Chapter 22

Global Involvements and World War I1902-1920

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Introduction

• We will focus on U.S. foreign policy from 1902 to 1920– Concentrating on U.S. involvement in WWI

• 1.) What objectives underlay U.S. foreign policy in Asia and Latin America?

• 2.) Why did the United States enter WWI in 1917?

Introduction (cont.)

• 3.) How did U.S. participation in WWI affect Americans at home?

• 4.) During the war, how did the role of govt.in the U.S. economy and in people’s lives generally change?

• 5.) What part did President Wilson play in creating the League of Nations, and why did the U.S. Senate reject U.S. membership in the organization?

Defining America’s World Role, 1902-1914

• The “Open Door”: Competing for the China Market– American businessmen who dreamed of penetrating the

Chinese market became alarmed at developments there– European powers were forcing the weak Chinese govt. to

lease that country’s ports to them• Then they closed those ports to trade and investment by business

of any country but their own

The “Open Door”: Competing for the China Market (cont.)

• U.S. Sec. of State John Hay attempted to aid American business by sending his 1899 Open Door notes to the European powers involved

The “Open Door”: Competing for the China Market (cont.)

• Hay asked them to keep their leased Chinese ports open to trade and investment from all countries on equal terms– He received noncommittal replies

• Soon afterwards, the United States joined the European countries involved in China in putting down a Chinese uprising against foreign imperialists– the Boxer Rebellion– 1899-1901

The “Open Door”: Competing for the China Market (cont.)

• Some of the countries wanted to use the rebellion as an excuse for carving China into colonies for themselves

• Hay announced U.S. opposition to this plan in his 1900 Open Door notes– He asked all countries to respect the territorial integrity of

China– Repeated the demand for equal trading and investment

opportunities there

The “Open Door”: Competing for the China Market (cont.)

• The Open Door notes became a cornerstone of U.S. policy in Asia

• Helped shape the U.S.’s response to the Japanese drive to conquer China in the 1930’s

The Panama Canal: Hardball U.S. Diplomacy

• For commercial and strategic reasons, the U.S. wanted to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama

The Panama Canal (cont.)

• In 1902, the U.S. negotiated a treaty leasing a canal zone from Colombia– Colombia owned the isthmus at the time

• The Colombian senate rejected the treaty– Hoped for more $$$$

The Panama Canal (cont.)

• Pres. Roosevelt then conspired with the directors of a bankrupt French company that had been trying earlier to build a canal – The company hoped to profit from the U.S.’s taking over its

land lease• Philippe Bunau-Varilla, an official of the company,

fomented revolution in Panama• Roosevelt sent a U.S. warship in 1903 to see to it that

the uprising succeeded

The Panama Canal (cont.)

• The U.S. then recognized Panama’s independence and negotiated a treaty leasing the land

• The U.S. Army was in charge of engineering the canal– It opened in 1914– Historical pictures

• The imperialist methods Roosevelt used to seize the area created lasting ill toward the U.S. in Latin America

Canal Today

Roosevelt and Taft Assert U.S. Power in Latin America and Asia

• Roosevelt and Taft believed that the U.S. had to play an active role in world affairs– Also they believed that they had to protect

American interests in Latin America and Asia• Dollar Diplomacy

– Taft concentrated particularly on promoting U.S. commercial interests abroad

Roosevelt and Taft Assert U.S. Power in Latin America and Asia (cont.)

• Roosevelt Corollary– An addition to the Monroe Doctrine– Was given in response to a threat that European nations

might invade Dominican Republic to collect debts– 1904– The Corollary warned European nations not to intervene in

the Western Hemisphere– The U.S. would act as policeman in Latin America

• Keeping order there and seeing that finances were handled properly and debts repaid

Roosevelt and Taft Assert U.S. Power in Latin America and Asia (cont.)

• Citing his corollary, Roosevelt had U.S. officials take over the Dominican Republic’s customs service and manage its foreign debt

• Taft, also using the corollary, sent marines into Nicaragua to protect U.S. investors there– He also keep in power a govt. friendly to U.S. business

interests– The marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912-1933

Roosevelt and Taft Assert U.S. Power in Latin America and Asia (cont.)

• As part of his Asian policy, Roosevelt mediated an end to the Russo-Japanese War

• Roosevelt used his influence to obtain a peace settlement that maintained the balance of power in Asia

• Afterwards, he tried to improve U.S. relations with Japan by negotiating a gentlemen’s agreement– He hoped Japan would limit emigration of its people to the

U.S.

Roosevelt and Taft Assert U.S. Power in Latin America and Asia (cont.)

• Roosevelt hoped this would cool American prejudice– Discrimination against Japanese immigrants in the

western states continued anyway

Wilson and Latin America

• Wilson criticized Republican expansionism• But he proved just as interventionist in Latin America

as Roosevelt and Taft• Wilson ordered marines to occupy the Dominican

Republic and Haiti– To keep order and create a favorable climate for American

investors– They stayed in D.R. until 1924– And in Haiti until 1934

Wilson and Latin America (cont.)

• Wilson repeatedly intervened in Mexico during its revolution– He tried to bring to power leaders who were

liberal, democratic, and friendly to capitalistic enterprise

Part II Conclusion

• U.S. foreign policy in Asia and Latin America from 1900 to 1914 showed that the U.S. was willing to become involved in foreign affairs to: – keep order– Encourage the kinds of govts. the U.S. approved– Protect U.S. economic interests

• These same tendencies would later pull the country into WWI

War in Europe, 1914-1917

• The Coming of War– Causes of WWI in Europe: MAIN

• Militarism• System of rival alliances• Imperialist expansion• Aggressive nationalism

– June 1914• Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz

Ferdinand• Austria declared war on Serbia• Russia bound by a secret agreement to protect Serbia mobilized

for war

The Coming of War (cont.)

• By the fall of 1914, the web of alliances had pulled all of the major European powers, except Italy, into “The Great War”

• Abandoning an earlier pact with Germany and Austria, Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies in 1915

The Perils of Neutrality

• Pres. Wilson proclaimed U.S. neutrality as soon as the war began

• He asked the American people to be neutral “in thought as well as in action”– Most Americans agreed with Wilson that the U.S. should

not fight– But few had neutral feelings

• Wilson and the majority of Americans had emotional bonds with England

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• In 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany

• Reasons for this change:• 1.) Wilson became convinced that for the U.S. to

shape the postwar settlement, it must participate in the fighting

• 2.) Wilson’s handling of the issue of neutral rights on the high seas pulled the country into a war with Germany

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• The British violated our rights to trade by mining the North Sea and stopping ships and goods bound for Germany

• Wilson’s protests were not vigorous enough to prevent the British from ending almost all German-American trade

• Germany retaliated with unrestricted submarine warfare

• This led to injuries and the deaths of civilians, including Americans, in the sinking of Allied ships (Lusitania and Sussex)

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• This led to injuries and the deaths of civilians, including Americans, in the sinking of Allied ships (Lusitania and Sussex)

• History Channel video

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• In ever more threatening notes, Wilson warned Germany to stop unrestricted submarine warfare or the U.S. would break off diplomatic relations– Some believed Wilson’s policies would needlessly

pull the U.S.A. into the War

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• 3.) American citizens between 1914 and 1917 developed a large economic stake in an Allied victory– Made neutrality much more difficult– U.S. trade with the Allies increased greatly– American investors lent them $2.3 billion to

finance the items that the U.S. continued to depend on for prosperity

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• Between 1914 and 1917, the war on the Western Front in Europe degenerated into a bloody stalemate

• British propaganda in the U.S. charged that the Germans were committing atrocities

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• The war was a major issue in the 1916 election• American public still had desires of peace• Wilson ran on reelection reminding voters he hadn’t

gone to war• Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes,

sometimes called for a tougher stand against Germany– Other times he criticized Wilson for having been too

threatening

The Perils of Neutrality (cont.)

• Wilson’s close victory seemed to indicate that the majority of Americans still hoped to avoid participation in the conflict

The United States Enters the War

• Jan. 1917, Germany fully unleashed its U-boats– Germany decided that full use of its submarines

would contribute more to its victory than keeping the U.S. out of the war

• Wilson responded by breaking off diplomatic relations

The United States Enters the War (cont.)

• During Feb. and March, Germany U-boats attacked 5 American ships

• And the U.S. learned of the Zimmermann Note• On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to

declare war on Germany– It did so after a short, bitter debate

The United States Enters the War (cont.)

• 3 important factors produced the declaration of war:– German attacks on American shipping– U.S. economic investment in the Allied cause– American cultural links to the Allies

NEW WEAPONS USED

Machine Guns – Guns could now fire 600 rounds per minute

The Tank – New steel tanks ran on caterpillar treads

Flame Throwers

Airplanes – Early dogfights resembled duals, however by 1918 the British had a fleet of planes that could deliver bomb loads

Poison Gas – mustard gas was used to subdue the enemy

Why these weapons and why now?

Industrial Revolution

Change in War Technology

• TransportationTrucksAirplanes-Red Baron and

RickenbackerU-Boats - (German

Submarines)Zeppelins

• WeaponsGatlin GunChemical Weapons-Mustard GasTrench WarfareTanks

                                                           

Trench Warfare

• September 15, 1914 – First trenches on the Western Front dug

• Trenches were the place where armies fought from and lived for days at a time

• “No Man’s Land” – area in between trenches of opposing sides– No one ever went in this area

Trench Warfare

• Trenches were made of mud and wood and often had an inch of water in them– Many men contracted diseases from living in the

trenches• “By war’s end, each side had dug at least

12,000 miles of trenches

Trench Warfare

U.S II 4b U.S. II 5c; 1 a, f, h, i

Life in the Trenches• Boredom

– Soldiers read to pass the time

– Sarah Bernhardt came out to the front to read poetry to the soldiers

• We all had on us the stench of dead bodies.” Death numbed the soldier’s minds.

• Shell shock• Psychological

devastationU.S II 4b U.S. II 5c; 1 a, f, h, i

Mobilizing at Home, Fighting in France, 1917-1918

• Raising, Training, and Testing an Army– After declaring war on Germany, Congress passed the

Selective Service Act• About 3 million men were drafted

– Both volunteers and draftees were sent to home-front training camps

• War Dept. monitored their behavior– Warning them of the dangers of sex and alcohol

Raising, Training, and Testing an Army (cont.)

• Psychologists administered their newly developed IQ tests– Measured educational attainment and not intelligence

• 12,000 Native Americans served in the army– Integrated with white troops

• 260,000 African Americans in the army– Assigned to all black units

Raising, Training, and Testing an Army (cont.)

• The navy used blacks only in menial positions• The marines excluded blacks entirely• Racist civilians provoked clashes with African-

American soldiers stationed in Houston

Organizing the Economy for War

• To mobilize the economy behind the war effort, the federal govt. imposed an unprecedented amount of regulation on American business

• It did this by creating thousands of special wartime agencies– War Industries Board, Food Administration, U.S. Railroad

Administration, etc.

Organizing the Economy for War (cont.)

• War Industries Board– Allocated scarce materials– Established production priorities– Introduced more efficient production practices

• Food Administration– Encouraged farmers to increase output– Exhorting civilians to conserve food and fiber

• U.S. Railroad Administration– Consolidated all the privately owned rail lines into one

• Govt. ran them for the rest of the War

Organizing the Economy for War (cont.)

• These govt. regulations were mostly dismantled after the armistice

• The govt. regulations also did not prevent soaring wartime profits or corporate mergers

With the American Expeditionary Force in France

• The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) sent some 2 million soldiers to France in 1917 and 1918

• Led by General John Pershing

• They arrived at a critical time for the Allies

With the American Expeditionary Force in France (cont.)

• Russia dropped out of the War• After the Bolsheviks came in power in 1917

– This freed the German armies on the Eastern Front to fight in the west

• With these reinforcements, Germany launched an offensive in the spring of 1918 that brought its troops within 50 miles of Paris

With the American Expeditionary Force in France (cont.)

• American soldiers were rushed to the front– They helped to stop the German advance

• About 16,500 women also served with the AEF– Noncombat positions

• Nurses, telephone operators, clerical workers

Turning the Tide

• By July 1918, U.S. troops were participating in the Allied counteroffensive that drove the Germans out of much of France

• Among the troops were several African-American regiments that served with distinction– One received the French Croix de Guerre

• “to recognize acts of bravery in the face of the enemy”

Croix de Guerre

Turning the Tide (cont.)

• In the often brutal fighting, soldiers lost their illusions about war being a great adventure

• An influenza epidemic that swept Europe and the U.S.A. in 1918 added to the suffering and death

• PBS WWI maps

Promoting the War and Suppressing Dissent

• Advertising the War– Wilson believed that the federal govt. must promote

unanimous support for the war– Sec. of the Treasury William G. McAdoo pioneered in using

advertising techniques and propaganda to sell war bonds• Posters• Parades• Movie stars

– War bonds covered about 2/3’s of the war’s costs• The rest came from increased federal income tax and other taxes

Advertising the War (cont.)

• Committee on Public Information– George Creel– Main job was to popularize the war– Posters– Advertisements– News releases– Films– 75,000 speakers around the nation

Advertising the War (cont.)

Advertising the War (cont.)

Advertising the War (cont.)

• Many Progressive reformers, muckrakers, teachers, and religious leaders supported the war– The U.S. was in a struggle to spread liberalism,

democracy, and other American values

Wartime Intolerance and Dissent

• Fear and intolerance mounted– Anti-German hysteria

• German-Americans were victimized

– Hatred of anyone who questioned America’s participation in the war

• Antiwar radicals were verbally and physically attacked

Opponents of the War

• Despite all the “patriotic” pressure, some Americans continued to oppose the war– Some German-Americans– Religious pacifists

• A minority of women’s rights and progressive leaders pointed out that the war was killing reform and unleashing reaction and intolerance– Jane Addams– Randolph Bourne

Opponents of the War (cont.)

• Many socialists branded the war a crusade to protect capitalists’ profits– They also saw no reason for workers to die to

enrich their bosses• There was also considerable resistance to the

draft in the rural South

Suppressing Dissent by Law

• Espionage and Sedition Acts– Govt. attempt to silence these dissenters – Made it a crime to criticize the war, govt., Constitution, or

armed forces• About 1,500 people were convicted and jailed

– Eugene Debs was the most famous• The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of

the laws with the “clear and present danger” doctrine

Economic and Social Trends in Wartime America

• Boom Times in Industry and Agriculture– Stimulated by war, the American economy boomed– The real income of farmers and unskilled workers rose

significantly– Thousands of workers streamed into industrial centers to

take jobs in war plants– The influx created terrible housing, school, and other

shortages in the cities

African-Americans Migrate Northward

• Reduced immigration and soaring war production created labor shortages in northern industries

• Southern African-Americans learned of these new job opportunities– Labor recruiters– African-American-owned newspapers– Letters– Word of mouth

African-Americans Migrate Northward (cont.)

• About 500,000 African-Americans migrated to the North– Hoped to escape southern racism and find good jobs

• In northern cities whites resented the African-American newcomers– Competed for jobs– Competed for housing

• Race riots broke out– East St. Louis, IL

• July 2, 1917

East St. Louis race riots

• Iba B. Wells account of East St. Louis riots

Women in Wartime

• Many women’s rights activists hoped that the war would lead to equality for women

• During the war, thousands of women served in the military and in volunteer organizations

• About 1 million took jobs in industry

Women in Wartime (cont.)

• 19th Amendment– Passed in 1920– Women’s suffrage

• Those holding well-paying jobs in industry generally were replaced by men returning form wartime service

Public Health Crisis: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

• Towards the end of the war, a worldwide outbreak of influenza occurred

• Killed about 30 million people• 6 times as many Americans died of the flu as were

slaughtered in battle in France– 555,000

• Army camps and cities were hit the hardest

The War and Progressivism

• The war strengthened the prohibition movement• Antiliquor forces argued that the “unpatriotic”

German-American brewers should be put out of business– The grain used to manufacture whiskey and gin would be

better used to feed the armed forces

The War and Progressivism (cont.)

• 18th Amendment – 1919– Banning the manufacture, transportation, or sale of

alcoholic beverages• The war also boosted the Progressive Era

antiprostitution campaign• Produced a brief flurry of protective labor laws• But in most areas the intolerant, repressive war

atmosphere stifled progressivism

Joyous Armistice, Bitter Aftermath, 1918-1920

• Wilson’s Fourteen Points; the Armistice– Wilson presented his fourteen-point peace plan in a

speech to Congress in Jan. 1918– It included self-determination, impartial adjustment of

colonial claims, freedom of the seas, reduced armaments, a world association of nations

– Wilson's Fourteen Points speech

Wilson’s Fourteen Points; the Armistice (cont.)

• Whether Wilson could get those ideas incorporated in the treaties signed at the end of the war remained to be seen

• Oct. 1918, revolutionaries in Germany overthrew the Kaiser and proclaimed a republic

• Nov. 11, 1918, the armistice was signed• History Channel video

The Versailles Peace Conference, 1919

Palace of Versailles

The Versailles Peace Conference, 1919 (cont.)

• Wilson personally headed the American delegation to Versailles– He appointed no prominent Republicans to the delegation

• This was a political mistake since a Republican-controlled Senate would have to ratify any treaty signed

• David Lloyd George• Georges Clemenceau• Vittorio Orlando

The Versailles Peace Conference, 1919 (cont.)

• The other members of the “Big 4” had no faith in the Fourteen Points

• They all wanted to punish Germany• The Treaty of Versailles that was produced contained

some of Wilson’s points• Independence for Poland and the Baltic states• Overall the Treaty was harsh and punitive

The Versailles Peace Conference, 1919 (cont.)

• The Treaty aroused resentment and desire for revenge in Germany

• History Channel video• Wilson and the Allied leaders also attempted

to overthrow the Bolsheviks in Russia– They wanted to isolate and weaken the

Communist-controlled Russia

The Fight over the League of Nations

• Dismayed at the treaty’s punitive features, Wilson concentrated his hopes on the League of Nations part of it

• In July 1919, Wilson submitted the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate for ratification

• The Senate twice failed to ratify by Treaty and the League of Nations by the necessary 2/3’s support– Nov. 1919– March. 1920

The Fight over the League of Nations (cont.)

• Republican isolationists would not ratify the Treaty– They believed the U.S. should stay out of European affairs

• Republican reservationists demanded changes in the treaty– Led by Henry Cabot Lodge

• Wilson refused to accept any changes to the Treaty

Racism and Red Scare, 1919-1920

• The war-generated intolerance and antiradical hysteria reached a peak in 1919-1920

• Lynch mobs killed 76 blacks– Race riots broke out in more than 25 cities

• The bloodies occurred in Chicago

• A rash of postwar strikes and a series of bombing incidents convinced many Americans that the country was on the verge of a communist uprising

Racism and Red Scare, 1919-1920 (cont.)

• To protect against this supposed danger, the Justice Department raided the homes and meeting places of suspected radicals and arrested more than 4,000– Led by A. Mitchell Palmer

• Most times, there was no evidence that they had committed any crime

• Aliens suspected of radicalism were deported

The Election of 1920

• Democrats nominated James Cox• Republicans nominated Warren G. Harding

– Appealed to the public with his promise of a return to “normalcy”

• Harding easily won• Harding’s victory ended any chance for U.S.

membership and participation in the League

Conclusion

• WWI brought death to 10 million people worldwide– 112,000 Americans

• The War transformed American society• Helped to pass the 18th and 19th Amendments• Gave the country its first taste of active govt.

regulation of the economy

Conclusion (cont.)

• Although Washington retreated from activism in the 1920’s and Progressive reform seemed dead, during the Great Depression of the 1930’s some of these WWI regulatory agencies and social programs would serve as models for the New Deal

• In the short run, the intolerance and repression that grew during the war arrested further Progressive reform