Chapter 23: Americans and the Great War, 1914 - 1919

Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

• William Howard Taft (R)

• 1909-1913

• Roosevelts Successor

• Leverage with economic superiority

  • Throw money your way to see it our way.

Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy

• Woodrow Wilson (D)

  • Gov. of NJ

  • raised in Georgia

  • Only PhD president

• 1913-1921 ——> 1st democrat for awhile

• Should align with countries with similar moral standings.

Election of 1912: Taft, Wilson, Roosevelt, Debs

• Electoral votes

  • Wilson - 435 (D)

  • Roosevelt - 88 (Progressive) (lost R nom. so started own party)

  • Taft - 8 (R) (Sitting prez; lost)

  • Debs - 0 (Socialist)

• People looking for a new kind of president

Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom

• Trying to reform government

• Wilson only won 42% of the popular vote but D take over congress

  • tariff and anti trust reforms

• 1913

Panco Villa

• rebel leader in Mexico

• Fought against US when Wilson sent troops to intervene in Mexico.

WWI-The Great War

• 1914-1918

• America only joined toward the end of the war.

• European war mostly

• Chain reaction

• War declared on Serbia then their allies stepped in.

  • chain reaction; domino effect

MAIN Causes for WWI

M- militarism; strong military

A- alliances

I- imperialism; basically empire; imperialist interests; everyone’s trying to control their empire.

N- nationalism; pride; national sense of pride; need to protect

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

• The first domino in the chain reaction to WWI

• June 28, 1914

• assassinated in Sarajevo (Bosnia)

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie assassinated by gunman

  • assassin missed 1st time, then hit them the 2nd after their driver took them to a dead end street.

• Blamed all on Serbia; Serbia allied with Russia; then Austria-Hungary ally Germany; then allies keep coming in.

Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

Allied Powers

Great Britain, Russia, France

Wilson’s Declaration of Neutrality

• Because of America’s melting pot background, it will be hard for Americans to support one side fully.

  • “We cannot have divided loyalty”

Remember the Lusitania (1915)

• May 7, 1915

• German torpedo hits British RMS ship

• 128 Americans on board

• passenger ship

• England uses it to encourage enlistment

• US accepts Germany’s “apology” and remains neutral

Zimmerman Telegram (1917)

• Jan. 19, 1917

• From Germany

• to Mexico City

• Through Galveston

• Coded message

  • starting Feb. 1 we will start torpedoing things in the water and try to keep America neutral

    • if fails, make MX ally.

• Promise Mexico Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona when they defeat the US.

  • then bring in Japan

• Telegram makes its way to Wilson’s desk and enters America into the war.

Over There - George M. Cohan

• Hype song for America to join the war!

Russian Revolution

• prompts Russia to exit WWI

• ends with the Tsar and the whole royal family getting assassinated.

Western Front vs. Eastern Front

• Western front: trench warfare

• Eastern Front: mobile conventional warfare.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

• Germany must disarm, give up much of its territory and pay reparations

  • some viewed as too harsh —> lead to resentment

League of Nations

• Wilson’s vision for a peacekeeping League of Nations never ratified in the U.S.

Private Marcelina Serna

• Mexican Immigrant

• Decorated army hero