Transcript Slide 1

WORLD WAR ONE
 Europe, in the early years of the 20th
century, was a continent facing war.
 Europe faced:
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Intense competition among the nations.
An increase in nationalism.
Colonialism.
An arms race.
ENTANGLING ALLIANCES
 July 23rd: The Austrian government issued
an ultimatum threatening war against
Serbia and invaded four days later.
 August 1st: As Austria’s ally, Germany
declared war against Russia an ally of
Serbia.
 August 3rd: Germany declared war against
France, an ally of Russia and immediately
began an invasion of neutral Belgium
because it offered the fastest route to Paris.
 August 4th: Great Britain, as an ally of
France, declared war against Germany.
THE MAJOR ALLIANCES
 THE ALLIES: The
Triple Entente:
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Great Britain
France
Russia
Japan
Belgium
Italy
Serbia
 THE CENTRAL
POWERS:
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Germany
Austria-Hungary
Turkey
Bulgaria
WORLD WAR ONE
 In Western Europe, most of the
fighting took place in France, as
German armies met British, Belgian,
and French (and later American)
forces on the Western Front.
 During much of the same period,
Germany also faced Russian soldiers
on the Eastern Front, until the
horrendous casualties helped to
provoke the Russian Revolution of
1917 and Russia’s exit from the war.
THE AMERICAN REACTION
 When war began on the European
continent, Americans could not
imagine its scope and human cost,
but they condemned its outbreak.
 Yet it would be very difficult for the
American public to remain neutral.
 Many Americans had close ties to
each side in the war.
THE AMERICAN REACTION
 1914: Nearly one-third of the population of
the USA was foreign born or the children of
immigrants.
 Initially, they tended to sympathize with
the countries from which their families
came, while opposing any formal
involvement in the war by the USA.
 The majority of Americans favored GB and
FR and blamed Germany for starting
hostilities.
THE AMERICAN REACTION
 German Americans and Irish Americans
constituted two of the most numerous and
influential of the non-English groups in the
USA.
 When the war broke out, German
Americans immediately defended
Germany’s cause against its adversaries.
 In light of Ireland’s struggle for freedom
from GB, Irish Americans were
unenthusiastic about helping GB, but
generally preferred the Allies to the Central
Powers.
PRESIDENT WILSON
 Wilson’s decisions on international
matters often appeared idealistic, but
actually combined moral diplomacy
and practicality.
 He opposed the old world order and
wanted the leading nations to
embrace a more liberal and less
imperialistic approach to international
politics.
PRESIDENT WILSON
 In trying to accomplish this, however,
he distanced himself from many of his
own liberal supporters.
 Highly principled and often highly
partisan, Wilson at times encountered
difficulties in steering a consistent
course.
 Wilson could also be very rigid in his
thinking and unwilling to compromise.
THE USA AND WORLD WAR ONE
 For the first 2 ½ years of the war, the USA
remained neutral.
 Throughout this period, the Allies and
Central Powers alternately ignored,
courted, or threatened the American
position.
 Wilson became convinced that a German
victory would pose a greater menace to US
security, yet he still continued to avoid US
intervention.
 He was confident he could successfully
mediate between the warring camps and
end the horrors that were occurring around
the world.
THE BLOODBATH OF WAR
THE BLOODBATH OF WAR
 The conflict of 1914-1918 was known
as the “Great War.”
 An unprecedented number of
belligerent nations fought
engagements large and small on
three continents, six seas, and at
least two oceans.
 Over 65 million military personnel
were engaged, with 8 million killed in
combat and more than 21 million
wounded.
THE BLOODBATH OF WAR
 The losses among civilians were even
higher.
 Additionally, countless others, both
uniformed and civilian, died from diseases
made deadlier by war conditions, especially
the huge influenza-pneumonia epidemics
that spread rapidly in 1918.
 The war cost more than $281 billion in
military expenses and damage to civilian
property.
TRENCH WARFARE
 August 1914: German troops marched
through Belgian on their path to France,
where British and French forces brought the
advance to a halt with huge casualties on
both sides.
 To defend against the deadly firepower,
soldiers took up the shovel and dug in.
 Oct. 1914: A line to trenches extended
from the English Channel south to the
Swiss border, nearly 500 miles.
TRENCH WARFARE
 For more than two years, the frontline
of the Western Front remained static.
 Each side launched costly frontal
assaults while failing to move forward
more than a few miles in any
direction.
 Trench warfare came to symbolize the
Western Front to both Europeans and
Americans.
POISON GAS AND MUSTARD GAS
 Another horror of the war was poison gas,
introduced by the Germans and later used
by all parties.
 Its effectiveness was limited by the need to
rely on favorable wind conditions to control
its direction.
 The most hazardous was mustard gas.
 Although few people were actually killed
from the gases, many were seriously
injured.
CAUSES OF AMERICAN ENTRY
INTO WORLD WAR ONE
Violations of American neutrality
German u-boat warfare
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Sussex Pledge
British Propaganda
Economic ties to Great Britain and
France
 Unrestricted German U-boat warfare
 Zimmerman Telegram
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WILSON’S REACTION TO THE
SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
 At first the president reacted cautiously.
 He then sent two notes to Germany
protesting the sinking and demanding
protection of American lives in the future.
 The second and stronger note exposed a
split in the Administration and resulted in
the resignation of Sec. of State William
Jennings Bryan, who claimed that the USA
was not behaving impartially toward
Germany.
THE SUSSEX PLEDGE
 American negotiations with Germany
proceeded slowly, while U-boats continued
to target American ships and cause
American casualties.
 Spring 1916: The Germans torpedoed the
French ship Sussex, which carried several
Americans.
 This time Wilson publicly threatened to
break diplomatic relations with Germany,
which responded by temporarily ending its
policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
BRITISH PROPAGANDA
BRITISH PROPAGANDA
 Throughout the USA, the British
sponsored speaking tours and
organized traveling exhibits of Allied
war posters, which were extremely
effective at disseminating information
and influencing the public in an era
lacking radio or TV broadcasts.
BRITISH PROPAGANDA
 The British efforts were enhanced by
clumsy German actions:
 The invasion of Belgium
 Episodes of espionage and sabotage
committed by German and Austrian
agents in the USA = attempting to
prevent the flow of American supplies to
the Allies, they bombed numerous
factories, depots, and bridges while
bungling other attempts.
BRITISH PROPAGANDA
 More annoying than substantial,
German actions eventually provoked
the Wilson Admin., into ousting a
number of German and Austrian
diplomats stationed across America.
 These episodes contributed to
American hostility toward the Central
powers.
ECONOMIC TIES TO ALLIES
 The Royal Navy’s surface domination of the Atlantic
Ocean prevented German ships from getting to
American ports and within a year of the war’s start
virtually ended trade between the Central Powers and
the USA.
 In contrast the value of arms and ammunition
shipyards from the United States to the Allies soared
from $14.7 million in August 1915 to $74.9 million in
August 1916.
 American banks issued loans to the Allies that
amounted to $10 billion by the end of the war.
 American investors purchased $2.3 billion in British
and French bonds in contrast to $20 million in German
bonds.
ECONOMIC TIES TO THE ALLIES
 Besides the huge armament dealings
with the Allies, American exporters
supplied increasing quantities of
wheat, corn, processed foods, factory
and farm machinery,
pharmaceuticals, and countless other
products that were needed by both
military forces and civilian
populations.
ECONOMIC TIES TO THE ALLIES
 From the perspective of the Central
Powers, the USA had, by late 1916,
clearly become a belligerent on the
side of the Allies.
 The Central Powers considered the
increasing economic commitment to
the Allies to be equally damaging as
any potential use of American forces.
1917 GERMAN UNRESTRICTED UBOAT WARFARE
“PEACE WITHOUT VICTORY”
JANUARY 22, 1917
THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM
WILSON DECLARES WAR
APRIL 2, 1917
OPPOSITION TO WAR
AMERICAN MOBILIZATION
THE WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD
*Regulated munitions.
*Oversaw industrial
growth, allocation
of resources, and
price-fixing.
**One-fourth of
civilian production
was converted to
war production.
FOOD ADMINISTRATION
 Provide food for needy
Allied nations as well as
for American Army and
Navy units in the
European war zone.
 Used voluntary rather
than coercive methods to
increase the amount of
food available to send to
Europe.
 Rejected the option of
rationing, campaigning
instead for voluntary
self-sacrifice.
FUEL ADMINISTRATION
 Directed efforts to
save coal.
 Nonessential
factories were
closed.
 Daylight saving
time went into
effect for the first
time.
WAR FINANCE CORPORATION
 The Wilson Admin.
managed to raise $33
billion in two years by
a combination of loans
and taxes.
 It conducted four
massive drives to
convince Americans to
put their savings in
Liberty Bonds.
 Congress also
increased both
personal and corporate
taxes and placed an
excise tax on luxury
goods.
THE WAR AND PUBLIC OPINION
THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC
INFORMATION
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Also known as the Creel
Committee.
The most controversial of war
agencies.
“Mobilizing the mind of the
world.”
Focused on “the war will” of the
American people through a
massive propaganda campaign of
news releases, pamphlets, films
and speeches.
Championed the righteousness of
the Allied cause while depicting
the Germans as nefarious,
warlike people descended from
barbarians.
Helped to build the wartime spirit
of national unity, but also
contributed to the widespread
intolerance of dissent across the
country.
“THE FOUR MINUTE MEN”
 Some 75,000 people
volunteered to give brief
patriotic talks on such
topics as war bonds,
draft registration, food
conservation and
“Maintaining Morals and
Morale.”
 They often spoke in
motion picture theaters
while the silent film reels
were being changed;
they also led groups in
singing “The Star
Spangled Banner.”
 Others spoke at schools,
civic meetings, and
various public
THE WAR AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
 THE ESPIONAGE ACT
1917:
 Punished violators with
prison sentences of up
to 20 years and fines
of $10,000.
 Covered loosely
defined crimes as
encouraging others to
be disloyal, aiding the
enemy, refusing to
serve in the military
and sending
“treasonable”
materials through the
mail.
 THE SEDITION
ACT OF 1918:
 Prohibited
“disloyal, profane,
scurrilous, or
abusive language”
about the
government, the
flag, the
Constitution, or the
armed forces.
SCHENCK v. THE UNITED STATES
 The Supreme Court
upheld the
constitutionality of the
Espionage Act in a case
involving a man (Charles
T. Schenck) who had
been imprisoned for
distributing pamphlets
against the draft.
 Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes concluded that
the right to free speech
could be limited when it
represented a “clear and
present danger” to the
public safety.
THE SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT 1917
 System devised by Sec.
of War Newton D. Baker.
 Envisioned as a
democratic method for
ensuring that all groups
in the population would
be called into service.
 About 2.8 million men
were eventually called by
lottery.
 The draftees provided for
over half the total of 4.7
million Americans who
served during the war.
 More than 2 million of
these were transported
overseas to join the
British and French in the
trenches on the Western
WILSON AND THE PEACE
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Long before the war in Europe ended,
Wilson announced his idealistic war aims
and peace program to the nation and the
world.
 Addressing both houses of Congress in
1/1918, the president enunciated his
Fourteen Points, most of which had been
mentioned previously by him or European
leaders but never so eloquently.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 “What we demand in this
war … is nothing peculiar
to ourselves. It is that
the world be made fit
and safe to live in; and
particularly that it be
made safe for everypeace loving nation
which, like our own,
wishes to live its own
life, determine its own
institutions, be assured
of justice and fair
dealing, by the other
peoples of the world as
against force and selfish
aggression.”
THE FOURTEEN POINTS
 “Open covenants of
peace openly arrived
at”;
 Freedom of the seas;
 Abolition of
international trade
barriers;
 Reduction of national
armaments;
 An “impartial
adjustment of all
colonial claims”;
 Self-determination for
the various
nationalities within the
Austro-Hungarian
Empire;
 “A general association
of nations … for the
purpose of affording
mutual guarantees of
political independence
and territorial integrity
to great and small
states alike.”
 This was Wilson’s most
valued point. The
international
association he
envisioned would soon
be named the League
of Nations.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Reaction to Wilson’s
Fourteen Points was
generally favorable,
even by congressmen
who would later
oppose the president
in his call for US
membership in the
LoN.
 In Germany, civilians
and soldiers read a
translation of Wilson’s
words, due to the
efforts of the Creel
Committee which
printed the president’s
speech and distributed
leaflets by plane
behind enemy lines.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Wilson’s Fourteen
Points were printed
in newspapers
around the world,
even in Russia,
where Lenin was
said to consider
them “a great step
toward the peace
of the world.”
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Acclaim for the
Fourteen Points
was not universal.
 Prime Minister
Clemenceau of
France reportedly
responded: “The
Good Lord had only
ten!”
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 The govt., of Kaiser
Wilhelm of Germany
subsequently
requested a peace on
the basis of Wilson’s
Fourteen Points.
 Germany hoped their
appeal to Wilson’s
principles might lead
to a softer, negotiated
peace, as opposed to
the vindictive
conditions the Allies
sought to impose.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Instead, the Allies interpreted the collapse
of the Central Powers as a victory that did
not require them to accept a “peace by
compromise and negotiation.”
 In spite of Wilson’s noble efforts to direct
the postwar settlements onto a higher
ground, the conditions in the major Allied
countries and on the battlefronts of Europe
dictated the harsh peace that provided the
seedbed for war again within two decades.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 By the time of the
armistice on Nov. 11,
1918, Wilson was
virtually obsessed with
the crusade he
intended to lead
personally at the
upcoming Paris Peace
Conference, which
would set forth the
terms of peace for
Germany and to
formulate the charter
for the League of
Nations.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 He wanted to act as a broker among the
vengeance-minded Allied leaders in
obtaining a fairer, more generous peace
settlement than most of them desired.
 He also wanted to create an effective
international organization, led by the USA,
to ensure a postwar world that would be
peaceful, free, and no longer handicapped
by secret treaties and balance-of-power
considerations.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 When Wilson traveled to Paris in mid-December
several factors severely limited his chances of
success:
 Election of 1918: Republicans won control of the
House and Senate
 Wilson failed to include a prominent Republican
to his peace delegation {Henry Cabot Lodge –
Chair of Sen. Foreign Relations Committee left
off commission}
 Wilson alienated his own party by not including
one Democratic member of Congress on the
peace delegation.
 Despite widespread opposition, Wilson decided
to head the peace commission.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Wilson received a
tumultuous welcome in
Paris.
 At that time, he was
the most popular
American in the world
since Abraham Lincoln.
 Upon his arrival, he
campaigned publicly
for his Fourteen Points,
angering several Allied
officials by appealing
directly to their
citizens.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 On the eve of the peace conference,
Wilson’s high visibility and his personal
advocacy of his Fourteen Points sparked
unrealistic hopes in many parts of the
world.
 Many downtrodden peoples in many areas
believed that the president could secure for
them freedom, democracy, and prosperity.
{Vietnam and Korea}
 Many Germans viewed him as a protector
against an unjust peace.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 When the Paris Peace Conference convened
in mid-January, thirty-two Allied and
“associated” powers were represented.
 Germany did not participate in the
negotiations.
 The Conference was led by the Big Four although the major decisions were made by
Wilson, Lloyd George of England, and
Clemenceau of Paris.
 The Allies were out for revenge and
punishment.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Most of the crucial decisions were decided
by Wilson, George and Clemenceau.
 They met frequently in secret, leading to
criticism by journalists, by representatives
of smaller countries, and by their own
countrymen who were excluded from the
sessions.
 The press accused Wilson of violating his
own principle of “open covenants of peace,
openly arrived at” by conducting such vital
negotiations in private.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 Wilson and the American delegation had prepared to
take the high road at Versailles while implementing
the Fourteen Points.
 To Wilson, the major accomplishment of the peace
settlement was the successful establishment of the
League of Nations.
 He was also pleased that, in line with his wishes, parts
of the map of Europe were redrawn along somewhat
more ethnographic lines. {Future implications}
 Otherwise, Wilson had to compromise on virtually all
his principles, especially regarding the severity of the
peace imposed on Germany.
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
 Germany was
disarmed and stripped
of its colonies.
 **Germany forced to
accept the “war guilt”
clause.
 **Germany forced to
pay $31 billion in war
reparations.
 The map of Europe
was re-drawn.
 ***Signers of the
treaty would join an
international
peacekeeping
organization – the
League of Nations.
 ***Article X of the
League covenant
called on each
member nation to
stand ready to protect
the independence and
territorial integrity of
other nations.
WHY DID WILSON COMPROMISE?
 Wilson accepted the
harsh provisions against
Germany mainly to get
FR and GB support for
the terms of the League
Covenant and its
inclusion in the peace
treaties with all the
Central powers.
 He was supremely
confidant that whatever
seeds of future discord
might have been planted
by the Treaty, “his”
League of Nations would
adequately guarantee
global peace and order in
decades to come.
WILSON AND THE PEACE
 The Big Four summoned the rest of the
Allies and the Germans to accept their final
handiwork, which in the end consisted of
440 articles including the German Peace
Treaty and the League Covenant.
 With great formality, the Treaty of Versailles
was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Hall of
Mirrors in the palace of Versailles.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 By the conclusion of Wilson’s work in Paris, Senate
approval of the treaty was already in doubt.
 In mid-February he had returned to the USA for a
month to promote the League of Nations.
 The American public, at that time, strongly favored
American participation in the League and nearly ¾ of
state legislatures endorsed the treaty.
 But the US Senate, where approval of 2/3 majority
was required for ratification, was sharply divided.
 Democratic senators agreed with Wilson, while the
Republican majority largely opposed the League
unless major revisions were made.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 Prominent among the
opposition was a group
of isolationist senators
from both parties, who
called themselves
“Irreconcilables” and
rejected any American
participation in the
LoN, regardless of
whether its charter
was amended.
 Their leader was Rep.
Sen. William E. Borah
of Idaho.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 Borah had supported American entry into
the war.
 But now he was strongly against further
American entanglement in world politics.
 He charged that American membership in
the LoN would transfer “the power to
declare war from the Congress of the
United States to some tribunal” not
controlled by the American people. {Article
X}
 He argued that American soldiers could be
sent into battle/war that did not affect the
USA at all.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 Another group of
opponents were led
by Sen. Henry
Cabot Lodge of MA
– chair of the
powerful Senate
Foreign Relations
Committee.
 This group called
themselves
“Reservationists.”
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 Lodge demanded that a series of
“reservations,” initially fourteen in
number, be added to the treaty
before he would support it.
 Lodge’s changes would substantially
restrict American participation in the
League and would, in Wilson’s view,
nullify the treaty.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 3/1919: 39 Sen.
Republicans declared
in a public “roundrobin” letter that they
opposed “Wilson’s
treaty” without major
revisions and that the
Allies should approve
peace treaties with the
Central Powers before
considering any
charter for an
international
organization.
 While Wilson returned
to Paris, the
Republican dominated
Senate and its Foreign
Relations Committee
conducted almost
interminable hearings
on the document,
allowing much time to
anti-treaty
spokesmen.
 Support by the public
for the treaty also
started to wane.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 9/1919: The Sen.
Foreign Relations
Comm., presented 45
amendments and 4
reservations to the treaty
to the Senate for
approval.
 The principle reservation
would have guaranteed
the independence and
territorial integrity of the
US and the protection of
the Monroe Doctrine.
 Some analysts believe
that if Wilson had yielded
on these changes, a 2/3
majority might have
voted for the treaty.
 But Wilson insisted on a
treaty without
reservations.
 None of the 3 groups –
reservationists,
irreconcilables, proadministration, could
alone or in combination
command the votes to
secure passage of a
measure expressing their
position.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
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Desperately striving to save
his fading treaty support,
Wilson took his case directly
to the people.
Traveling by train, he
undertook an extensive
speaking tour across the
nation.
His health, which had been
weakened by the strain of the
Paris Peace Conference,
worsened dramatically.
9/19: He became seriously ill
and returned to DC; a stroke
soon left him an invalid and
ended his crusade.
The League was left without
its strongest supporters.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 11/19/1919: The Senate
voted twice on the
Treaty.
 First rejecting the treaty
with the Lodge
Reservations by a vote of
55-39.
 Then defeating the treaty
in its original form with
53 votes for and 38
against.
 A third vote was taken.
Wilson sent word to
Democrats to stand firm
for the unchanged treaty.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 3/20/1919: The Wilson
loyalists and Borah’s
Irreconcilables sided
with each other and
downed the treaty with
the Lodge
reservations: 49 for
and 35 against.
 If 7 more Democrats
had abandoned
Wilson’s
uncompromising
position, the necessary
2/3 for passage would
have been achieved.
THE RATIFICATION BATTLE
 Despite the Senate votes, Wilson strongly believed
the American people favored participation in the LoN.
 He saw the Presidential Election of 1920 as a
referendum on the League.
 When Warren G. Harding (R) defeated Jon Cox (D)
the quest for membership in the League was dead.
 The USA would never join the League of Nations.
 A bitter and sad Wilson declared another world war in
20 years.
 The Second World War would come in 1939.
WORLD AT WAR AGAIN