7.2 WWI

7.2 Foreign Policy and U.S. Entry into World War I

• Roosevelt's domestic policy differed from his predecessor, but he concurred with his foreign policy.

• Roosevelt was an even more devout imperialist than McKinley, strongarming Cuba into accepting the Platt Amendment which committed Cuba to American control.

• The US occupied Cuba for 10 years (1906-1922), causing anti-American sentiments.

• Roosevelt's actions in Central America were equally interventionist, building a canal through the Central American isthmus and supporting the revolution in Panama for a better deal.

• The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, also known as the Big Stick Policy, was used to justify repeated military intervention in Latin America due to the assertion of a threat to American security.

• American foreign policy adhered to the Monroe Doctrine which asserted America's right to intervene in the Western Hemisphere to protect national security.

• Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912 with a policy of neutrality, but it posed immediate problems due to close relationships with England and relatively distant relationship with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

• When war broke out in Europe, Wilson declared US policy of neutrality, but it was complicated due to the close relationship with England and their effective blockade.

• Germany attempted to counter the blockade with submarines, but the sinking of the Lusitania led to condemnation from the government and public.

• Wilson's efforts to stay out of the war and the events that ultimately drew the US into the conflict.

World War I and Its Aftermath

World War I and Government Expansion of Power

• Government took control of telephone, telegraph, and rail industries

• Created War Industry Board (WIB) to coordinate all aspects of industrial and agricultural production

• WIB had mixed success due to being slow and inefficient

• Curtailed individual civil liberties during the war

The Espionage Act and Sedition Act

• Congress passed the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918 in response to opposition to U.S. involvement in the war

• Espionage Act prohibited interference with the war effort or draft through the U.S. mail system

• Sedition Act made it illegal to try to prevent the sale of war bonds or speak disparagingly of the government, military, or Constitution

• Laws violated the spirit of the First Amendment but were vague, giving the courts great leeway in interpretation

Schenck v. United States

• Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act in 1919 in three separate cases, the most notable being Schenck v. United States

• Schenck was arrested and convicted for violating the Espionage Act by printing and mailing leaflets urging men to resist the draft

• Supreme Court ruled that freedom of speech and civil liberties could be curtailed if actions posed a “clear and present danger” to others or the nation

Suppression of Unpopular Ideas

• Laws soon became useful tools for suppression of anyone who voiced unpopular ideas

• Era of increased paranoia due to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and fear of communist takeover

• Radical labor unions and leaders branded enemies of the state and incarcerated

• New government agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, created to prevent radical takeover

Business and Labor Union Changes

• Business assumed greater power while unions lost power

• Strikebreakers and forceful tactics against unions increased under pretext of stamping out radicalism

The Palmer Raids

• In early 1920, government raided suspected radical groups around the country in the Palmer Raids

• Government abandoned all pretext of respecting civil liberties as agents raided union halls, pool halls, social clubs, and residences

• Over 10,000 arrested in over 30 cities, but few weapons or bombs were found

• 500 immigrants were eventually deported

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

• Government helped create frenzied atmosphere through its wartime propaganda arm, the Committee on Public Information (CPI)

• CPI messages grew more sensational as the war progressed

• Image of Germans as cold-blooded, baby-killing, power-hungry Huns created through lectures, movie theaters, newspapers, and magazines

• Americans rejected all things German, changed name of sauerkraut to “liberty cabbage”

• Acts of violence against German immigrants and Americans of German descent.

Wartime Opportunities for Women

• Change in means of employment

  • Many women quit domestic work and started in factories

  • At one point, 20% of factory jobs held by women

  • End of workplace advances with return of veterans

The Great Migration

• Black Southern people left for North for jobs in wartime manufacturing

• Over 500,000 Black people left South for work

• Many joined army, encouraged by W. E. B. Du Bois for inroad to social equality

  • Army segregated and assigned Black people mostly to menial labor

  • Fearful of integration, Black combat units assigned to French command

End of World War I

• America's participation tipped balance in Allies' favor

• Two years after America's entry, Germans ready to negotiate peace treaty

• Wilson's Fourteen Points served as basis for initial negotiations

  • Called for free trade, reduction of arms, self-determination, end of colonialism, League of Nations

• Treaty of Versailles punished Germany, left humiliated and in economic ruin

  • Created League of Nations, but much of Wilson's plan discarded

• Wilson's return home greeted with opposition over League of Nations

  • Senate debate over Article X curtailed America's independence in foreign affairs

  • Senate split into Democrats (pro-League), Irreconcilables (opposed), Reservationists (compromise)

  • Democrats and Irreconcilables defeated treaty with Lodge Reservations

  • US not signatory of Treaty of Versailles, never joined League of Nations

  • America retreating into period of isolationism

• Wilson attempted to muster popular support, suffered major stroke and treaty failed

Possible Success of League of Nations

• Many wonder if League would have prevented World War II had US been a member