Becoming a World Power
· In the beginning of the new century, the US began a more vigorous foreign policy
o Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson all contributed to progressive diplomacy, in which commercial expansion was backed by a military presence in the Caribbean, Asia, and Mexico
· This type of policy reflected a view that stressed moralism, order, and a special, God-given, role for the US
Roosevelt: The Big Stick
· Roosevelt left a strong imprint on the nation’s foreign policy and like many, took for granted the superiority of Protestant white culture and believed that to maintain and increase in economic and political stature, the US had to be militarily strong
o “I have always been fond of the West African proverb, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far’”
· Panama Canal
o Creating the Panama Canal, where others had failed, was a top priority for Roosevelt, and he worked hard to negotiate with Colombia
o When the Colombian Senate rejected all US offers in 1903, Roosevelt got mad
§ With a combination of native forces and foreign promoters, a revolt was planned against Colombia
o On November 3, 1903, the USS Nashville arrived in Colon harbor and the province of Panama declared independence
§ The US immediately rocognixed the new Republic of Panama and two weeks later, Bunau-Varilla, a minister from Panama, gave the US a 10-mile-wide canal zone under US sovereignty
§ The US gave Panama its independence, 10 million, and 250,000 every year
§ They also gave Colombia 25 million as compensation
o The canal used $720 million but gave the US a great economic advantage
o The US was worried that foreign countries would try to take control so Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which justified “the exercise of an international police power” anywhere in the hemisphere
§ This was first used with the Dominican Republic in 1905, but because of anger from other nations, the US assumed management of their debt and customs services
§ This was also used in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mexico
· With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Roosevelt became worried that America’s trading with China might be damaged if either got an overwhelming victory
o To solve this problem, Roosevelt mediated a settlement of the War at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1905 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for doing so
o Japan won Korea but Russia won Manchuria
o Relations were strained with Japan because of discrimination in California
§ Yellow peril forced the school board to segregate Asians
o In 1908, Roosevelt sent battleships in visit Japan in a display of sea power and then the Root-Takahira Agreement affirmed the existing status quo in Asia
Taft: Dollar Diplomacy
· Believed in being subtle and using effective weapon of business investment rather than a big stick
o Taft and Secretary of State, Philander C. Knox, followed a strategy in which they assumed that political influence would follow increased US trade and investment (dollar diplomacy)
o Taft advocated “active intervention to secure for our merchandise and our capitalists opportunity for profitable investment”
o American investment in Central America grew from $41 million in 1908 to $93 million in 1914
§ Most of this went to railroad construction, mining, and plantations
· Dollar Diplomacy would require military support
o The Taft administration sent the navy and marines to intervene in lots of Central American nations
o Taft’s greed for a greater share of the pie in China went downhill when he supported the Chinese government in buying all foreign railroads and creating new ones
§ Russia and Japan resisted and formed a new friendship treaty, causing the Open Door to Chine to be Closed
Wilson: Moralism and Realism in Mexico
· Even without any experience in diplomacy, Wilson brought to foreign affairs a set of fundamental principles that combined a moralist’s faith in American democracy with the understanding of the power of international commerce
o He emphasized foreign investments and industrial exports and believed that there should be free trade
o He also saw this as a moral crusade, and saw all this trade as showing people the American life
· Wilson’s problems in Mexico foreshadowed the problems he would have in WWI
o The 1911 Mexican Rebellion brought up popular leader Francisco Madero
§ This made US investors scared because they owed ¼ of all the land in Mexico and 4/5 of all gold, silver, and copper
o At first, Wilson gave his blessing to the new regime but was shocked when Madero’s chief lieutenant, General Victoriano Huerta, killed Madero and took over
o Huerta was supported by Britain, Japan and other nations but Wilson refused and also persuaded Britain to not support them either but rather supported an armed faction that opposed Huerta, led by Venustiano Carranza
o In April 1914, Wilson used a minor insult to US sailors as an excuse to occupy Veracruz, but Huerto wouldn’t submit and was later taken out by Carranza, who played the national sentiment and denounced Wilson’s intervention
o Wilson later supported Francisco Villa who had a rebel army in northern Mexico but when war loomed in Europe, Wilson recognized Carranza as the de facto president
§ Feeling betrayed, Villa went around attacking US towns and was chased by General Pershings, which became a fruitless mission
§ Just when Wilson was going to ask Congress for permission to occupy northern Mexico, he decided not to because of the looming trouble in Europe
o The principle that the US was an international police that protected capitalist development, democracy, and free trade, would soon engage American into WWI
The Great War
· With both sides hoping for a swift victory, both were surprised when it lasted 4 years and the death toll was incredible
· The war shifted country borders and changed the US’s economy, politics, and cultural life
The Guns of August
· Only a complex system of alliance had kept powers at peace with each other
· The two great camps were the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Allies (Great Britain, France, and Russia)
o The heart of the division was Germany and Great Britain who were competing to be the largest commercial power
· The alliance system threatened to entangle many nations in any war that did erupt
o On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia
o The assassin was a Serbian nationalist who wanted Bosnia to become part of Serbia
o Germany pushed Hungary to attack and the Serbians in turn called for the Russians and by early August, both sides had exchanged declarations of war and began mobilizing
o Germany invaded Belgium and was trying to invade France but was stopped at a stalemate
§ New guns and tanks and trench warfare made the death toll 5 million people
American Neutrality
· At the outset of the war, Wilson issued a formal proclamation of neutrality and urged citizens to do so
o This was hard because of the different ethnic groups who were tied to their Old World countries
o 8 million German Americans and 4 million Irish Americans supported the Central Powers extremely
o Many Americans were mildly pro-Allies due to cultural and language bonds with Great Britain and the tradition of Franco-American friendship
o Both sides used propaganda campaigns to sway Americans
§ The British effectively exploited their bonds of language and heritage with Americans by reporting looting, raping, and the killing of innocent civilians by German troops
§ Germans blamed the war on Russian expansionism and France’s anger at losing a previous war but the terrible cost of war made Americans want to stay out
· Economic ties with the Allies was the greatest barrier of neutrality
o Early in the war, Britain put a blockade on Germany and even though the US protested the blockage, Wilson wanted to avoid antagonizing Britain
o Trade with Germany all but ended, while trade with the Allies increased dramatically
Preparedness and Peace
· Angry, Germany declared that waters around Britain to be a war zone and enforced this using unrestricted submarine warfare
o Neutral powers were warned that their ships could be at risk
o The US became angry and issued a protest and threatened to hold Germany accountable
o On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was destroyed killing 1198 people, 128 of them America
o Tensions heated up again in March 1916 when a U-boat took out the Sussex injuring four Americans
o In June 1916, the National Defense Act doubled the size of the army and added the state National Guards
o In August, Congress passed a bill that increased spending for new battleships, cruisers, and destroyers
· Not all Americans supported this
o On August 29, 1914, 1500 women marched down the New York’s Fifth Avenue in the Woman’s Peace Parade
o Out of this the American Union against Militarism came into being
o A group of 30-50 House Democrats opposed Wilson’s military buildup
o Majority leader Claude Kitchin of NC, Jane Addams, Lillian D. Wald, and others spoke for freedom
· Wilson wins the reelection
o He used the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War” in 1916 and won the campaign
o He beat Charles Evans Hughes in a close election
Safe for Democracy
· Germany had decided against a negotiated peace settlement
o On February 1, 1917, Germany declares unlimited submarine warfare against all shipping
o This was done in hope to take out the Allies before the US could join in
· Wilson was outraged and disappointed
o Wilson had hoped for peace but reluctantly broke off relations with Germany and armed all US merchant ships
o On March 1, the White House was shocked with the arrival of an intercepted message known as the Zimmerman notes that said that Germany would team up with Mexico and take back their lost territory if they attacked the US
o In the March of 1917, U-boats sank seven US merchant ships, leaving a heavy death toll, and Wilson with nothing else to do
o On April 2, 1917, Wilson gave his case, stressing that as mankind’s most enlightened and advanced nation, the US had a duty to protect the rights of small nations, and bring peace and safety to all nations
§ America joins the war
American Mobilization
· The overall public response to the call to war was enthusiastic but the administration was less certain about ordinary Americans and their willingness to fight in Europe
o The government took immediate steps to win over public support, place a muzzle on antiwar dissenters, and establish a draft
Selling the War
· Wilson creates the Committee on Public Information to organize public opinion
o It was headed by George Creel who was a friend of Wilson and who quickly transformed it into a sophisticated and aggressive agency to promote the war
o He enlisted more than 150,000 people to work with the CPI, who in turn produced more than 100 million pieces of literature explaining the war
o The CPI used lots of propaganda including using movies stars such as Charlie Chaplin and getting famous journalists such as muckraker Ida Tarbell
§ Across the Nation 75,000 “Four Minute Men” gave brief and patriotic speeches before stage and movies shows
o The CPI also attack all things Germany and depicted them as Huns (bestial monsters outside the civilized world)
§ Everything German was banished from concert halls, schools, and libraries
§ The CPI urged many to become “unhyphenated Americans” but all of this led to thousands of local and sometimes violent campaigns against German-Americans, radicals, and peace activists
Fading Opposition to War
· Because Wilson defined the call to war as a great moral crusade, many Americans were won over to his side
o Liberals and progressives were attracted to the possibilities of war as a force for social change
o Many agreed with Wilson that this was an idealistic crusade to defend democracy, spread liberal principles, and redeem European decadence and militarism
o John Dewey (philosopher) believed that the war offered great social possibilities
o One of few voices of dissent among intellectuals was Randolph Bourne who, through his antiwar essays, predicted sharp infringements on political and intellectual freedoms
· The Woman’s Peace Party (est. 1915), opposed the preparedness campaign dissolved
o Most of its leaders, Florence Kelley, Lillian D. Wald, and Carrie Chapman Catt, joined volunteer work
o Catt, leader of NAWSA, joined the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense and encouraged women to help in war services
§ Although some women were still against the war, many enjoyed leading roles in their communities by selling bonds, coordination food conservation drives, and working for hospitals and the Red Cross
“You’re in the Army Now”
· The central military issue was how to get more armed forces
o When the war was declared there were only 200,000 men in the army and very low volunteer rates after April 6
o The administration introduced the Selective Service Act when drafted men from 21-35 with no exception for paying for a substitute
o On June 5, 1917, 10 million men registered for the draft and by the end of the war 24 million had done so
o Of the 2.8 million called for service only 12% didn’t show and another 2 million Americans volunteered
· Progressives saw this as an opportunity for pressing reform measures involving education, alcohol, and sex
o Army psychologists gave an intelligence test to everyone and were shocked to find that illiteracy rates were as high as 25%
o After the war, these intelligence tests became a standard feature of America’s educational system
Racism in the Military
· African Americans found severe limitations in the US military
o They were organized in segregated units and barred from the marines and the Coast Guard as well as put as cooks laundrymen, and stevedores
o Thousands of black soldiers endured humiliating and sometimes violent treatment, especially from Southern white officers as well as civilians when trying to go to certain restaurants and theaters
o The ugliest incident was in Houston August 1917 when black infantrymen took arms and killing 17 civilians
§ 30 blacks were executed and 41 imprisoned for life
o More than 200,000 blacks served in France but only 1 in 5 saw combat as opposed to 2 in 3 whites
o Blacks were actually loved by the French and the 369th US Infantry regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government
§ 171 officers and enlisted men were cited for exceptional bravery
Americans in Battle
· Wilson appointed General John J. Pershing as commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
o Pershing wanted the AEF to be separate from the other countries’ armies and was reluctant to send soldiers who didn’t have at least 16 months of training
o The AEF had a short but intense combat role, only being in the front lines for the last 8 months of the war
o Pershing believed the object of war to be total destruction of the enemy’s military power and didn’t like the defensive tactics of trench warfare
§ Sadly there was nothing to be done because of the new weapons and technology in use
o In the spring if 1918, Germanys launched an offensive that brought them within 50 miles of Paris
§ In June, 70,000 AEF soldiers helped the French stop the Germans and in July, Allied forces led by Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, began a counteroffensive to end it all
§ Reinforcements came to help the allied forces and by September, Pershing had over 1 million Americans at his back
o In late September 1918, the AEF took over a 200 mile front offensive and quickly took out the Germans in seven weeks
§ On November 11, 1918, the war ended with an armistice
· The massive influx of Americans and their supplies gave a quick end to the war
o 52,000 Americans died in battle, 60,000 from influenza and pneumonia, 200,000 injured
o 9 million dead in Russia, 6 million in Germany, 5 million in France, 2 million for both Great Britain and Italy
