Chapter 21 Theme Analysis

Chapter 21 Theme Analysis
America and the Great War

I. The New American Foreign Policy (“Big Stick”)
1) The new direction of American foreign policy introduced by Roosevelt.
2) Assess the changes in U.S. foreign policy between 1898 and 1919. Where had American interests changed, and where did they remain the same? Ways to define civilized or uncivilized
Roosevelt’s policy toward Asia
Roosevelt Corollary
How US gained control of Panama Canal zone
Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy What Wilson attempted to do about Pancho Villa

II. Americas Entrance into WWI
3) Why did the United States stay out of World War I between 1914 and 1917?
4) Trace the events between 1914 and 1917 that led President Woodrow Wilson to ask for a declaration of war against Germany—including the use of propaganda
Triple Entente
Triple Alliance
Causes of WWI
Wilson’s plan for America at the beginning of WWI
Lusitania, and what America demanded in response
Wilson’s mid 1916 stance on war
Zimmermann telegram
Russian Revolution
Impact of Russian Revolution

III. The Role America Played in the War
5) How had the technology of warfare changed between the American Civil War and World War I? What effects did these changes have on tactics and strategy?
How American troops were organized oversees?
Trench warfare
Results of new technology of warfare
Death rates of countries involved

IV. The Effects of the War on the American Economy
6) The economic problems the United States faced immediately after the war.
How America paid for the war?
Role and effectiveness of WIB

V. The Effects of the War on American Society
7) Trace the course of government efforts to create domestic support of the war. To what degree were these efforts justified by the war?-- During wartime, curtailment of civil liberties is justifiable, agree or disagree
8) How did World War I affect African Americans and race relations?
9) The extent of war hysteria in the United States during and after World War I.
Selective Service Act
Sabotage and Sedition Act of 1918
Results of African Americans fighting in the war
Marcus Garvey (2)
Sacco and Vanzetti

VI. Wilson’s New World Order
10) Define and analyze President Woodrow Wilson’s “New World Order.”
11) Consider idealism. Does it have a place in politics? Is it a useful notion or not?
12)Explain Woodrow Wilson’s role in the peace after World War I and the consequences of his involvement at home and abroad.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Wilson’s view of the Paris Peace Conference
Treaty of Versailles—for Americans

1. Describe how the United States organized for its role in World War I in the following areas
a. socially
b. economically
c. politically

Socially
 New roles for women including working in factories, enlisting in auxiliary branches of military
 Selective Service Act passed in May 1917 then military branches joined to create the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) o Women enlisted in auxiliary o Black soldiers served in segregated, all-black units performing menial tasks
 Pacifism made impact on the reelection of Woodrow Wilson “He Kept Us Out of War” campaign applauding his neutrality o Religious pacifists (Quakers, Mennonites, and others), intellectuals and left groups like the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World saw war as a capital battle for commercial superiority
 Great Migration of blacks from the South to fill jobs in the Northern factories

Economically
 Solicited loans from Americans by selling “Liberty Bonds” to the public
 New taxes levied o on “excess profits” of corporations o graduated income tax o inheritance tax
 Established a Council of National Defense and Civilian Advisory Commission to set up local defense councils to disperse power to local communities o didn’t function well o proposed organizing planning bodies to supervise sectors o series of “war boards” emerged to meet war needs and keep domestic needs handled
 railroads
 fuel supplies
 food
 War Industries Board (WIB) created in July 1917 to coordinate government purchases of military supplies; restructured in March 1918 and put under direction of Bernard Baruch o Decided which factories would convert to production of war materials & set prices for goods produced o Mismanagement and inefficiency plagued the agency o Success due mainly to resources and productive capacity of America
 Accomplishments o Herbert Hoover’s organization of domestic food supplies o William McAdoo success untangling railroads o Cooperative relationship between public and private sectors

Politically
 President Wilson decided for military preparedness by 1915 increasing armed forces
 Campaign of 1916 presidential candidates became one of debate over going to war or not
 In 1917 Wilson proposed a permanent league of nations for post-war world
 Committee on Public Information (CPI) directed by George Creel orchestrated a propaganda campaign to unite public opinion behind war effort
 War dissention was suppressed by the Espionage Act of 1917 expanded by Sabotage and Sedition Acts of 1918

2. Explain Woodrow Wilson’s role in the peace after World War I and the consequences of his involvement at home and abroad.

Wilson’s role
 Proposed 14 Points proposal rooted in progressivism o 8 recommendations for adjusting post-war boundaries and creating new countries to replace Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires based on self-determination o 5 principles to govern international conduct of the future
 Freedom of seas
 Open covenants not secret treaties
 Reductions in armaments
 Free trade
 Impartial mediation of colonial claims
 Proposed League of Nations to help implement principles and territorial adjustments and resolve controversies
 Wilson attended Paris Peace Conference as part of American negotiating party o Welcomed as savior to create a new and better world o Sought peace with honor for all parties

Consequences
 Britain (David Lloyd George) and France (Georges Clemenceau) wanted retribution and compensation from Germany for the war
 Allies demanded reparations from Germany
 Isolationists (irreconcilables) wanted no part of the Treaty of Versailles led by Henry Cabot Lodge
 Reservationists were willing to accept the treaty with amendments to the League covenant
 Wilson’s trip around the country seeking support for the peace agreement cost him his health
 Treaty rejected because of Wilson’s refusal to compromise on issues of debate

3. Compare and contrast the experiences of organized labor and African Americans in the years immediately following World War I. Organized labor
 GNP declined nearly 10%
 Businesses went bankrupt
 Farmers lost land
 Inflation wiped out wage gains for workers
 Returning veterans threatened job security
 12-hour workday in steel industry source of discontent
 Employers sought to rescind recognition of unions and benefits they were forced to give during war
 Strikes in 1919 number 3600 o shipyard workers in Seattle evolved into general strike where Marines were brought in to run the city o Boston police strike caused looting and violence until President Coolidge brought in the National Guard to restore order o Steelworkers in eastern and Midwestern cities walked off job demanding 8-hour day and union recognition—AFL eventually repudiated strike and it collapsed and provided setback for organized labor for more than a decade

African Americans
 Soldiers returned from war but had little impact on white attitudes in spite of their heroism in the war
 War experiences had profound impact on black attitudes; treatment at home created bitterness for lack of social rewards for their service
 Economic experiences of working blacks during war created an expectation to escape racial prejudice and provide opportunities for economic gains in North
 In 1919 an increase of lynching in the South
 Factory workers in the North were laid off when white veterans returned
 No new opportunities for black soldiers were created
 Racial violence in 1919 was found in Chicago and New York City where blacks fought back against whites encouraged by the NAACP
 Black nationalism was advocated by Marcus Garvey, rejecting assimilation into white society; launched United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) for creation of black businesses eventually encouraging moves back to Africa by 1920s

4) Analyze the causes and consequences of the Red Scare that occurred in the United States shortly after the end of World War I.

The Red Scare after World War I was an antiradicalism based on the idea of “100 percent Americanism” that blamed problems in America after World War I on immigrants and communists seen as enemies of what was American. One may compare it to the idea of nativism that festered in the late 1800s. The idea was fed by fear and sporadic violence occurred. Post World War I America sought isolation from European problems and the Red Scare was seen as evidence that America needed to keep foreigners out. Some suggested causes and consequences follow.

Causes
 Industrial warfare in strikes and racial violence
 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia that to Russia out of World War I
 Formation of the Communist International (Comintern) in 1919 to export the revolution (in Russia)
 Creation of American Communist Party in 1919 & other radical groups dominated by immigrants
 Bombings in 1919 and 1920 blamed on radical groups

Consequences
 Dissolution over death and destruction of war from returning soldiers
 Rejection of the League of Nations and Treaty of Versailles
 Palmer Raids
 Sacco and Vanzetti trial
 Passage of the 19th amendment
 Election of Warren G. Harding who promised a return to “normalcy”
 Isolationism and retreat from idealism
 Sacco and Vanzetti trial
 Passage of the 19th amendment
 Beginning of cultural changes that manifested itself in conflicts of the 1920s (elaborated on in chapter 22) o Rise of the KKK o Lost Generation literature and art

5) How did Roosevelt's "big stick" foreign policy differ from the foreign policies of Taft and Wilson? How were they similar?

In reality, the foreign policies of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson were more similar than dissimilar.
Roosevelt’s “big stick” foreign policy: Under President Roosevelt, the United States vigorously enforced the Monroe Doctrine's policy of preventing European nations from intervening in Latin American affairs by carrying a “big stick.” Roosevelt’s “big stick” foreign policy was also influenced by his attitude about the “uncivilized” nations of the world—nations that were generally Latin and nonwhite. So‐called “civilized” nations like the United States had the right and duty to intervene in the affairs of uncivilized nations in order to preserve order and stability. Thus, as an increasingly "iron‐fisted neighbor”— the United States—frequently intervened in Latin America when internal disorder or an inability to meet obligations to the international financial community seemed likely to invite intervention by others. The construction of the Panama Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was Roosevelt's most cherished accomplishment, requiring equal parts diplomatic, engineering, and military efforts in Panama and neighboring Central American countries. Taft’s foreign policy: Under President Taft, foreign policy shifted away from Roosevelt’s larger vision of world stability and to a policy that sought to extend American investments into less‐developed regions of the world. This was evident in his decision to seize the customhouses during Nicaragua’s 1909 revolution and to then offer the new government substantial loans that, in turn, increased the financial leverage of the Americans over the Nicaraguans. Two years later, when the new pro‐American Nicaraguan government faced insurrection, Taft sent troops in for protection—troops that remained for over a decade. Under President Wilson, American foreign policy became even more aggressive in Latin America. In 1915, he sent the marines to Haiti to end a revolution—troops that were not withdrawn until 1934. In 1916, he set up a military government in the Dominican Republic when they refused to accept a treaty that would have made the nation an American protectorate. He signed a treaty with Nicaragua that secured the United States right to intervene in the nation’s internal affairs in order to protect American interests. But he also differentiated himself somewhat from his two predecessors with his “moral diplomacy”—policies that brought morality into the discussion of American expansion and intervention, especially relative to Mexico. In 1913, instead of recognizing the new regime of Victoriano Huerto—who had overthrown the anti‐American leader Francisco Madero with American encouragement—as Taft had been prepared to do, Wilson declared that he would not recognize the new “government of butchers.” Consequently, America became involved in a long conflict with Mexico that began with Wilson’s support of an opposition candidate, Venustiano Carranza, continued with the United States seizure of the Mexican port of Veracruz, and culminated with the United States sending an expeditionary force into
Mexico to pursue Pancho Villa, who had led a rebel army against the newly empowered Carranza. In 1917, Wilson withdrew American forces and recognized the Carranza government. All three presidents believed in the right of the United States to intervene in Latin America for what they thought was the good of both nations. Each supported the expansion of America’s role in international affairs. Each believed that such intervention and expansion were necessary not only to assist the growth of American capitalism, but also because it was America’s duty to spread democracy and American standards of morality in other parts of the world. While the policies of all three presidents were very similar, Wilson’s “moral diplomacy” was somewhat different in regard to his actions with Mexico. He was disdainful of working with the
“butchers” of Madero and instead sought to bring to power someone who was more morally aligned with Americans, as well as inclined to protect American economic interests throughout Mexico. The foreign policies of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson were more similar than dissimilar. Each sought imperialistic and economic expansion, and believed that such actions were essential to secure America’s new role as a world power.

6) Discuss the reasons the United States entered the war and then assess the extent to which the United States achieved its officially stated objective for entering World War I. (Adapted from the 2000 A.P. United States History free‐response question)

Several reasons contributed to the United States decision to enter World War I—reasons that had little to do with the stated objective for entering the war. (1) To respond to German unrestricted submarine warfare. Submarine attacks were to be launched against America as well as Allied ships in order to cut Britain off from vital supplies. (2) To respond to the Zimmerman telegram. A telegram to the Mexican government intercepted by the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, it stated that if Germany went to war with the
United States, the Mexicans should join Germany in its fight. In return, they would receive Texas and much of the American Southwest, which were lost to Mexico in the nineteenth century. (3) Inability to remain neutral. Many Americans could not remain neutral; some sympathized with Germany and others with Britain, while many were influenced by British anti‐German propaganda. (4) Economic realities also hindered neutrality; it would be economically difficult to stop trading with Britain and France, so the United States only blockaded trade with Germany. Objective—construction of a new world order: The United States would use its entrance into the war as a way to create a new world order based upon a peace that would guarantee self‐determination for all nations. The maintenance of such peace would be provided through two vehicles: fourteen distinct principles known as the Fourteen Points, and a United States backed League of Nations. The Fourteen Points were divided into three categories: the first eight points recommended postwar boundaries for new nations that replaced the defeated Austro–Hungarian and Ottoman empires and explained the right of all people to self‐determination; five points articulated principles for governing future international conduct— freedom of the seas, open covenants, armament reductions, free trade, and impartial negotiation of colonial claims; and the final point proposed the creation of the League of Nations. The League was designed to help implement the Fourteen Points and resolve future controversies that arose among member nations. Wilson’s Fourteen Points were built solidly on his idealism for a new world order, his belief that the United States should lead such an effort, and his certainty that domestic and world opinion would support his just and moral plans for a new world order. His idealism, however, hurt his objective in several ways: his failure to understand that the British and the French would not settle for a generous peace with Germany, his unwise appeal in 1918 to the American people to elect Democrats to Congress, and his decision to exclude prominent Republicans from the negotiating team at the Paris peace conference. Thus, Wilson failed to create the new world order he envisioned. He did, however, achieve the creation of the League of Nations to oversee world affairs and prevent future wars. He also achieved some smaller victories: setting boundaries for new nations and placing former colonies under the mandate system; blocking the French proposal to break Germany into a group of smaller states; and designing two new nations—Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The reasons the United States entered the war were largely defensive in nature: to protect itself against unrestricted German submarine warfare; to respond to the dangers posed in the Zimmerman Telegram; and to act upon its favored‐nation status with the Allied Powers. The official objective for entering the war, however, had very little to do with these reasons and more to do with President Wilson’s idealistic hope to create a new world order at the war’s end. While this objective was largely unfulfilled, he did secure the creation of the League of Nations. This, too, eventually met with defeat when the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or to approve United States membership in the League.

7) While President Wilson was making the world “safe for democracy,” he was also violating civil liberties at home. Assess the validity of this statement.

At the same time the United States was fighting to create and protect the rights of those overseas, many civil liberties were being violated within the boundaries of the United States. The President’s many speeches about American involvement in the war praised United States efforts to bring democracy to the rest of the world and to protect such gains—especially through the creation of the League of Nations. Each nation’s rights would then be protected through self-determination. While the first federal effort to curtail opposition to the war occurred through the patriotic campaign orchestrated by the Committee on Public Information (CPI), the efforts of the CPI and new laws quickly legalized efforts to suppress dissent. The CPI encouraged citizens to report opposition to the war to the Justice Department; the Espionage Act created penalties for the broadly defined crimes of spying, sabotage, and obstruction of the war effort and allowed the post office to ban broadly defined “seditious” materials; the Sabotage and Sedition Acts prohibited public opposition to the war. These new laws, in turn, encouraged state and local entities, as well as ordinary citizens, to spy on their neighbors, create vigilante mobs to “discipline” dissenters (National Security
League, Boy Spies of America, American Defense Society), and organize groups of war supporters to root out disloyalty (American Protective League). Many people fell victim to such government sanctioned efforts: socialists, members of the International Workers of the World, pacifists, labor activists, and immigrants—especially those in German‐American communities. Victimization included arrests, discrimination, loss of jobs, beatings, and lynchings. The reactions of the federal, state, and local governments as well as ordinary citizens to those who opposed the war greatly imperiled the civil liberties of many Americans during the war. Unfortunately, attitudes of intolerance bred within so‐called patriotic circles extended to the post‐war years. Dissent of any nature in post‐war America was believed to be dangerous to the economic, social, and political stability of America. Consequently, the federal government again engaged in a series of actions designed to quell dissent that became known as the “Red Scare.”

8) Discuss the social, economic, and political effects World War I had on the home front.

The social, economic, and political fabric of American life was greatly altered during the First World War.
 Social effects: The lives of African Americans and women improved somewhat during the course of the war. Because the North experienced labor shortages during the war, Northern factory owners recruited African Americans from the South to work in the factories. Thus began the “Great Migration” of hundreds of thousands of black residents to the urban North—a migration that not only helped the wartime economy, but led to the growth of ethnic communities in the industrialized northern cities where blacks could experience more freedom and autonomy than in the South. More than a million women also worked in a wide range of industrial jobs. The peace movement that evolved during the war gained prominence among women’s groups, religious pacifists, Socialists, German Americans, and Irish Americans.

In order to raise funds for the war, the United States government took several avenues: soliciting loans from Americans by selling Liberty Bonds and organizing the economy to meet wartime needs. To achieve the latter, the Wilson administration created a series of “war boards” to oversee the railroads, supervise fuel supplies, and handle food; and created the War Industries Board to coordinate government purchases of military supplies. While such actions raised the necessary funds to pay for the war, they also helped major industries earn enormous profits and enhanced the private sector through mutually beneficial alliances between the government and businesses. This growth in the private sector depended on labor—and laborers often were not satisfied with the conditions under which they worked. Consequently, the federal government created the National War Labor Board to handle labor disputes. The NWLB, in turn, pressured industry to accept an eight‐hour day, equal pay for women doing equal work, and recognition of the right of unions to bargain collectively and organize. Laborers had to forgo strikes and employers had to promise not to engage in lockouts.

Government leaders turned their attention to a significant minority of people who opposed the war and who tried to unite Americans in opposition to the military effort. Consequently, the federal government launched several efforts to quell opposition. The Committee on Public Information (CPI) was designed to distribute pro‐war literature, to encourage reporters to exercise self-censorship in reports about the war, and to urge citizens to notify the Justice Department if they learned about those who opposed or belittled the American war effort. The Espionage Act created stiff penalties for broadly defined efforts such as spying, sabotage, or obstructing the war effort; and empowered the post office to ban “seditious” materials. The Sabotage Act and the Sedition Act made illegal any public expression opposing the war, thus allowing the government to prosecute anyone who criticized the government or the president. During the war, African Americans and women experienced significant social and economic betterment; the American economy witnessed remarkable growth; and the federal government exercised considerable powers to quell wartime dissent. After the war, social advances for African Americans and women greatly declined. The economic and political changes that occurred during the war continued to characterize American life for only a few years after the war; by late 1920, the economic bubble burst and a postwar recession began. Finally, the political harassment as well as violence expressed towards American dissenters during the war continued to flourish after the war.