Becoming a World Power
- Early 1900s - US had a more vigorous and agressive foreign policy
- “Progressive Diplomacy” - led to the US becoming a large world power
Roosevelt: The Big Stick
- Roosevelt believed in superiority of Protestant Anglo-Americans
- Felt that US must be militarily strong
- “Speak softly and carry a big stick”
- “Planned” revolt against Columbia after turned down on Panama Canal building
- US gets control of Canal Zone & gains immense strategic & commercial advantage
- Sends in an “international police” force to keep Europeans out
- 1899 - John Hay gets open door trading in China
- Roosevelt gets Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating Russo-Japanese war in 1905
Taft: Dollar Diplomacy
- “Substitute dollars for bullets” - Taft wanted to limit the military’s involvement
- Ended up needing military support in Honduras & Nicaragua
- Taft gained more investment opportunities for the US in China
- Tried to “neutralize” Chinese industry, but this backfired = closed door in China
Wilson: Moralism & Realism
- Wilson felt foreign investments & industrial exports = keys to national prosperity
- Remove trade barriers
- Mexican Revolution (1911) brings fear to US investors of democratic leader F. Madero
- Madero murdered & militarist govt. takes over
- US supports nationalists & invade
- Carranza (nationalist) takes over govt.
-“Pancho” Villa attempts to overthrow govt but fails; wants to get US into Mexican war
- US attempts to capture him after raids into the US
- Attempts fail
The Great War
- Both sides predicted a quick victory
- Americans entered the war reluctantly, and played a supportive role
The Guns of August
- Two teams:
- Triple Alliance (Germany, Austro-Hungary & Italy)
- Triple Entente (Britain, France & Russia)
- Archduke Ferdinand of Austria killed & war breaks out
- Germany invades Belgium & prepares to invade France
- 5,000,000 ppl + killed over 2 and a half years in N. France
American Neutrality
- Impossible to stay neutral, due to too many interest groups - immigrants, etc
- Began trade ‘solely’ with the allies
- British blockade Germany & US doesn’t complain
- US economic boom from all the trade with the Allies
Preparedness and Peace
- Feb 1915 - Germans begin sinking all boats around Britain with submarines
- May 1915 - German U-Boat sinks British Liner Lusitania & kills 128 Americans
- Germans temporarily cease their attacks after Wilson threatens to break off relations
- US passes National Defence Act to increase army size
- Met with much opposition (Women’s World Peace Movt.)
- Wilson wins next election (1916) on Anti-War Premise
- Democrats win using the slogan “He kept us out of War”
Safe for Democracy
- More sinking of US ships by U-Boats leads to US entrance into war & proposed
- US intercepts a German note suggesting an alliance with Mexico against the US
- Leads to hugely increased war support
- Apr 2, 1917: Congress approves declaration of war
American Mobilization
- Although newspapers, religious leaders, and state legislatures were enthusiastic, Wilson was still unsure how ordinary Americans would react
Selling the War
- Committee of Public Information (CPI) formed to promote the war
- Employed more than 150,000 people
- Created more than 100 million pieces of Pro-war literature
- CPI recruited popular movie stars to make the war attractive
- CPI used three main themes in their pro-war pitches:
- America as a unified moral community
- War was an idealistic crusade for peace and freedom
- Displayed the image of a despicable enemy
- CPI urged ethnic Americans to lose their ties to the Old World - be “unhyphenated”
Fading Opposition to the War
- The War effort gained support among progressives and reformers
- Saw the potential for positive social change
- Selective Service Act: the ‘draft’ is introduced without much resistance
- War was popular among most middle-class women - gave them a chance to work
- Many hoped that through the war they would gain suffrage
“You’re in the Army Now”
- June 5, 1917 - almost 10 million men registered for the draft
- Age restrictions were loosened, and by the end of the war, 24 million had signed up
- 2 million volunteers took part in various armed services
- Standardized tests were given to recruits
- Illiteracy was as high as 25%
Racism in the Military
- Segregated units for blacks (ie: 369th US Infantry in French Army)
- Thousands of black soldiers endured humiliating treatment from white officers
- Barred from marines & coast guard
- August 1917 - Houston - black infantrymen kill 17 civilians due to racism
- Blacks were amazed to find that their treatment overseas was better than at home
Americans in Battle
- American support began by escorting convoys to safety and attacking U-Boats
- Gen. John Pershing appointed commander of the AEF (American Expeditionary Force)
- Wanted to be separate from British and French army
- Much like Ulysses S. Grant, he believed in total destruction of the enemy
- Spring 1918 - AEF soldiers help stop Germans at Chateau-Thierry & Belleau Wood
- Germans made it to within 50 miles of Paris
- Sept. 1918 - AEF takes 200 mile front in Meuse-Argonne offensive
- War ends November 11, 1918, after Germans begins to fall back
Over Here
- WWI saw the federal government play a huge role in regulating the economy
- Although much was temporary, the war started many trends in American life
Organizing the Economy
- War Industries Board (WIB) created by Wilson in 1917
- Clearinghouse for industrial mobilization to support the war effort
- Handed out $14.5 billion in payment contracts
- Food & Fuel act: President can regulate the production & distribution of food
- Food administration led by Herbert Hoover, a millionaire engineer
- Hoover put price controls on pork, sugar, wheat, and other agricultural commodities
- Bought by govt. & sold through dealers
- Hoover refused to impose mandatory rationings
- Many Americans cut back on wheat and meat, began growing own veggies, etc
- Graduated Income Tax was lowered to pay off the $30 billion + war cost
- Federal Debt jumped from $1 billion in 1915 to $20 billion in 1920
The Business of War
- War increases industrial production & job availability
- Most important long-lasting economic legacy: shift towards corporationism
- Radios used in battle immensely - this small industry soon gained ground
- Radio Corporation of America (RCA) formed (1919)
Labor and the War
- Increase in industrial labour due to the war - more jobs, and higher wages
- American Fed. Of Labour increases its membership
- Most members were skilled white males
- During the war, strict immigration guidelines were eased
- Immigration Act of 1917 - reduces illiterate Mexican immigration
- Must be literate & pay $8 head tax
- Suspended for the war’s duration because of labour shortage
- The war ended many more radical factions of the US labor movt
- Industrial Workers of the World got shut down under the Espionage Act
- Marked the beginning of a wave of political repression
Women at Work
- During the war, women filled jobs traditionally held by men who were off fighting
- Women in Industrial Service (WIS) - created by the Labor Dept
- Showed a practical stand by the govt to improve womens’ working conditions
- Womens’ wages were approximately half of what mens’ were in the same job
Woman Suffrage
- Women play a key role in war effort & want a reward
- Some Western areas adopted forms of woman suffrage earlier
- Lacked the harsh Catholic / Protestant divisions present in the east
- Nat. American Woman Suffrage Assoc. supports war effort & increasingly is supported
- Pursued their goals through moderate action - lobbying for constitutional reform
- National Woman’s Party - led by Alice Paul - radical group of reformers
- Picketed the White House and publicly burned some of Wilson’s speeches
- Aug 1920 - Women are granted the vote nation-wide
Prohibition
- Drinking was seen as the source of many working-class problems
- Women’s Christian Temperance Union - major supporter of prohibition
- Prohibition granted in 1919 - becomes source for increased organized crime
Public Health
- Govt educated soldiers in personal health & distributed condoms
- Established 5-mile “pure zones” around military bases (no hookers)
- 1918 - Division of Venereal Diseases created to educate the public, give free treatment
- Children’s Bureau created to report on special problems due to the war
- Institutionalized federal aid to protect mothers & children
- Led to the Maternity & Infancy Act (1921)
- 1918-1919 - Huge epidemic of Spanish Influenza (combination of flu and pneumonia)
- Killed 550,000 Americans in 10 months
- $1 million to the Public Health Service to combat the epidemic, but no $ to cure it
Repression & Reaction
- WWI exposed and intensified many of the deepest social tensions in American life
- Bolsheviks accomplished the first successful revolution against a capitalist state
Muzzling Dissent: The Espionage and Sedition Acts
- The Espionage Act: June 1917
- Suppression of antiwar sentiment
- Up to 20 years & $10,000 fine for aiding the enemy or causing insubordination in the armed forces
- Postmaster General could exclude any publication he considered treasonous
- After the war, the Bureau of Investigation was created to handle civilian intelligence
- The Sedition Act - Amendment to the Espionage act
- Outlawed any “disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive language…” to the govt constitution or the flag
- Eugene Debs arrested for publicly declaring his hatred of war
- Scheneck vs. United States - decided that Supreme Court can restrict freedom of speech
- Abrams vs. United States - Supreme Court upheld sedition act convictions of 4 Russians
The Great Migration & Racial Tensions
- Post-war economic opportunities create widespread black migration to northern cities
- News of jobs & urban residential districts spread throughout community groups
- Racism in the South also contributed to the migration, but was not limited to the South
- July 2, 1917: mob of Whites in St. Louis, Illinois kill 200 blacks
- July 27, 1919: Antiblack rioting on Lake Michigan beach in Chicago
- African Americans held responsible for the violence
- Crisis - Journal for the NAACP - concluded that an increase in racial hatred was an integral part of wartime intolerance
- Sought to end the widespread lynchings
Labour Strife
- After the War, “strike wave” hits - 3600 strikes in 1919, involving 4 million + people
- Return of servicemen creates job security issues
- 1919 - Seattle - a shipyard strike turns into a citywide, 60,000 ppl + strike
- Ended when the mayor asked troops to occupy the city
An Uneasy Peace
- Treaty of Versailles - formally ended World War I
- Dominated by Britain, France, Italy and the United States
The Fourteen Points
- Wilson’s blueprint for peace - Contained three main aspects:
1) Detailed post-war boundaries in Europe, addressed splitting up Austro-Hungary
2) General principles for international conduct
- Includes free seas, free trade, and open covenants
- Also addresses mediating conflicting colonial claims
3) Wilson called for the creation of a League of Nations to enforce the 14 points
- The 14 Points reflected Wilson’s long-held liberal progressive feelings
- The most controversial issue was the League of Nations
- Article X in the charter of the League called for collective security to keep peace
- This violated the American system of declaring war through Congress
Wilson in Paris
- Conference initally accepts the 14 points
- Austria, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia & Czechoslovakia made out of the beaten powers
- Compromise mandate gave British & French control of German / Turkish colonies
- Japan controls German China
- Wilson opposes war guilt, but it is still imposed on Germany
- $33 billion in reparations
- Final treaty signed on June 28, 1919 - Germans had no choice but to accept the terms
The Treaty Fight
- Wilson had neglected domestic issues & concentrated on foreign policies
- Republicans capture majority in House & Senate (1918)
- Wilson’s opponents in Senate included: “Irreconcilables” opposed to any form of treaty
Senators who had opposed entry into the war
Racist xenophobes against him as well
- Many senators dislike the League of Nations idea
- Sept 1919 - Wilson goes on a US speaking tour, but it didn’t help him politically
- Republican Henry Lodge reccommended fourteen changes to Wilson’s treaty
- Wilson instructs Democrats to vote against the Lodge version of the treaty
- Lodge version wins but not ratified
- United States never signed the Versailles Treaty or joined the League of Nations
Russian Revolution
- Bolsheviks take control of Russian govt & negotiate separate peace with Germany
- Wilson doesn’t acknowledge the Bolshevik govt
- They are a threat to liberal-capitalism, the foundation of America’s moral basis
- Aug 1918 - US troops sent to Northern Russia to keep the Russian Revolution in control
The Red Scare
- Strikes, racism, and other disturbances were increasingly blamed on Bolshevism
- 1918 - Alien Act - Enabled the government to deport anyone found to be a revolutionary
- Attorney General A. Mitchell Parker was like the first Sen. McCarthy
- Marked a huge hostility towards radicalism
Election of 1920
- Americans wanted to retreat from the social tensions and reforms having to do with war
- Wilson doesn’t run for re-election
- Warren G. Harding wins landslide
- Not a suitable president, but he called for a retreat from “Wilson Idealism”
- Voters wanted a return to normalcy from the war era; restoration, not revolution
- Eugene Debs gets 900,000 votes from jail.
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