Download Alliances and the First World War

Chapter Introduction
This chapter will focus on what caused the United
States to become involved in World War I and how the
United States changed as a result of this involvement.
•
Section 1: From Neutrality to War
•
Section 2: The Home Front
•
Section 3: Wilson, War, and Peace
•
Section 4: Effects of the War
World War I through 1917
Objectives
• Identify the causes of World War I.
• Describe the course and character of the war.
• Explain why the United States entered the conflict
on the side of the Allies.
Terms and People
•
Alsace-Lorraine – French region lost to German
states in 1871
•
militarism – glorification of the military
•
Francis Ferdinand – archduke of Austria-Hungary
who was assassinated in 1914
•
William II – the German emperor
•
Western Front − battle front between the Allies and
Central Powers in western Europe during World War I
Terms and People (continued)
•
casualty – killed, wounded, or missing soldier
•
contraband – supplies captured from an enemy
during wartime
•
U-boat – German submarine
•
Lusitania – British passenger ship sunk by a
German U-boat during World War I
•
Zimmermann note – a telegram in which the
German foreign minister Zimmerman proposed an
alliance with Mexico against the United States
What caused World War I, and why
did the United States enter the war?
In 1914, nationalism, militarism, imperialism,
and entangling alliances combined to drag
Europe into a world war.
The United States attempted to remain
neutral but abandoned its long tradition of
staying out of European conflicts.
In 1914, five factors made Europe a powder
keg ready to explode.
Nationalism
Militarism
Imperialist tension
Alliance System
Regional tensions
Aggressive Nationalism
Militarism & Arms Race
Total Defense Expenditures for the Great
Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Rus.]
in millions of £s.
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1914
94
130
154
268
289
398
1910-1914 Increase in
Defense Expenditures
France
10%
Britain
13%
Russia
39%
Germany
73%
Economic & Imperial Rivalries
The Alliance System
Triple Entente:
Triple Alliance:
Two Armed Camps!
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
The Major Players: 1914-17
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
Nicholas II
[Rus]
Wilhelm II [Ger]
George V [Br]
Victor Emmanuel
II [It]
Enver Pasha
[Turkey]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Franz Josef [A-H]
Europe in 1914
Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914
The
“Powder Keg”
of Europe
The
“Spark”
Archduke Franz Ferdinand & His
Family
The Assassination: Sarajevo
The Assassin:
Gavrilo
Princip
Who’s To Blame?
The Schlieffen Plan
German Atrocities in Belgium
Essential Background - Fact 1
World War I was all about the place of Germany in Europe
Alliances and the First World War:
Essential Background - Fact 2
France and Germany hated each other! When Germany became united
country in 1870-1, France went to war to try to stop it … but got
WHIPPED!
Alliances and the First World War:
Essential Background Fact 2 (cont.)
France also lost Alsace-Lorraine in 1870-1. The French never forgave
the Germans. They wanted REVENGE.
Alliances and the First World War:
Germany in the Middle
Germany’s BIG problem was that it was IN THE MIDDLE.
That made it VULNERABLE if it came to a war.
Alliances and the First World War:
Three Emperors’ League, 1881
In the 19th century, Germany’s brilliant Chancellor, Bismarck,
solved this problem by keeping friends with RUSSIA and
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (the Dreikaiserbund).
Alliances and the First World War:
Triple Alliance, 1882
Then Bismarck allied with Italy and Austria-Hungary (the TRIPLE
ALLIANCE, 1882).
Together with his friendship with Russia, this kept Germany safe.
Alliances and the First World War:
Germany encircled
But when Kaiser Wilhelm became Emperor, he dumped the Russian
alliance. He kept the Triple Alliance, but this did NOT solve the
problem of Germany’s encirclement.
Alliances and the First World War:
Franco-Russian Alliance, 1892
Instead, in 1892, Russia made an alliance with FRANCE. Although it
was only a DEFENSIVE alliance, it was Germany’s worst nightmare!
Alliances and the First World War:
Webs of Alliances
There also were many more alliances, further complicating pre-WWI Europe.
Alliances and the First World War:
Anglo-Japanese Naval Agreement, 1902
A very important one was the 1902 Anglo-Japanese naval
alliance, which freed up Great Britain from protecting its Empire in the
far east…
Alliances and the First World War:
Entente Cordiale, 1904
… which allowed Britain to make the Entente Cordiale (‘friendly
relationship’) with France in 1904.
Alliances and the First World War:
Triple Entente, 1907
In 1907 Russia joined Britain and France to make the Triple Entente.
So by 1914 Europe had divided into two massive superpower blocs.
People thought this BALANCE OF POWER would keep the peace.
Alliances and the First World War:
The Balkans
But Russia was also allied to Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.
When trouble erupted in the Balkans in 1914, the nations found their
alliances dragged them into war…
Alliances and the First World War:
How the Alliances caused war
… like mountain climbers tied to the same rope.
(i.e. it is arguable that THE SYSTEM OF ALLIANCES CAUSED
WORLD WAR ONE.)
Nationalism, or devotion to one’s country,
caused tensions to rise.
•
Among the powers of Europe, nationalism
caused a desire to avenge perceived insults
and past losses.
•
Some felt national identity centered around a
single ethnic group and questioned the loyalty
of ethnic minorities.
•
Social Darwinists applied the idea of “survival
of the fittest” to nations.
Economic competition for trade and
colonies increased nationalistic feelings.
Economic competition caused a demand for
colonies and military bases in Africa, the Pacific
islands, and China.
Alliances provided a promise of assistance
that made some leaders reckless or overly
aggressive.
Nations stockpiled new technology,
including machine guns, mobile artillery,
tanks, submarines, and airplanes.
Militarism,
combined with
nationalism, led to
an arms race.
On June 28, 1914,
Serb nationalists
assassinated the
heir to the throne of
Austria-Hungary,
Archduke, Francis
Ferdinand.
The assassination
triggered a chain
of events that
drew two sets of
allies into a bloody
conflict.
Europe’s alliance system caused the conflict to
spread quickly, creating two main combatants.
The Allied Powers
included Britain,
France, Russia,
and Serbia.
The Central Powers
included Germany
and Austria-Hungary.
Germany invaded
Belgium, a neutral
country, to attack France.
The German advance was
stopped about 30 miles
from Paris.
The war bogged down as
both sides dug a long
series of trenches, creating
the Western Front.
The era’s deadly defensive weapons made attacks
difficult and dangerous.
Neither side could
overcome the
other’s defenses,
and a stalemate
quickly developed.
As the war
dragged on in
Europe, President
Wilson urged
Americans to
remain neutral.
• The United States had a long
tradition of staying out of
European conflicts.
• Yet one third of Americans
had been born in a foreign
country and still identified
with their homelands.
Many Americans favored
one side or the other.
U.S. public opinion fell into three main groups.
Isolationists
favored staying out of the
war
Interventionists
favored fighting on the
Allies’ side
Internationalists
wanted the United States
to play a role for peace but
not fight
Early in the war,
the British navy
had set up a
blockade of
Germany.
•
Britain’s goal was to intercept
contraband goods.
•
In defiance of international
law, Britain also prevented
noncontraband goods, such as
food and gasoline, from
reaching Germany.
Germany responded by trying
to blockade Britain.
The German embassy published this notice
in American newspapers:
Travelers intending to embark
on the Atlantic voyage are
reminded that a state of war
exists between Germany and
her allies and Great Britain and
her allies…travelers sailing in
the war zone on ships of Great
Britain or her allies do so at
their own risk.
German U-boats
torpedoed ships
bound for
Britain.
On May 7, 1915,
a U-boat sank the
British passenger
ship Lusitania off
the coast of Ireland,
killing many
Americans.
Americans were angry about the Lusitania.
Germany failed to keep its promise to
not sink any more passenger ships.
•
President Wilson still
wanted peace, but he
began to prepare for
the possibility of war.
•
In 1916, Congress
expanded the army and
authorized more
warships.
Two events in 1917 led President Wilson
to ask Congress to declare war on
the Central Powers.
•
The Zimmermann note was intercepted. In
this telegram, Germany tried to forge an
alliance with Mexico against the United States.
•
Germany returned to a policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare, sinking any ship headed
for Britain.
POLITICAL
CARTOON ON
THE
ZIMMERMAN
NOTE
On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to
declare war against Germany, saying, “The
world must be made safe for democracy.”
Congress responded with a declaration of
war on April 6, 1917, and the United
States entered World War I.
Home Front in World War I
Objectives
• Analyze how the American government
mobilized the public to support the war effort.
• Describe opposition to World War I.
• Outline significant social changes that occurred
during World War I.
Terms and People
• Selective Service Act – law that established a
military draft in 1917
• Bernard Baruch – head of the War Industries
Board, which regulated businesses related to the
war effort
• Committee on Public Information (CPI) –
government agency created during World War I to
encourage Americans to support the war
• George Creel – director of the CPI
Terms and People (continued)
• conscientious objector – person whose moral or
religious views forbid participation in war
• Espionage Act – act passed in 1917 enacting
severe penalties for anyone engaged in disloyal or
treasonable activities
• Great Migration – movement of African Americans
in the twentieth century from the rural South to the
industrial North
How did World War I affect
Americans at home?
The war permanently changed Americans’
relationship with their government. The
federal government played a major role in
Americans’ daily lives, taking on new powers
to regulate industry, draft soldiers, and shape
public opinion.
The war required sacrifice, but it also brought
new opportunities.
In 1917, the United States needed to
increase the size of its army.
•
President Wilson called for
volunteers.
•
Congress passed the
Selective Service Act.
•
More than 4 million U.S.
soldiers were sent to Europe.
MAY 1, 1917 - ARMY EXPANSION ACT
•FROM 200,000 TO 4,791,172 IN ARMED FORCES
•32 NEW CANTONMENTS AND CAMPS BUILT FOR
40,000 SOLDIERS EACH AT A COST OF $262M.
(PANAMA CANAL COST $375M.)
•2,800,000 DRAFTED - SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT
MAY 19
•42 DIVISIONS SENT TO FRANCE - 2,084,000 MEN
CAMP KEARNEY FREMONT, CA
SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT MAY 18, 1917
REQUIRED ALL MALES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 21-30
(LATER CHANGED TO 18-45) TO REGISTER FOR THE
DRAFT
ABOUT 24 MILLION MEN REGISTERED, 23% OF TOTAL
POPULATION
ABOUT 11,000 WOMEN VOLUNTEERED AS NURSES,
CLERICAL WORKERS AND TELEPHONE OPERATORS
SECRETARY OF WAR BAKER PULLED
DRAFT NUMBERS IN THE LOTTERY
DRAFTED MEN REPORTED FOR SERVICE IN
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING, COMMANDER OF
THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WWI
"ALL A
SOLDIER
NEEDS TO
KNOW IS
HOW TO
SHOOT
AND
SALUTE."
SOLDIERS LEAVING FOR FRANCE
Goodbyes
To support the new army, the federal
government took control of the economy.
• The Council of National Defense created
federal agencies to oversee food production,
fuel distribution, and railroads.
• Bernard Baruch headed the War Industries
Board (WIB), which regulated war-related
businesses.
• The Food Administration, led by Herbert
Hoover, set prices for agricultural products.
The War Industries Board encouraged factories to
increase output.
Similarly, the Food
Administration
encouraged farmers
to produce more food
to feed the soldiers.
Women entered the
workforce to help the
war effort.
WOMEN TOOK THE JOBS LEFT
BEHIND BY THE MEN
NURSES
CONTRIBUTED
TO THE WAR
EFFORT
AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS SERVED IN
SEGREGATED UNITS
HENRY JOHNSON,
LEFT, AND NEADHAM
ROBERTS, RIGHT
RECEIVED THE FRENCH
CROIX DE GUERRE, AN
AWARD CREATED TO
RECOGNIZE BRAVERY
IN THE FACE OF AN
ENEMY
ALTHOUGH AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS WERE USED
MOSTLY FOR LABOR, THE FRENCH HIRED SOME
INFANTRY THAT FOUGHT ALONGSIDE FRENCH WHITE
SOLDIERS. THESE EXPERIENCES CONTRIBUTED TO THE
SENSE OF EMPOWERMENT EXPRESSED BY THE BLACK
COMMUNITY IN THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE IN THE
1920s.
BUILDING RAILROADS IN
FRANCE
CUTTING DOWN TREES
NATIVE AMERICAN
SHIPBUILDERS IN PENNSYLVANIA
EACH STAR REPRESENTED A SON
FIGHTING IN THE WAR
The government also aimed to shape
public opinion.
• The Committee on Public information
(CPI) encouraged public support for the war.
• The CPI, headed by George Creel, distributed
millions of pamphlets and sent out thousands
of press releases and speakers.
• CPI materials outlined U.S. and Allied goals
and stressed the enemy’s cruelty.
COMMITTEE FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION:
CREATED BY PRESIDENT WILSON TO SPREAD
PRO-WAR PROPAGANDA
LED BY
JOURNALIST
GEORGE CREEL
Part of the CPI
effort involved
speeches made on
behalf of the war
effort by these socalled 4 minute
men. In order to
persuade or sell the
war. George Creel
organized the
“Four Minute
Men,” a virtual
army of volunteers
who gave brief
speeches wherever
they could get an
audience—in movie
theaters,
churches ...
WAR PROPAGANDA POSTERS
EXAMPLES OF ANTI-GERMAN
SENTIMENT DURING WWI
•MANY AMERICAN SCHOOLS STOPPED OFFERING
INSTRUCTION IN THE GERMAN LANGUAGE.
•CALIFORNIA'S STATE EDUCATION BOARD CALLED
GERMAN A LANGUAGE OF "AUTOCRACY, BRUTALITY, AND
HATRED”.
•SAUERKRAUT BECAME "LIBERTY CABBAGE"
•SALOONKEEPERS REMOVED PRETZELS FROM THE BAR
•ORCHESTRAL WORKS BY BACH, BEETHOVEN, AND BRAHMS
VANISHED FROM MUSIC PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THAT OF
THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
•MANY GERMAN AMERICANS WERE BADGERED, BEATEN,
AND SOMETIMES KILLED.
Not all Americans supported the war.
The draft was
controversial,
and some men
refused to
register for it.
Conscientious
objectors were
supposed to be exempt
from the draft.
In practice, however,
this exemption was
widely ignored by local
draft boards.
Some women also opposed the war.
Jeannette Rankin, a pacifist and the only
woman in Congress, voted against the war.
Jane Addams formed the Women’s Peace Party
and the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom.
The government passed laws to
discourage dissent.
• The 1917 Espionage Act gave postal
authorities power to ban newspapers or other
printed materials that could incite treason.
• In 1918, the Sedition Act outlawed speech that
went against the government or the military.
• Congress enacted laws that imposed heavy fines
and prison terms on anyone who interfered with
the war effort.
War enthusiasm created by the CPI sometimes
caused a backlash against German Americans.
• Some schools stopped teaching the
German language.
• People stopped listening to music by
German composers.
• They called hamburgers “liberty steaks”
and dachshunds “liberty pups.”
Occasionally, hatred of the German enemy
boiled over into violence against German Americans.
The war effort presented new opportunities
to individuals, including African Americans.
• Altogether, 367,000
African Americans served
in the military.
• In the Great Migration,
more than a million
African Americans moved
north, hoping to escape
poverty and Jim Crow
laws and find better jobs.
Women embraced the opportunities that
became available during the war.
Women filled
jobs that were
vacated by
men and
participated in
the war effort.
Examples of jobs filled
by women:
• doctors
• nurses
• ambulance drivers
• clerks
• telegraph operators
• farm laborers
By proving that they could succeed in any type
of job, women convinced President Wilson to
support their demand to vote.
American Involvement in
World War I
Objectives
•
Understand how the United States military
contributed to the Allied victory in the war.
•
Describe the aims of the Fourteen Points.
•
Analyze the decisions made at the Paris Peace
Conference.
•
Explain why the United States Senate refused
to ratify the treaty ending World War I.
Terms and People
•
convoy – group of ships that traveled together
for protection against German U-boats
•
Vladimir Lenin – radical communist leader who
took over Russia in March 1917
•
John J. Pershing – General who led American
forces in Europe
•
Fourteen Points – Wilson’s plan for lasting peace
through international openness and cooperation
•
self-determination – the right of people to
choose their own form of government
Terms and People (continued)
•
League of Nations – world organization to
promote peaceful cooperation between countries
•
Henry Cabot Lodge – Republican Senator who
opposed ratification of the Treaty of Versailles
•
reparations – payments for war damages
•
“irreconcilables” – Senate isolationists who
opposed any treaty that included a League of
Nations
•
“reservationists” – Senators who opposed the
Treaty of Versailles as written but were open to
compromise
How did Americans affect the end of
World War I and its peace settlements?
When the United States entered World War I in
the spring of 1917, the war was at a deadly,
bloody stalemate along the Western Front.
The American entry into the war would play a
key role in the Allied victory.
When the United States entered the war in 1917,
Germany increased U-boat attacks, hoping to win the
war before American troops could make a difference.
Convoys of British and American ships, protected
by warships, provided better safety at sea.
Several factors gave the Central Powers an
advantage on land.
•
The Allies were exhausted from years of fighting.
•
Russia was torn apart by revolutions at home.
•
Communists gained control of Russia, and their
leader Vladimir Lenin signed a treaty with Germany
in 1918, ending Russian involvement in the war.
•
The closing of the Eastern Front allowed Germany to
send more troops to the Western Front.
In the spring of 1918, Germany began an all-out
offensive on the Western Front.
The attacks
threatened to
break through
Allied defenses
and open
a path to Paris.
More American
soldiers began
to arrive, and
U.S. troops
carried more of
the burden of
fighting.
General John J. Pershing turned millions of
untrained American men into soldiers,
and then led them in France.
•
The arrival of American soldiers gave the
Allies a military advantage.
•
They fought bravely in many battles.
•
By the end of the war, 1.3 million
Americans had served at the front.
More than 50,000 of them died.
By the fall of 1918, the German front
was collapsing.
Many German and Austro-Hungarian soldiers
deserted, mutinied, or simply refused to fight.
On November 11, 1918, Germany surrendered
to the Allies in Compiegne, France.
The war took a huge toll on those involved.
•
Nearly 5 million Allied
soldiers and 8 million
Central Powers soldiers
were killed in the fighting.
•
In addition, 6.5 million
civilians died during the
conflict.
Following two and a half years of pro-Allied "neutrality," the
United States entered World War I because of economic and
cultural factors, as well as German submarine warfare. The
armies and civilians of Europe had already suffered mightily
by the time the United States finally entered. American
forces, initially at sea and then on land, provided the
margin of victory for the Allies. To mount its total effort, the
United States turned to an array of unprecedented
measures: sharply graduated taxes, conscription for a
foreign war, bureaucratic management of the economy, and
a massive propaganda and anti-sedition campaign. Women
entered the work force in record numbers, and the hopes of
African Americans were raised by military service and warrelated jobs in the North. President Woodrow Wilson
formulated American war aims in his famous Fourteen
Points, but he was unable to convince either Europe or the
United States fully to accept his tenets as the basis for
peace. By 1920, the American people, tired from nearly
three decades of turmoil, had repudiated Wilson's precious
League of Nations in favor of an illusion called "normalcy."
The Fourteen Points
• In a speech to Congress before the war ended, President Wilson outlined a
vision of a “just and lasting peace.”
• His plan was called the Fourteen Points, and among its ideas were
—Open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, the removal of trade barriers, and
the reduction of military arms
—A fair system to resolve disputes over colonies
—Self-determination, or the right of people to decide their own political
status and form their own nations
—Establishing a League of Nations, or an organization of countries working
together to settle disputes, protect democracy, and prevent future wars
• The Fourteen Points expressed a new philosophy that applied progressivism to
U.S. foreign policy.
• The Fourteen Points declared that foreign policy should be based on morality,
not just on what’s best for the nation.
In early 1919, President Wilson
traveled to Versailles, France for
a peace conference.
•
He met with European leaders and
presented a plan for peace based on
his Fourteen Points.
•
Wilson’s vision of a postwar world
was grounded in the idea of “peace
without victory.”
The Paris Peace Conference
• President Wilson led American negotiators attending the peace conference
in Paris in January 1919.
– His attendance of the Paris Peace Conference made him the first U.S.
President to visit Europe while in office.
– Republicans criticized Wilson for leaving the country when it was trying
to restore its economy.
• Wilson’s dream of international peace, though, required him to attend the
conference as a fair and unbiased leader to prevent squabbling among
European nations.
• The Paris Peace Conference began on January 12, 1919, with leaders
representing 32 nations, or about three-quarters of the world’s population.
• The leaders of the victorious Allies—President Wilson, British Prime
Minister David Lloyd George, French premier Georges Clemenceau, and
Italian prime minister Vittorio Orlando—became known as the Big Four.
• Germany and the Central Powers were not invited to attend.
The delegates arrived at the
Conflicting Needs at the Peace Conference
Peace Conference with
competing needs and desires.
Better World
• President Wilson had
a vision of a better
world.
• He wanted nations to
deal with each other
openly and trade
with each other
fairly.
• Wanted countries to
reduce their arsenal
of weapons
Revenge
• Many Allies
wanted to punish
Germany for its
role in the war.
• Georges
Clemenceau
accused Germany
of tyrannical
conduct,
exemplified by the
huge loss of life
and the continued
suffering of
veterans.
Independence
• Leaders of
Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia
wanted to build
new nations.
• Poland, divided
between
Germany and
Russia, wanted
one nation.
• Ho Chi Minh
worked at the
Paris Ritz hotel
and asked France
to free Vietnam.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points made specific
proposals to promote future peace.
•
Practice open
diplomacy.
•
Allow freedom of
the seas.
•
Encourage free trade.
•
Reduce arms
stockpiles.
•
Scale back colonialism.
•
Encourage
self-determination of
nations.
•
Establish a League of
Nations.
However, Allied leaders at Versailles wanted
reparations from Germany.
• European leaders did not share Wilson’s vision of
peace without victory.
• They wanted Germany to pay for war damages.
• They also wanted to protect European colonialism
and expand their countries’ territories.
One by one, Wilson’s Fourteen Points were
rejected, leaving only the League of Nations.
•
The League of Nations was an organization
where countries could come together to
resolve disputes peacefully.
•
Wilson’s proposal to create a League of Nations
was added to the Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of Versailles redrew the map of
Europe and broke up the Ottoman Empire.
• The Senate and the League of Nations
– to pacify American opponents, Wilson
persuaded the Great Powers to exclude
“domestic questions,” such as tariff and
immigration policies and the Monroe
Doctrine from the purview of the League; but
this did not ensure its acceptance with
Americans
– Senate Republicans split into three antiLeague camps
– the “irreconcilables” rejected League
membership on any terms
– “mild reservationists” backed membership,
subject to minor revisions of League’s charter
– the majority Republican opposition, the
“strong reservationists” led by Henry Cabot
Lodge of Massachusetts, would accept the
League only if American sovereignty were
fully protected
– Wilson refused to yield any ground and
undertook a nationwide speaking tour to rally
support for the treaty
– at Pueblo, Colorado, Wilson collapsed and
had to return to Washington
– Wilson rejected all compromise, and the
Senate rejected the Treaty
• Demobilization
– almost immediately after signing the
Armistice, the government removed its
economic controls, blithely assuming that
the economy could readjust itself without
direction
– millions of men were demobilized rapidly
– these swift and unregulated changes in the
economy soon created problems
– inflation spiraled; by 1920 the cost of living
stood at twice the level of 1913
– during 1919, one out of five employees
engaged in strike actions
– then came a precipitous economic decline;
between July 1920 and March 1922, prices
fell and unemployment surged
The Red Scare
– labor unrest, fear of Bolshevism, failure to
distinguish between unions and
communism, economic flux, and the
xenophobic tenor of wartime propaganda
fostered near hysteria in postwar America
and led to the phenomenon known as the
Red Scare
– in January 1920, Attorney General A.
Mitchell Palmer organized a series of raids
against radicals
– of the more than 6,000 “radical” foreigners
seized, only 556 proved liable to deportation
– When the massive uprising that Palmer
predicted for May Day 1920 failed to
materialize, the Red Scare swiftly subsided
The Impact of World War I
Political
•
The war led to the
overthrow of
monarchies in
Russia, AustriaHungary, Germany,
and Turkey.
•
It contributed to the
rise of the Bolsheviks
to power in Russia in
1917.
•
It fanned the flames
of revolts against
colonialism in the
Middle East and
Southeast Asia.
Economic
• WWI devastated
European
economies, giving
the U.S. the
economic lead.
• The U.S. still faced
problems such as
inflation, which left
people struggling
to afford ordinary
items.
• Farmers, whose
goods were less in
demand than
during the war,
were hit hard.
Social
• The war killed 14
million people and
left 7 million men
disabled.
• The war drew
more than a
million women into
the U.S. workforce,
which helped them
pass the
Nineteenth
Amendment to get
the vote.
• It also encouraged
African Americans
to move to
northern cities for
factory work.
Impact in Europe
•
•
•
The effects of World War I in Europe were devastating.
– European nations lost almost an entire generation of young men.
– France, where most of the fighting took place, was in ruins.
– Great Britain was deeply in debt to the U.S. and lost its place as the
world’s financial center.
– The reparations forced on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were
crippling to its economy.
World War I would not be the “war to end all wars,” as some called it.
– Too many issues were left unresolved.
– Too much anger and hostility remained among nations.
Within a generation, conflict would again break out in Europe, bringing the
United States and the world back into war.
THE FLU EPIDEMIC
 In the fall of 1918, the
United States suffered a
home-front crises when a flu
epidemic affected 25% of the
population
 Mines shut down,
telephone service was cut in
half, factory work was
delayed
 Cities ran short on coffins
while corpses lay unburied
for as long as a week
Seattle, like many other places,
became a masked city. All police
wore them, as shown in this
photo from "The Great
Influenza"
 The epidemic killed as
many as 500,000 in the U.S.
before it disappeared in 1919
 Worldwide the epidemic
killed 30 million people
WILSON FIGHTS FOR
PEACE
 Despite the hero’s welcome he
received in Europe, Wilson’s plan for
peace would be rejected by the Allies
 Wilson’s plan was called the
“Fourteen points”
 Included in his “points” were:
 No secret treaties
 Freedom of the Seas
 More free trade
 Reduction of arms
 Less colonialism
 League of Nations to promote peace
Wilson’s
14 points
in his own
short
hand
ALLIES REJECT WILSON”S
PLAN, SIGN TREATY
 The Big Four leaders, Wilson
(U.S.), Clemenceau (France),
Lloyd George (England), and
Orlando (Italy), worked out the
Treaty’s details
 Wilson conceded on most of
his 14 points in return for the
establishment of the League of
Nations
 On June 28, 1919, the Big
Four and the leaders of the
defeated nations gathered in
the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
and signed the Treaty of
Versailles
Hall of Mirrors
TREATY OF VERSAILLES
The Treaty established
nine new nations
including;
 Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and Yugoslavia
 The Treaty broke up the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
and the Ottoman Empire
empires
 The Treaty barred
Germany from maintaining
an army, required them to
give Alsace-Lorraine back
to France, and forced
them to pay $33 billion in
reparations to the Allies
The Big Four met at
Versailles
THE WEAKNESS OF THE
TREATY
The harsh treatment of
Germany prevented the
Treaty from creating a
lasting peace in Europe
 The Treaty humiliated
the Germans by forcing
them to admit sole
responsibility for the war
(War-Guilt Clause)
 Furthermore, Germany
would never be able to pay
$33 billion in reparations
Germans felt the Versailles
Treaty was unfair
DEBATE OVER TREATY AT
HOME
 In the United States, the
Treaty was hotly debated
especially the League of
Nations
 Conservative senators,
headed by Henry Cabot Lodge,
were suspicious of the
Leagues’ joint economic and
military commitments
 Many wanted the U.S.
Congress to maintain the right
to declare war
 Ultimately, Congress
rejected U.S. involvement in
the very League the U.S.
President had created
The U.S. never did join the league
THE LEGACY OF WWI

At home, the war strengthened
both the military and the power of
the government
 The propaganda campaign
provoked powerful fears in society
 For many countries the war
created political instability and
violence that lasted for years
 Russia established the first
Communist state during the war
WWI 1914-1918
22 million dead, more than half civilians. An
additional 20 million wounded.
 Americans called World War I,
“The War to end all Wars” --however unresolved issues would
eventually drag the U.S. into an
even deadlier conflict
Wilson returned to face a hostile isolationist
Senate, where two groups opposed the treaty.
•
The “reservationists,” led by Henry
Cabot Lodge, opposed the treaty as
written. They thought parts were vague
and may lead the U.S. to war without
consent of Congress. However, they
were willing to negotiate changes.
•
The “irreconcilables” were
isolationists who opposed the League of
Nations and any treaty that entangled
the United States in world politics.
Wilson was unwilling to compromise on the treaty.
• On a speaking tour to
promote the League of
Nations in September 1919,
Wilson became ill and suffered
a stroke.
• As he lay near death, the
Senate voted, refusing to
ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
Without full American support the League of Nations
was unable to maintain peace among nations.
Effects of World War I in the
United States
Objectives
•
Describe the problems Americans faced
immediately after the war.
•
Analyze how these problems contributed to
the Red Scare.
•
Understand how the war changed America’s
role in world affairs.
Terms and People
•
influenza – the flu virus
•
inflation – rising prices
•
Red Scare – widespread fear of radicals and
communists
•
Palmer Raids – a series of raids, arrests, and
deportations of suspected radicals, most of whom
never received a trial
Terms and People (continued)
•
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti –
Italian anarchists convicted and executed for
murder despite scarce evidence against them
•
Warren G. Harding – elected president in 1920
by promising Americans a “return to normalcy”
•
creditor nation – a nation that lends more
money than it borrows
What political, economic, and social
effects did World War I have on the
United States?
The Treaty of Versailles produced an unstable
peace. Its harsh terms left Germany with a
strong desire for revenge, while Soviet Russia
threatened revolution throughout the
industrial world.
In the United States, the horrors of the war
and the fear of radicals led people to question
the nation’s role in the world.
The transition to peace was made more difficult by
a deadly influenza pandemic that began in 1918.
The flu killed 550,000
Americans and more
than 50 million people
around the world.
Economic troubles also caused problems in
the United States.
•
A recession, or economic slowdown, occurred
after the war.
•
Many women and African Americans lost their
jobs to returning soldiers.
•
Tension over jobs and housing led to race riots
in some cities.
•
Scarcity of consumer goods and high demand
caused inflation, or rising prices.
Because rising prices made it
harder to make ends meet, inflation
caused labor unrest.
•
Many unions went on strike for higher pay and
shorter workdays.
•
In 1919, more than 4 million workers went on strike.
•
The workers succeeded in some strikes, but lost far
more. Some strikes turned violent.
Several events
combined to
create the first
Red Scare in the
United States.
•
Violent strikes
•
The emergence of the
Soviet Union as a
communist country
•
A series of mail
bombs targeting
industrialists and
government officials
One mail bomb was sent to Attorney
General A. Mitchell Palmer, who launched
the Palmer Raids in 1920.
•
Police arrested thousands of people.
•
Some were radicals; others were simply immigrants.
•
Hundreds of people were deported without a trial.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
formed in 1920 to protect people’s rights and liberties.
Another example of the Red Scare was the trail of
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. They
were Italian anarchists charged with committing
murder during a robbery in Massachusetts.
•
Witnesses claimed the robbers
“looked Italian.”
•
Despite little real evidence against
them, Sacco and Vanzetti were
convicted and executed.
Many scholars and politicians believed that the
men died because of their nationality and
political beliefs.
• The Presidential Election of 1920
– the Democrats nominated James A. Cox of Ohio,
who favored membership in the League
– the Republican nominee, Warren G. Harding, also
of Ohio, equivocated on the issue, despite his
Senate record as a strong reservationist
– Harding’s smashing victory over Cox signaled more
than America’s rejection of the League
– The voters’ response to Harding’s call for a return
to “normalcy” suggested that Americans sought an
end to the period of agitation and reform that had
begun with Theodore Roosevelt
In the 1920 presidential election, Republican
Warren G. Harding based his campaign
on a call for “normalcy,” a return to
a simpler time before President Wilson.
•
Voters rejected President
Wilson’s idealism and view of
America’s role in the world.
•
Harding won the election in a
landslide.
•
Republicans also won control
of Congress.
Despite Harding’s desire to go back to earlier
times, it became clear that a new world order
had emerged.
• The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires no
longer existed. Germany and Russia had new forms
of government. Other nations were weakened.
• Meanwhile, the United States was strong, confident,
and prosperous. It became the world’s economic
center and largest creditor nation.
America would wrestle with its relationship
with the world in years to come.
Chapter Summary
Section 1: From Neutrality to War
• In 1914, war erupted in Europe. The conflict became a
bloody stalemate fought along mud-filled trenches. The
United States initially tried to remain neutral but eventually
joined the war on the side of Britain and France.
Section 2: The Home Front
• For the first time, the American economy was managed by
the government. The war created opportunities for women
and minorities. African Americans migrated to northern cities
and women finally got the vote.
Chapter Summary (continued)
Section 3: Wilson, War, and Peace
• President Wilson proposed a 14-point peace plan, but his
Allied counterparts sought revenge and reparations. Wilson
compromised on every point except his plan for a League of
Nations. In the end, the U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of
Versailles.
Section 4: Effects of the War
• The war was followed by a terrible influenza epidemic, an
economic recession, and inflation that led to labor strikes and
a Red Scare. By 1920, Americans were ready for a “return to
normalcy” and elected Warren G. Harding president.