Download Foreign Policy Unit 2014-2015 - Lesson 6

L6: World War One 1914/1917-1918
US Entry, Mobilization, and Effects of the War
American Foreign Policy
Agenda
Objective:
1. To understand the narrative
of US involvement in World
War One.
2. To understand the effects of
US mobilization
3. To understand the effects of
the war on the American
experience
Schedule:
1. Lecture & Discussion
Homework:
None 
World War One
• What do we remember about World War
One?
• What do we remember about America’s
involvement in World War One?
America Enters the War
Background & Causes
The War Begins…America remains Neutral
• War Begins in 1914
• From 1914-1917 the
United States remains
neutral.
– Wilson wins reelection in 1916 on
the slogan “he has
kept us out of war”
• April 1917, US enters
the war on the side of
the British, French, and
the Russians
From Neutrality to War
Three Reasons Why the
US enters World War One
•Zimmermann Telegram
(March 1917)
•Unrestricted Submarine
Warfare (May 1917)
•Shift in Progressives
thinking on the war…
– From pacifism to “the
World Must be made
safe for Democracy”
The Zimmermann Telegram
• In March 1917 a
telegram sent from
Germany to Mexico was
intercepted by the British
and released to the
Americans.
• The telegram stated…
Zimmermann Telegraph
• FROM 2nd from London # 5747.
"We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine
warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United
States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we
make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make
war together, make peace together, generous financial support
and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the
lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in
detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most
secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of
America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his
own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the
same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the
President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of
our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in
a few months to make peace." Signed, ZIMMERMANN
8
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• During World War One, Germany practiced
“unrestricted submarine warfare”
– Germany would sink any ship in the Atlantic
ocean
– Why?
• Britain implemented a blockade against Germany to
prevent war supplies from coming into the country
• Germany correctly argued
that Britain and America
were smuggling weapons
into Britain on passenger
ships
The Sinking of the Lusitania
• On May 7, 1915
Germany sunk a
British passenger
ship the Lusitania
• 128 Americans
were killed
• Outraged the
American public
Shifting Progressive Opinion
• Amidst the increased German
aggression, Progressives such as
Teddy Roosevelt, John Dewey, and
Woodrow Wilson begin to argue that
America must enter and therefore, if
they were compelled to fight, they
should use the war to “make the
world safe for democracy”
• Note:
– Populists and Socialists remained
strongly opposed to the war
– William Jennings Bryan resigned from his
post as Secretary of State over Wilson’s
decision to push for war.
– Eugene Debs was arrested on sedition
charges for speaking out against the draft
The United States Enters the War
• The escalation of unrestricted submarine
warfare against American ships and the
release of the Zimmermann telegram lead
American President Woodrow Wilson to
request a declaration of war against Germany
from Congress.
• In April of 1917,
the United States
enters World War
One.
America Mobilizes for War
America Mobilizes: Military
• In April 1917, the United States
Army had only 108,000 soldiers
and the U.S. Marine Corps had
only 15,000 men.
• The United States thus enacted
a draft in order to raise 2 million
troops
– Selective Service Act 1917
– 400,000 black soldiers were drafted but served in segregated
units
– T.R. wanted to send another group of volunteers, but Wilson
said “no thanks.”
America Mobilizes: Industry
• President Wilson and Congress
created 5,000 bureaucratic agencies
to manage and win the war
• War production also had to ramp up
in order to meet the demand for
weapons and supplies
• The War Industries Board (WIB)
– created to oversee the production of
military supplies
– encouraged mass-production of
war equipment and set
production quotas
America Mobilizes: Rations
• The Fuel Administration
– Created to ration coal
and oil and to encourage
“lightless nights”
• US Food Administration
– Launched a massive
campaign to teach
Americans to economize
on their food budget,
grow victory gardens, and
limit meat consumption
– Lead by Herbert Hoover
America Mobilizes: Economy
• Convinced Americans to put savings into
“Liberty Bonds”
• Increased income tax, business tax, and
excise tax
America Mobilizes: Minds (Propaganda)
• The Committee on Public Information (CPI)
– Created by Wilson through executive order
– Goal was to make propaganda to support the
war effort
• Created posters, movies, speeches
• Encouraged bond drives to raise money for the
war
• Wrote pro-war speeches for politicians to give at
public gatherings
• Censored the press
– Helped to promote a general Anti-German
sentiment
• Banned teaching of German in Midwestern
schools
• Sauerkraut = Liberty Cabbage
– Chairman was George Creel
World War One and American Civil Liberties
• Espionage Act of 1917
– Imprisoned for 20 year if caught
inciting a riot or obstructing the
draft
• Sedition Act of 1918
– Prohibited from making disloyal
remarks
• Schneck v. US (1919)
– Restriction of civil liberties is ok
if it demonstrates a “clear and
present danger” to public safety
• During the war, over 2,000 citizens were prosecuted
including newspaper editors, Socialists, anarchists,
union leaders, and critics of the draft
American Troops in Battle
With the military and economy mobilized for war, the
first U.S. troops were sent to Europe in 1918
American Troops at the Western Front, 1918
The arrival of fresh American soldiers and
war supplies helped the Allies at a crucial time
Throughout 1918, the
American Expeditionary
Force (AEF) fought
with Allied forces to
turn the tide of the war
Approximate Comparative Losses in World War I
America fought for only 8 months (not 4 years) and
had 7% casualties (not 52% like most Allied Powers)
How the Lives of Women and
Blacks were Changed during
World War I
Women’s roles changed due to World War I
Women did “men’s work”
on railroads, coal mines,
shipbuilding, munitions to
meet war-related demand
and to replace soldiers
For the first time,
women served in the
Army in noncombat roles
as telephone operators,
nurses, typists, drivers
Women worked with the
The gov’t acknowledged
Food Administration by
the role women played in
planting “victory gardens,”
the war by passing the
volunteered in the Red
19th Amendment
Cross, and sold war bonds
African Americans saw changed due to the war
World War I led to
the Great Migration
367,710 blacks were
of blacks for war-related
drafted, but only 10%
jobs in Northern cities
served in combat duty;
Most blacks worked as
laborers in Army Services
of Supplies (SOS) units
Northern manufacturers
distributed free railroad
The 40,000 black soldiers
passes to bring Southern
who saw combat fought
blacks into Chicago,
in segregated divisions;
New York, Philadelphia
Over 600 black soldiers
were commissioned as
Blacks faced violence,
officers in the U.S. Army
discrimination, and race
riots in Northern cities
Effect of World War One on
the American Economy
World War I stimulated the American economy
When WWI ended, the
USA was the wealthiest
nation in the world
War-time production
increased hourly wages by
20% in some industries;
The average household
Before the war, the USA
income nearly doubled
owed $3 billion to foreign
from 1916 to 1919
nations; At the end of the
war, foreign nations owed
Americans had money
the U.S. $13 billion
to spend and a desire for
consumer goods; This led
to a decade of spending When World War I ended,
Americans were ready to
in the 1920s called the
“return to normalcy”
“Roaring Twenties”
and elected Republican
President Warren Harding
The American Economy
U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 1914-1920
GDP is an indicator of economic health because it is
the value of all goods and services made in the USA
Annual GDP
America began
preparing for war
Outbreak of
WWI in Europe
US declaration
of war
WWI comes
to an end
1914
$36.5
1915
1916
1917
$38.7
$49.6
$59.7
1918
1919
1920
$75.8
$78.3
$88.4