Chapter 30 The War to End War 1917

Chapter 30 – The War to End War (1917 -1918) The United States enters World War I and experiences changes domestically and diplomatically.

Neutrality and German Aggression �Germany begins policy of unrestricted sub warfare in early 1917; all ships to be sunk �Wilson desires neutrality, barring overt German acts �Zimmerman note enrages Americans �German subs sink 4 American merchant ships �Wilson asks Congress for declaration of war on 4/6/1917; US enters World War I

We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare STOP We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral STOP In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona STOP The settlement in detail is left to you STOP You will inform the President [of Mexico] of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves STOP Please call the President’s attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace STOP Signed ZIMMERMANN Zimmerman note

Wilson’s Idealism �Wilson upending Washingtonian neutrality �How to incite the people for war? How to overcome isolationism in favor of interventionism? �The war “to make the world safe for democracy” �Wilson appeals to America’s sense of exceptionalism We seek not territory nor riches…but to advocate democracy in the face of autocracy

George W. Bush’s rhetoric before and during the Iraq war was eerily similar to Wilson’s idealistic statements entering World War One. "These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society, " the National Security Strategy declares. It dedicates the United States to the task of bringing "the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade" to "every corner of the world. " Those idealistic—some would say hubristic—words uncannily echo Woodrow Wilson's heady rationale for American participation in World War I. Wilson would recognize George W. Bush as his natural successor, and he would recognize today's Americans as the direct spiritual descendants of the people he so reluctantly led into that conflict. For Wilson did not think that what came to be known, and often derided, as "Wilsonianism" was just a policy selected from a palette of possible choices. Rather, he saw it as the sole approach to international relations that his countrymen would embrace as consistent with their past and their principles. Wilson did not so much invent American foreign policy as discover it. Bush and Wilsonianism

Wilson’s 14 Points �Wilson’s 14 Points Address to Congress in 1918 �Diplomacy 1) No secret treaties; 2) Freedom of the seas; 3) No trade barriers; 4) Reduction of arms; 5) Adjustment of colonial claims �#6 -13 = Territorial issues �#14 = Creation of the League of Nations �Wilson’s Points receive criticisms from home and abroad

Domestic Propaganda �Committee on Public Information: sell the war to Americans and the world on Wilsonian idealism led by journalist George Creel �Billboards, pamphlets, movies, songs �George M. Cohan’s “Over There” �Creel overplayed his hand; overblown idealism led to disillusionment Foreshadowing the Lost Generation?

Wartime Civil Liberties �Xenophobia grows for the 8 million German- Americans �German culture suppressed, avoided �Espionage Act: banned interfering with the draft and general “disloyalty” �Sedition Act: banned criticizing the gov’t �Socialists and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members prosecuted �Debs sentenced to 1 o yrs; pardoned after 2 �Supreme Court upholds the laws in Schenck v. US (“clear and present danger”)

Over Here �Economics mobilization roadblocked by states’ righters and Big Biz Wilson appoints Wall Streeter Bernard Baruch to head the War Industries Board �National War Labor Board (chaired by Taft) works to avoid labor disputes; thousands of strikes persist Fail to guarantee right to organize �Gompers’ AFL supported the war �IWW workers oppressed; commit industrial sabotage �Black workers migrate North; lead to racial violence (40 blacks killed in St. Louis)

Women, Suffrage, and the War �Female workers head to the factories �Suffragists mostly support the war; fighting for democracy will help to achieve it at home �Wilson comes out in support of women’s suffrage � 19 th Amendment passed in 1920 �Most women return home from their jobs after war �Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act funds ed in traditional maternal roles �Gains, then losses for women…but precedents set

War Economics �Herbert Hoover heads the Food Administration Conducts propaganda campaign to mobilize voluntary food rationing; Americans grow “victory gardens” �Temperance movement increases Anti-German sentiment against German beer makers Congress restricts using foods to produce alcohol 18 th Amendment prohibits alcohol �Hoover’s voluntary approach works �But the gov’t also takes greater role in the economy to win war Production quotas, price setting, takes over railroads Daylight saving time initiated to extend workday and save fuel

Doughboys go to War �Russia pulls out of war due to its revolution > German forces leave eastern front for the west front �Doughboys fight mainly in France; conduct Netflix and Chill operations with French girls �The American Expeditionary Force led by General John J. Pershing fights in France at Chateau-Thierry �Final offensive in the Argonne Forest in Belgium; massive casualties �Germans faced with endless US troops reserves surrender in 11/1918 � 53 k troops killed; 500 k among 30 million die of global Spanish influenza pandemic

Post-war Political Tangles � Wilson attends Paris peace conference; angers Republican senators like Henry Cabot Lodge � The Big Four: Wilson, Orlando, Lloyd George, Clemenceau � Wilson seeks middle-way between imperialism & idealism; becomes the same as old-style colonialism � Wilson pushes for a League of Nations Faces opposition from Senate isolationists or “irreconcilables” � Germans feel betrayed from vengeful Treaty of Versailles negotiations � Wilson forced to cede some of his 14 points in favor of assuring a League; derided by both sides of the aisle � Wilson tours the country to tout the Treaty; suffers stroke

Post-war Political Tangles (cont. ) �Lodge proposes reservations to the Treaty Seeks to protect US sovereignty and Monroe Doctrine rights Wants to avoid entangling alliances �Wilson urges Dems to vote down Lodge’s reservation- filled Treaty �A mix of Lodge Repubs and Wilsonian Dems doom the Treaty �Senate Repubs nominate Harding/Coolidge ticket for 1920 Prez election; Dems nominate pro-Treaty James Cox with FDR as VP; Debs runs from prison �People tired of Wilsonian idealism; death knell for Treaty