Chapter 30 The War to End War 1917

Chapter 30: The War to End War 1917 to 1918 By: Michael Henson

War by Act of Germany �January 31, 1917 - Germany announced its decision to wage unrestricted submarine warfare on all ships, including American ships �Zimmermann note secretly proposed a German. Mexican alliance. News of the Zimmermann note leaked out to the public, infuriating Americans �April 2, 1917 - President Wilson asked for a declaration of war from Congress �Main Causes of War: �Zimmermann Note, Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare aka Sinking of the Lusitania

Wilsonian Idealism Enthroned �President Wilson persuaded the public for war by declaring his goals of "a war to end war" and a crusade "to make the world safe for democracy" �Fought for international order in which democracy could flourish without fear of dictators and militarists �Wilson was able to get war to appeal to the American public

Wilson’s Fourteen Potent Point �January 8, 1918 - Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points Address to Congress �Although it was a speech for peace, was used as an instrument of propaganda �Hoped the points provided a frame work for peace negotiations �Message immediately gave Wilson the position of moral leadership of the Allies and furnished him with a tremendous diplomatic weapon as long as the war persisted

Wilson’s Fourteen Potent Points Continued �First 5 points and their effects were: � 1. A proposal to abolish secret treaties pleased liberals of all countries. � 2. Freedom of the seas appealed to the Germans, as well as to Americans who distrusted British sea power. � 3. A removal of economic barriers among nations was comforting to Germany, which feared postwar vengeance. � 4. Reduction of armament burdens was gratifying to taxpayers. � 5. An adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of both native people and the colonizers was reassuring to the antiimperialists

Creel Manipulates Minds �Committee on Public Information- created to rally public support of war, created by George Creel �Creel organization employed thousands of workers around the world to spread war propaganda

Enforcing Loyalty and Stifling Dissent �Rumors began to spread of spying and sabotage because of all the German Americans. As a result, a few German Americans were tarred, feathered, and beaten � Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 reflected fears about Germans and antiwar Americans �At this time, nearly any criticism of the government could be censored and punished �The Supreme Court upheld these laws in Schenck v. United States (1919); it argued that freedom of speech could be revoked when such speech posed a danger to the nation.

The Nation’s Factories Go to War �Civilian Council of National Defense created to study problems of economic mobilization; increased the size of the army; and created a shipbuilding program �In 1918, Wilson appointed Bernard Baruch to head the War Industries Board in order to impose some order on the economic confusion. The Board never really had much control and was disbanded after the end of the war.

Workers in Wartime �Industrial Workers of the World were victims of some of the worst working conditions in the country. At the end of the war, the American Federation of Labor membership had more than doubled �In 1919, the greatest strike in American history hit the steel industry. Steelworkers walked off their jobs in an attempt to force their employers to recognize their right to organize and bargain collectively �After several deadly confrontations, the strike collapsed, marking a setback that crippled the union movement for over 10 years �Blacks were drawn to the North in wartime by war-industry employment. The blacks served as meatpackers and strikebreakers

Suffering Until Suffrage �National Woman's party, led by Alice Paul, protested the war �The Suffrage movement, represented by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, supported Wilson's war �In 1920, the 19 th Amendment was passed, giving all American women the right to vote

Forging a War Economy �Herbert C. Hoover led the Food Administration. Hoover rejected issuing ration cards and, to save food for export, he proclaimed wheat less Wednesdays and meatless Tuesdays, all on a voluntary basis �In 1919, the 18 th Amendment was passed, prohibiting all alcoholic drinks �Money-saving tactics of Hoover and other agencies yielded about $21 billion towards the war fund

Making Plowboys into Doughboys �Congress passed the draft act in 1917. It required the registration of all males between the ages of 18 and 45, and did not allow for a man to purchase his exemption from the draft

Fighting in France- Belatedly �In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution in communist Russia toppled the tsar regime �A year after Congress declared war, the first American troops reached France. They were used as replacements in the Allied armies and were generally deployed in quiet sectors with the British and French

America Helps Hammer the “Hun” �In the spring of 1918, the German drive on the western front exploded. The Germans rolled forward with terrifying momentum �In order to stop Germany from taking Paris and France, 30, 000 American troops were sent to the French frontlines �The Americans, dissatisfied with simply bolstering the French and British, demanded a separate army; General John J. Pershing was assigned a front of 85 miles

The Fourteen Points Disarm Germany � On November 11, 1918, after the emperor of Germany had fled to Holland, Germany surrendered �United States' main contributions- foodstuffs, munitions, credits, oil, and manpower �The prospect of endless U. S. troops, rather than America's actual military performance eventually demoralized the Germans

Wilson Steps Down from Olympus �President Wilson had gained much world popularity as the moral leader of the war �Wilson's decision to go to Paris in person to negotiate the treaty infuriated the Republicans because no president had ever traveled to Europe

An Idealist Amid the Imperialists �Paris Conference fell into the hands of an inner clique, known as the Big Four � Wilson, having the most power, was joined by Premier Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain, and Premier Georges Clemenceau of France �January 18, 1919 - Wilson’s ultimate goal was to establish the League of Nations

Hammering Out the Treaty �Republicans in America had much animosity towards the League of Nations �France settled for a compromise in which the Saar Valley would remain under the League of Nations for 15 years, and then a popular vote would determine its fate. In exchange for dropping its demands for the Rhineland, France got the Security Treaty, in which both Britain and America pledged to come to its aid in the event of another German invasion. � Wilson accepted a compromise in which Japan kept Germany's economic holdings in Shandong and pledged to return the peninsula to China at a later date

The Peace Treaty That Bred a New War �The Treaty of Versailles was forced upon the Germans in June 1919. The Germans were outraged with the treaty, noticing that most of the Fourteen Points were left out. �Wilson, also not happy with the outcome of the treaty, was forced to compromise away some of his Fourteen Points in order to salvage the more precious League of Nations.

The Domestic Parade of Prejudice �Critics of the League of Nations came from all sides. Irish-Americans, isolationists, and principled liberals all denounced the League

Wilson’s Tour and Collapse (1919) �Republicans in Congress hoped to "Americanize" or "Republicanize" the Treaty of Versailles so that the Republicans could claim political credit for the changes �In an attempt to speed up the passing of the treaty in the Senate, President Wilson decided to go to the country in a speechmaking tour. He would appeal over the heads of the Senate to the sovereign people. The speeches in the Midwest did not go as well as in the Rocky Mountain region and on the Pacific Coast. �On his return to Washington, Wilson suffered a stroke and suffered from physical and nervous exhaustion.

The “Solemn Referendum” Of 1920 �Wilson proposed to settle the treaty issue in the upcoming presidential campaign of 1920 by appealing to the people for a "solemn referendum. “ �Warren Harding won the election of 1920. Harding's victory lead to the death of the League of Nations.

The Betrayal of Great Expectations �The Treaty of Versailles was the only one of the four peace treaties not to succeed. �After the war, America did not embrace the role of global leader. In the interests of its own security, the United States should have used its enormous strength to shape world-shaking events. It instead permitted the world to drift towards yet another war.