World War 1 - Jocz

U.S. Entry into World War I * Violations of U.S. Neutrality * Examples * Lusitania * Sussex sinking * Temporary pause in German sinking of Ships * Zimmerman Note * British intercept a German proposal to Mexico for a joining alliance * Ask Mexico to attack the U.S. and they would be allowed to recover lost territory * Spring 1917 * Germany returns to unrestricted submarine warfare * April 1917 * Congress declares war against Germany
Wilson asks Congress to Declare War in April 1917 * Key factors * German attacks on American shipping * Zimmerman Telegram proposing alliance with Mexico * U.S. economic investment in allies
Mobilizing for War * The United States was entirely unprepared for war * Selective Service Act * Organizes a draft for soldiers to fight in the war * American Expeditionary Force headed by General Pershing * Total War effort * All aspects of the country mobilize for the war effort * War was financed by war bonds and income taxes from the 16th amendment * Federal Agencies * National War Labor Board * Help mediate labor disputes and prevent strikes * AFL supported the war effort * IWW opposed the war * War Industries Board * Set production priorities for war * U.S. Food Administration * Headed by Herbert Hoover * Encouraged Americans to conserve food for war effort * WWI boosted support for the 18th amendment * Prohibited the sale, consumption, manufacture, and transport of alcohol * Conserve resources * Due to Anti-German sentiment in the U.S.
Silencing Dissent * Committee of Public Information * Headed by George Creel * Promote the U.S. war effort with propaganda * Espionage Act * 1917 * Prohibited interference with the draft or war effort * Sedition Act * 1918 * Banned anybody from criticizing the government * Anti-German sentiment increases * Nativists attack all things German
Schenck vs. U.S. * 1919 * Charles Schenck was arrested under the Espionage Act for mailing leaflets to men eligible for the draft * Supreme Court supports the argument that freedom of speech could be restricted * Congress had the power to restrain speech if it posed a clear and present danger
Social Impact on the Home Front * Great Migration * Staring in 1910, large migration of African American to northern cities * Crappy racial relations * WWI * Job opportunities in northern factories as white men were drafted for the war * Nearly 400,000 African Americans served in segregated units * Racial riots will break out in many cities in 1919 * Women will play a key role in wartime factories * Sacrificed of women on the home front during WWI leads to ⅔ majority finally supporting the 19th amendment * Granted women’s suffrage
Wilson’s 14 Points * Wilson’s proposal for the postwar world * Goal of preventing another world war * Points * Guarantee freedom of the seas * Eliminate economic trade barriers * Military reduction * No more colonies * Self-determination * No more secret treaties * Called for the formation of a League of Nations to help prevent another world war
Treaty of Versailles * Much of Wilson’s 14 Point proposals were rejected by the allied powers * Wilson did get the League of Nations included * Has to get it approved by the Republican controlled Congress * Republicans in Congress hated the idea of the U.S. joining the League of Nations * Henry Cabot Lodge leads the opposition to the treaty
Battle over the League of Nations * Tradition of isolationist policies * George Washington warned about permanent foreign alliances * Opposition over Article X * Fear the League would force the U.S. to deal with foreign issues around the world * Desire amongst many to be isolationist following WWI * Congress rejects the treaty