Download The United States in World War I

The United States in World War I
The “War to End All Wars”
The assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand by Bosnian nationalists on
June 28, 1914, set off the series of
events that would lead to World War I.
Tensions between European powers
had been building, with almost all the
major countries undergoing a rapid
military buildup in the years
immediately prior to 1914. When the
war actually began in earnest in
August 1914, France, Russia, and
Great Britain were the major Allied
Powers, while Germany, AustriaHungary, and the Ottoman Empire
made up the Central Powers.
Many Americans felt deeply connected
to the events of the war as over 1/3 of
the American population was a first or
second generation immigrant.
However not every American
supported the Allies, as a large number of German immigrants lived throughout the United States. On August 4,
1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation of American neutrality in the war.
From American Neutrality to Intervention
Even though many Americans were sympathetic to the cause of the Allied powers,
economic common sense dictated that America should attempt to remain neutral.
Although the United States tried to maintain trade with both the Allied and Central
Powers at the onset of World War I, US economic support was eventually given to the
Allied side, mainly because Germany, unlike Britain, allowed the United States to trade
with their opposing side. By 1917 United States trade with the Allies had quadrupled
while it has vanished to next to nothing with Germany. An additional $3 billion in loans
was extended to the Allies during the period between
1914 and 1917, which is tied American financial interests
to an Allied victory.
Although many historians point to events like the sinking
of the Lusitania, killing 126 American passengers who
were on board, and the discovery of the Zimmerman
Telegram, an intercepted message that promised Mexico
the return of lost territory in the United States if they
joined the Central Powers, as being the primary causes for
the United States entering World War One, it is clear that
the primary motivating factor was economic. The sinking
of the Lusitania, the discovery of the Zimmerman Telegram, and of the German policy of
unrestricted submarine warfare instituted in 1917, swayed American public opinion
to join the Allies in the fight against the Central Powers in World War One. The United
States declared war on the Central Powers in April 1917.
Over There in the Trenches
The size of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) eventually reached 2
million strong by November 1917, with over 400,000 African-Americans and
11,500 women actively serving on the front
lines. Despite the diversity of the AEF, all
African-American units were segregated and
were commanded by white officers.
After the Russians pulled out of the war in 1917,
the German army was preparing to launch a
massive all out offensive against the Allies. By
March 1918, Germany had almost all of their
troops on the Western Front and were less than 50 miles from Paris in
early June. American troops played a pivotal role in 1918, by beating back the German offensive,
eventually leading to the armistice signed between the Allies and Central Powers in November of 1918.
World War I was the world’s first industrial
scale war where modern technology was
used to deadly effect. This was
compounded by the fact that the military
commanders of both sides used tactics
that dated back to the Napoleonic era.
Large numbers of troops charging across
No Man’s Land into a storm of 20th
century military technology resulted in
very high death rates for both sides.
Trench warfare was a method of fighting
where opposing armies fought from and
defended their territories using a system of
dug out trenches or ditches.
The trenches stretched over hundred’s of
miles across the Western and Eastern
Fronts in Europe. The space between two
sets of enemy trenches (No Man’s Land)
varied but often could range up to several
hundred yards as well.
“I always said a prayer before going Over the Top. Six
times - on six occasions on some bigger attacks and
smaller attacks for some reason or other. I’ll never forget
it. ‘Dear God, I am going into grave danger. Please help
me to act like a man and come back safe.”
- Arthur Barraclough WW1 Veteran (1898-2004)
Life in the Trenches
•  24 hours a day
soldiers had to deal
with:
–  Sleeping in mud,
washed in mud
–  Rats (Big ones)
–  Artillery Fire = Shell
Shock
–  Diseases
–  No fresh food & lack of
sleep
The Home Front
Despite the fact that America was far removed from the physical fighting
in World War I, much had to be done to prepare for the war effort.
Americans were encouraged by liberty bonds to support the war,
essentially loaning their money to the United States government to use
towards the war effort. Over $33 billion dollars in war bonds were sold
between 1917 and 1918.
The Federal Government regulated both agriculture and industry during
World War 1. The War Industries Board attempted to stimulate
industrial production for the war effort by strictly allocating raw materials
and by instituting strict production controls within industry.
Some historians make the point that world war one was actually the high
point of progressivism. The government regulated the economy in
positive ways they could only have been dreamed about in the days of
Theodore Roosevelt.
Another new agency created in 1917 was
the Committee on Public Information.
The job of this agency was to spread
anti-German and pro-Allied propaganda through images (see above), newsreels,
and lectures. Through the assistance of the American media, Germans were
portrayed as beast like “Huns” whenever possible.
Image: Eugene Debs
The fine line between patriotism and oppression existed during much of World
War I. Most Americans felt they were fighting the war to help spread democracy,
yet many critics were outraged at many of the actions taken by the federal
government during the war era. The 1917 Espionage Act made it illegal to
obstruct the draft process in anyway and stated that any material that was sent
through the mail that was said to insight treason could be seized.
The Sedition Act of 1918 stated that it was illegal
to criticize the government, the Constitution, the
US Army, or the U.S. Navy. Prominent American
Socialist Eugene Debs received a three-year prison
term for speaking against militarism; movie
producer Robert Goldstein was even sentenced to
three years in prison for showing the American
colonists fighting the British in the Revolutionary
war film. Over 1000 Americans were found guilty of
violations during the war of both the Sedition and
Espionage Acts.
Source: Map of Great Migration showing the path of over 600,000
African American’s moving north to work in wartime industry.
A Flawed Peace
After the end of the war, the Paris Peace
Conference began on January 12, 1919.
President Wilson was treated as a hero when he
arrived in Paris yet it was obvious during the initial
sessions of the peace conference that the leaders
of the victorious countries like England and France
had very different goals than that of Wilson.
The suffering of England and especially France
during the war was horrific; the goal the French
delegation was to clearly punish Germany as much
as possible. Wilson on the other hand came to the gain support for his Fourteen Points, which called
for open peace treaties, freedom of the seas, free-trade, arms reduction, gradual reduction of colonial
empires, and some sort of world organization to ensure peace.
Although everyone agreed with Wilson's Fourteen Points in principle, he would find large opposition from
both the Allied powers and the United States Congress who were opposed to any American involvement
in European affairs. As seen in the graphic below only 3 of the 14 points were eventually filled by the
Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War One, and severely punished Germany, paving the way
for another world conflict.
After returning home, Wilson tried to drum up public support in United States to accept the conditions of
the Treaty of Versailles, primarily to ensure that the United States would join the newly created League
of Nations. Due to strong opposition in Congress, and suffering from a stroke towards the end of his
Presidency, Wilson’s efforts fell short. The United States signed a separate treaty with Germany in 1921,
and never joined the League of Nations.