APUSH Ch. 21 America and the Great War (1903-1927)

Great White Fleet

President Theodore Roosevelt sent the navy around the world as a show of power in the early 1900s

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Stated the United States would intervene in conflicts between European countries and Latin American countries. An example of increased US participation in international affairs in the early 1900s

Panama Canal

Considered essential to maintaining and promoting US economic and military power, completed in 1914, it was one of Roosevelt's most significant foreign policy accomplishments.

Dollar Diplomacy

President Taft's policy of linking American business interests to diplomatic interests abroad.

The Great War

Another name for WWI, President Wilson believed that it was the "war to end all wars."

Archduke Francis Ferdinand

His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies of World War I (countries allied with Serbia or Serbia's allies) to declare war on each other, starting World War I. The "spark" that started WWI

Lusitania

1915 British passenger ocean liner by a German U boat, claiming over 1,000 lives--some of whom were Americans. The attack influenced the decision by the US to enter WWI in 1917

Election of 1916

Hughes v. Wilson--Issues: Wilson ran for reelection for the Democrats on the call that he had kept the United States out of the war. Charles Evans Hughes was the Republican candidate who attacked the inefficiency of the Democratic Party. Wilson won the election, so was able to continue his idealistic policies.

Sussex Ultimatum

following a German attack on a French passenger liner in 1916 that killed four Americans, President Wilson issued this statement warning Germany to stop submarine warfare or the US would break all diplomatic relations with the country. Germany responded with the SUSSEX PLEDGE promising to sink no more ships without prior warning.

Zimmerman Telegram

was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire for Mexico to join the Central Powers, in the event of the United States entering World War I on the side of the Entente Powers. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April of that year.

American Expeditionary Force

About 2 million Americans went to France as members of this under General John J. Pershing. Included the regular army, the National Guard, and the new larger force of volunteers and draftees and they served as individuals.

Russian (Communist) Revolution

The overthrow of Tsar Nikolas II by the Bolshevik-led revolution in October 1917; lead by Vladimir Lenin. They pledged to destroy capitalism. It instituted dramatic change in social structure, paving way for USSR. This caused great fear among middle- and upper-class Americans. Socialists and anarchists in the US had been persecuted throughout the war and their problems intensified as fears over communism rose.

Chateau-Thierry

American troops, numbering fewer than 30,000, were thrown right in the teeth of the German advance; first significant engagement of American troops in a European war

Liberty Bonds

A war bond that was sold in the United States to support the allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financial securities to many citizens for the first time.

Bernard Baruch

Jewish man who was head of the War Industries board in WWI. He was responsible for the production of supplies for the war. Was the first Jewish man in a position of great responsibility in the government.

War Industries Board

This board, headed by Bernard Baruch, sought to control production, wages, and price of manufactured goods while the U.S. was mobilizing for war.

Lever Food and Fuel Control Act

August 1917: measure that gave Wilson the power to regulate production and consumption of food and fuels during wartime. Some of his administrationargued for price controls and rationing; instead Wilson instituted voluntary controls.

Great Migration

Migration of large numbers of American blacks to Midwestern and Eastern industrial cities that began during WWI ad continued throughout the 1920s . Additional workers were needed in the North because of the war and during the 1920s because of the immigration restrictions; blacks were willing to leave the South because of continued lynching there and the fact that their economic situation was not improving.

Trench warfare

A bloody form of war that consisted of two opposing forces digging holes in the ground or "trenches" to provide shelter from enemy gunfire. Heavy Artillery would be able to shoot through trenches and infantry would race across "no man's land" or the land between the two frontal trenches. Gas was also used to fill the trenches and kill all within them.

Committee on Public Information

Massive propaganda machine; it was headed by George Creel. The purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad. Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI. Creel's organization, employed some 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons.

National Security League

Organization founded in 1914 that preached patriotism and preparation for war; 8in 1915 th successfully lobbied government officials to set up camps to prepare men for military life and combat. The patriotism of this group became more strident as the war progressed; in 1917 they lobbied Congress to greatly limit migration into the country; insisting on a literacy test for all new immigrants.

Selective Service Act

This 1917 act, which President Wilson helped pass because of the difficult task of raising an army for the war, authorized the conscription of American males into military service. Within months of its passage, the army had enough men to relieve and allied forces overseas.

Espionage Act 1917

This act was intended to prosecute German spies in America and any antiwar Americans who might be aiding Germany. It to curbed the right to free speech during wartime. The Supreme Courtupheld this act by stating that Congress could limit the right of free speech if it represented a "clear and present danger" that would bring about "evils" that the government was seeking to stop.

Sedition Act 1918

extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.

It forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Those convicted under the act generally received sentences of imprisonment for 5 to 20 years. Over 1000 were convicted under the law.

Schenck v. United States

In this pivotal case, the Supreme Court, with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes writing the majority opinion, upheld the Espionage Act by stating that Congress could limit the right of free speech if it represented a "clear and present danger" that would bring about "evils" that the government was seeking to stop. In sum, civil liberties CAN be limited for the sake of national security.

The Big Four

Political leaders who met in Paris in 1919 to draft the Treaty of Versailles at the end of WWI; Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France; David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States; and Vittorio Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy. Major disagreements emerged as the European leaders wanted harsh terms for Germany and Wilson hoped for leniency.

Fourteen Points

Wilson's plan for peace was called the Fourteen Points, as it had fourteen goals or conditions. Europeans didn't agree with the plan, which favored a war without a victor, and Europe wanted to severely punish Germany. The plan was designed to prevent further diplomatic problems from starting another war. Some of the major parts of the plan was an end to secrecy and secret alliances, freedom of the seas, free trade, and a limit on arms, as well as peaceful settlements of disputes over colonies. Wilson also supported self-determination and a league of nations.

League of Nations

This group was called for in President Wilson's Fourteen Points. Although he was determined to see this group formed, the other European leaders were interested in exacting revenge and gaining reparations from Germany. This proved to make Wilson's job difficult--he had to compromise in order t see his ideas become a reality. One of the first was that conquered territories would not become the property of the conquering nation, but would rather be under the trusteeship of this group.

Article X

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Moral Diplomacy

This policy came from President Wilson's belief that imperialism was immoral and that American democracy was superior. He thought it was his duty to spread that ideal to protect nations under threat of totalitarianism. As a result, Wilson invaded Nicarague and the Dominican Republic and purchased the Virgin Islands. Wilson also intervened in the Mexican Revolution to capture the revolutionary Panco Villa after he had killed Americans in the towns of Santa Ysabel, Mexico, and Clolumbus, New Mexico.

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty imposed on Germany by France, Great Britain, the United States, and other Allied Powers after World War I. It demanded that Germany dismantle its military and give up some lands to Poland. It was resented by many Germans.

Reparations

As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to pay fines to the Allies to repay the costs of the war. Opposed by the US, it quickly led to a severe depression in Germany.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles. Lodge demanded Congressional control of declarations of war; Wilson refused and the United States Senate never ratified the Treaty nor joined the League of Nations.

Irreconcilables

This was one camp of those who were opposed to the ratification of the Versailles Treaty. Ths group, led by Senators Hiram Johnson and William Borah, refused to ratify the Versailles Treaty in any way.

Reservationists

This was one camp of those who were opposed to the ratification of the Versailled Treaty. Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and this group would only agree to leave the League of Nations and international acceptance of the Monroe Doctrine were added to the League's Covenant.

"100% Americanism"

The American Protective League received money from the government to spy on their neighbors and impose the union of opinion on their communities; Germans were the most heavily repressed groups.

The Red Scare

This situation arose when a series of bombings occured, one of which was in the neighborhood of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. When the bombings were attributed to anarchists, Palmer immediately ordered the roundng up of suspected anarchists, socialists, aliens (usually Russian), and agitators. During this, some 6,000 people were arrested in a two-month period, and 500 were deported on "Soviet Arks" that sent the passengers back to Europe.

1919 Steel Strike

As price inflation threatened to eclipse wage gains, and over 6,000 strikes broke out during the war, the greatest occurring in 1919, when 250,000 steelworkers walked off the job. In that strike, the steel owners brought in 30,000 African-Americans to break the strike, and in the end, the strike collapsed, hurting the labor cause for more than a decade

Boston Police Strike

Riots and looting soon erupted in the city, forcing the governor of Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge, to send in the National Guard. When the strikers tried to return to work, the police commissioner refused to accept them. He fired the strikers and hired a new police force instead. Depite protests, Coolidge agreed the men should be fired. He declared, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime." Coolidge's response brought him to national attention and earned him widespread public support. It also convinced the Republicans to make Coolidge their vice presidential candidate in the 1920 election.

Red Summer

In 1919 a wave of race riots swept across the US, Race riots erupted in several cities in both the North and South. The three most violent episodes happened in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. These were part of a series of 20 or more riots occurring in the U.S. where African Americans were the victims of physical attacks

Marcus Garvey

African American leader during the 1920s who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He called for black nationalism--urging African Americans to take pride in their heritage and develop their own institutions in an effort to reject assimilation. He was deported to Jamaica in 1927.

Palmer Raids

A 1920 operation coordinated by Attorney General Mitchel Palmer in which federal marshals raided the homes of suspected radicals and the headquarters of radical organization in 32 cities.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian radicals who became symbols of the Red Scare of the 1920s; arrested (1920), tried and executed (1927) for a robbery/murder, they were believed by many to have been innocent but convicted because of their immigrant status and radical political beliefs. An example of the widespread nativism in the US during the 1920s

Nineteenth Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.