?
What was the status of diplomatic efforts to end
the war at the time?
 A: Russia advanced into Germany and AustriaHungary but Germans stopped them. Germans
rolled across Belgium and into France. Allied
armies stopped this but not until the German
troops were within 30 miles of Paris. End of 1914
there was a stalemate
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 Stalemate on land; Britain and Germany looked to
starve their opponent and needed to control the sea
 Britain blockaded the ships headed for Germany
 Turned away any ships with weapons, food and supplies
headed to Central powers - even neutral ships from US
 Wilson was unhappy but didn’t want to threaten the
strong economic ties between Britain and the US
 Many Americans actually supported the Allied powers and did not
sell as much to the Central powers therefore this blockade wasn’t
100% detrimental
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 Feb 1915 – Germany challenged Britain’s blockade
with submarine attacks
 Unterseeboot (Undersea boat) = U-boat
 Germany declared the waters around Britain a war
zone
 Germany could sink British ships without being
noticed
 Britain sometimes flew flags of neutral countries to
deter the Germans – this put neutral countries in
danger
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 Warships could stop and search merchant ships if they
suspected the ship was breaking a naval blockade
 These ships could be sunk if all passengers were
removed - warships could take passengers from these
ships – submarines could not
 May 7, 1915 Lusitania – British liner the Germans sank
without warning
 1198 died and 128 were Americans
 Germany said they thought the ship had weapons and
ammunition
 T. Roosevelt said “murder on the high seas”
German U-Boat
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 US debated how to respond to sinking of Lusitania
 Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan (remember
him???)
 Argued the US should accept reality of submarines and
warn Americans about danger of riding on British ships
 State Department Robert Lansing
 Opposed Jennings Bryan view and argued Americans had
a right to travel on British ships and should protect that
right
 Wilson agreed with Lansing and sent Germany several
notes demanding it stop the submarine warfare
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 Jennings Bryan was afraid the notes would violate our
neutrality and resigned
 Lansing replaces Bryan
 Lansing “The Allies must not be beaten. War cannot
come too soon to suit me”
 Aug 1915 – Germany sank a 2nd British ship - the
Arabic – killed 2 Americans
 Wilson sent another note and Germany promised no
more ships would be sunk without warning
 March 1916 Germany broke pledge by sinking the
Sussex
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 Wilson threatened to break off relations
with Germany
 Sussex pledge – Germany promised to spare
all lives in future U-boat attacks on
merchant ships
 Condition – US must force Britain to end
its illegal blockade
 Wilson accepted the pledge but would not
accept the condition
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 PREPAREDNESS, PROMISES, AND PROPAGANDA
 Former President T. Roosevelt thought US was ill-prepared
for war and thought we needed to gear up to fight
 Roosevelt had not picked a side for the war but thought
we needed to be ready for war
 Thought we needed a policy of preparedness, not
neutrality
 Submarine issues caused Wilson to start preparing for war
 Wilson running for re-election – campaigned promising for
a navy “second to none”
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 PREPAREDNESS, PROMISES, AND
PROPAGANDA
 Wilson pressed Congress to allocate money
to double the size of the army and to
construct the world’s biggest navy
 American’s thought Wilson’s path of
preparedness was enough to re-elect him
 Won re-election by a thin majority
 “He kept us out of war” - Slogan
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 PREPAREDNESS, PROMISES, AND PROPAGANDA
 Central Powers and Allied Power were trying to
get people to join their size
 Propaganda –information or rumor spread to
promote its own cause or ideas or to damage an
opposing cause or ideas
 Propaganda is to persuade others to adopt the
view or to take the action supported by the
propagandist
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 PREPAREDNESS, PROMISES, AND PROPAGANDA
 Allies waged the most successful campaign
 British circulated stories about alleged atrocities
committed by German soldiers in Belgium
 Claimed German soldiers tortured innocent women and
children and used human shields during combat
 German government denied these stories
 Investigation proved these stories were exaggerated or
invented
 Before the investigation the stories were printed in most
US newspapers
Challenges to the US Policy of Neutrality
 How did the attack on the Lusitania bring the US closer to
declaring war in 1915?
 A: On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sank the Lusitania
killing 1198 people and 128 Americans. The ship did have
weapons and ammo – T. Roosevelt denounced the actions
as murder. Wilson and others felt that Americans had the
right to ride on Allied passenger ships and the US should
protect that right.
 Why might the Sussex pledge have helped the US stay
neutral in 1916?
 Wilson threatened to break off relations with Germany
since they kept sinking ships. Germany agreed to spare
lives if the US got Britain to stop the blockade. US didn’t
declare war just yet.
A War to End All Wars
 Jan 22, 1917 – Wilson gave speech to Congress declaring
he wanted to help end the stalemate in Europe.
 Asked warring nations to accept “a peace without
victory”
 “League of honor” – help nations settle conflicts
peacefully
 Germany launched an all out effort to win the war
 Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare
 Sussex pledge – Wilson cut off ties with Germany
A War to End All Wars
 Wilson hoped Germans would back down but they did not
 Zimmerman Note- German foreign minister sent a coded
note to the German minister in Mexico
 Note suggested that if the US join the war then Mexico and
Germany should become allies
 Germany would help Mexico regain lost territory
 Zimmerman note stirred up Anti-German feelings in the
US
 March 1917 – revolution toppled the Czar Nicholas II in
Russia
 Replaced him with democratic government - US could now
be allied to Russia since they were democratic
A War to End All Wars
 April 2, 1917 – Wilson spoke to Congress and reminded
them of the loss of life caused by German U-boats and
how these attacks were hurting the US’s ability to trade
freely
 Neutrality no longer possible
 World must be safe for democracy
 April 4, 1917 – Senate voted 82-6 to declare war on
Germany
 House voted on April 6 373-50
 US went to war
A War to End All Wars
 What events in early 1917 caused President Wilson to ask
Congress to declare war?
 A: Germany started attacking with Uboats again.
Zimmerman note. Czar Nicholas II was overthrown and
Russia was now democratic and could be allied with the
US
 President Wilson said the US would be going to war to
make the world “safe for democracy”. How did his critics
respond to this reasoning?
 A: Argued US was going to war for economic reasons;
Argued we at war because we did not treat Allied and
Central powers the same – government should stay
neutral