1 / 23

The Coming War

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?

ziya
Download Presentation

The Coming War

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Coming War • Web of alliances • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy • France, Great Britain, Russia • Imperial ambitions • Nationalism • Balkans • Militarism

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. $ 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

  5. 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

  6. 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”

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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

  21. 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)

  22. 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

  23. 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

More Related