Post on 22-Feb-2016
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The Coming War Web of alliances
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy France, Great Britain, Russia
Imperial ambitions Nationalism
Balkans Militarism
Perils of Neutrality Wilson urges Americans to be neutral “in
thought as well as action” Whose side are we on?
Support for GB: ancestry, language, schoolbooks Support for Germany: ancestry, Irish hope
But Wilson’s hope for an international system required a weakened Germany
Neutrality was impossible because of both sides British blockade Germany’s unrestricted sub warfare
National Security League Bankers and industrialists promotes arms
buildup and military training; holds parades
Woman’s Peace Party Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt The war took away from progressive
reforms Sec. of War William J. Bryan resigns
after the Lusitania and Wilson’s demanding an end to unrestricted sub warfare
$ undermines neutrality Treasury Sec. William McAdoo warned
Wilson that sales to GB were essential to our economic well-being
the neutrality principle must not “stand in the way of our national interests” – Sec. of State Lansing
Morgan’s bank lent $500 million to the British and French
By 1917 U.S. banks had lent $2.3 billion to the Allies; $27 million to Germany
The U.S. is kept out of the war until 1917
The issue dominated the election of 1916, but Wilson had “kept us out of war”
“We didn’t go to war.” was the campaign theme
The U.S. enters the war Facing a stalemate on the ground,
Germany steps up U-boat attacks U.S. cuts off diplomatic relations in Feb. Zimmerman telegram emerges Russian revolution in March, with
Kerensky establishing a liberal provisional govt. (we can support that)
April 2, 1917: U.S. declares war to “keep the world safe for democracy”
Why? German attacks on American
shipping: violation of neutrality and freedom of the seas
U.S. economic investment in the Allied cause
American cultural links to the Allies, especially England are stronger and more entrenched
Mobilizing for the War U.S. will ultimately benefit from
the following: We were in the war for only 19
months Europe had four years
Our casualty rate was 8% Our allies was 70%
No fighting occurred here France, Belgium and Russia brutally
scarred
Raising, Training, and Testing an Army America’s military is weak at the
beginning 120,000 soldiers; 80,000 National Guard
Selective Service Act of 1917 All men 21-30 (later 18-45) to report to
local draft boards By 1918 24 million had registered and
nearly 3 million were drafted Once in the military the army sought
to education the whole soldier
The Commission on Training Camp Activities
Military test of recruits IQ test endorsed by the APA High percent of “morons” Tests revealed recruits lacked
formal training and reinforced stereotypes
WWI training camps reinforced moral-control reforms
Native Americans served in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in integrated units
More than 260,000 African Americans volunteered, with 50,000 serving in France Racism was pervasive in the U.S.
military U.S. soldiers encouraged French
soldiers to mistreat black soldiers
Organizing the Economy for War War leads to unprecedented
government involvement in the economy
The Council for National Defense sets up the War Industries Board (headed by Bernard Baruch) Coordinates military purchasing Ensures production efficiency Provides weapons, equipment, and
supplies
Food Administration (headed by Herbert Hoover), Fuel Administration, Railroad Administration were prime examples
Regulatory agencies relied on voluntary cooperation reinforced by official pressure and propaganda
Woman’s Land Army recruited women to replace male farm workers
To help corporate America’s perception, corporate execs ran the agencies, factory owners distributed wartime propaganda, and trade associations coordinated war production
U.S. Military U.S. efforts were headed by John
J. Pershing Eventually 2 million American’s
serve in France The U.S. insisted that our
soldiers serve in separate units This was for military and political
reasons We wanted to be at the peace
table when it was all said and done
Advertising the War Five government bond drives
(Liberty Loans) raised 2/3 of the $35.5 billion the war cost
Taxes: 16th Amendment helped; wartime taxes reached 70%
George Creel headed the Committee on Public Information Foreign language pamphlets, Four-
Minute Men
Wartime Intolerance and Dissent
65,000 register as conscientious objectors 21,000 were drafted Eugene Debs and others claim the war is a
capitalist plot 2.4-3.6 million men fail to register 12% of those who register did not appear
when drafted or desert from training camp Draft resistance was highest in the South
Suppressing Dissent by Law Espionage Act: set stiff fines and prison
sentences for a variety of loosely defined war activities
Sedition Amendment: heavy penalties for using “disloyal, profane . . “
1,500 pacifists, socialists, IWW leaders arrested
American Protective League and local “Councils of Defense” enforce conformity
Schenck v. United States: “clear and present danger” and yelling fire in a crowded theater
Boom Times in Industry and Ag.
Factory output grows by more than 1/3 Civilian workforce expands by 1.3
million Wage increases up to 20% Samuel Gompers calls for workers not
to strike (most abide) Farmers profit due to relief efforts and
European devastation
Black Migrate Northward 500,000 African Americans move north
during the war years African-American newspapers like the
Chicago Defender spreads the word about jobs, opportunities
They bring with them cultural elements- especially jazz and the church
Lays the groundwork for the Harlem Renaissance
White workers resent the competition
Women in Wartime “Out of repression into opportunity is the
meaning of the war to thousands of women”
House and Senate, then the states ratify the Nineteenth Amendment
War Dept. refused to grant military rank or benefits to women who joined
However, by 1920 the % of women in the workforce was lower than in 1910
1918 Influenza Epidemic Killed as many as 30 million
worldwide Total U.S. death toll was around
550,000 (6X the total of AEF battle deaths)
War and Progressivism War did strengthen the moral-
control aspect of progressivism (prohibition and prostitution) Anti-alcohol was seen as anti-
German and a patriotic move towards conservation of resources
Military closed brothels near bases and est. an advertising campaign
Commission on Training Camp Activities hired 60 women to lecture women to uphold standards
WLB encouraged businesses to introduce the 8-hr. workday, end child labor, provide worker-compensation benefits, and to open their plants to safety and sanitation inspectors
The war’s long-term effect was to weaken the progressive social-justice impulse