WWI and its Aftermath Chapter 16 The United States Enters WWI

The United States Enters WWI WWI had its roots in the rise of nationalism, militarism, and imperialism running rampant throughout Europe. The need to keep themselves safe, led to alliances between nations. When the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Serbia, it caused a chain of events that would lead to WWI.

The United States Enters WWI The alliances divided up and war was declared. Those fighting for the Triple Entente were called the Allies and included Great Britain, France and Russia. The Triple Alliance were referred to as the Central Powers and included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

The United States Enters WWI The Americans decided to be neutral to the conflict and engagement of WWI. Britain very much wanted the United States to join the Allies. Though the U.S. supported the Allies they did not want to be involved, but a series of events gradually eroded American neutrality and drew them into the war.

The United States Enters WWI The Germans began using U-Boats (Submarines) to sink any merchant vessels around the British Isle to keep them from providing supplies to the English. This unrestricted submarine warfare included the sinking of any American vessels found there. When the Germans sunk a passenger liner known as the Lusitania , it killed over 1,200 passengers including 128 Americans. This enraged many Americans who saw it as a terrorist act.

The United States Enters WWI In 1917 a German official named Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram seeking the aid of Mexico as allies against the United States. They offered to help them regain the lost lands of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The discovery of the telegram along with resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on American ships led the U.S. to declare war on Germany (and therefore the Central Powers) and enter WWI.

WWI and its Aftermath Chapter 16 The Home Front

The Home Front The progressives who were in control during WWI used new government agencies and progressives ideas to mobilize and organize the U.S. They created government agencies to make the U.S. more efficient and to conserve needed war resources. The Food Administration conserve food resources such as wheat by getting Americans to observe “Wheatless Wednesdays” by using slogans such as, “Food Will Win the War-Don’t Waste It.”

The Home Front Daylight Savings Time was introduced by the fuel Administration to conserve energy during WWI, while those factories not producing war materials had shortened work weeks. The National War Labor Board was created to prevent strikes during wartime that could hamper the war effort. The government would mediate the labor disputes to avoid strikes.

The Home Front Desperate for workers many industries hired not only women but agencies were sent into the South to recruit African-Americans. This caused a Great Migration of blacks from the South into the North greatly altering the racial make-up of many of the larger Northern cities. There was also a large movement of Mexican into the U.S. for the plentiful jobs available.

The Home Front The government did not believe that shaping the economy was the only needed change , they also saw the need to shape public opinion toward the war. They created the Committee on Public Information that was given the task to “sell” the war to the American public.

The Home Front While trying to sell the idea of war to the American public, the government also needed to limit any opposition to it and any possible espionage (spying) that may be going on. The Espionage Act (1917) made it illegal to aid the enemy, give false reports or interfere with the war effort. The Sedition Act made it illegal to even speak against the war publicly.

The Home Front Some challenged these Acts as unconstitutional. In the court case of Schenck v. United States, it was ruled that the freedom of speech could be curtailed during wartime. Eugene Debs, the Socialist Party leader was imprisoned for making an anti-war speech under the Sedition Act and the Supreme Court upheld the decision citing the Schenck case as precedent.

The Home Front Despite the effectiveness of propaganda, a larger military force was needed than was available through volunteers. A forced military service was instituted with draft system known as selective service. The Selective Service Act called men to military service through a lottery system of those who were between the ages of 21 and 30 and previously registered. American volunteers numbered approx. 2 million and 2.8 million were drafted.

The Home Front Women served as volunteers in non-combative roles such as clerical and nursing. Only the nurses saw oversea duty.

WWI and its Aftermath Chapter 16 A Bloody Conflict

A Bloody Conflict The war was over shortly after the U.S. became involved. The ending of the war had several treaties between differing countries involved. Not all were agreed upon such as the Treaty of Versailles. President Woodrow Wilson brought to Paris his peace plan known as the Fourteen Points.

A Bloody Conflict The Fourteen Points would lead to the creation of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was created to preserve peace by pledging to protect each other’s territory and political independence.

WWI and its Aftermath Chapter 16 The War’s Impact

The War’s Impact America’s victory overseas led to turmoil at home. The end of the wartime economy led to a depression and fears of communism, as strikes, riots and bombings took place. The waves of strikes in 1919 led to fears that communist were conspiring to start a revolution in America as they did in Russia.

The War’s Impact The strikes of 1919 fueled fears that the communist or “reds” as they were called might try to seize power. This created a nation-wide panic known as the Red Scare Bombings and riots ensued as union members, socialist and communist organized a parade to protest the jailing of Eugene Debs. Many in America blamed the immigrants for importing the socialist and communist ideologies into the U.S. (this would lead to immigration restrictions in the U.S. to keep out undesirables)

The War’s Impact The United States Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, who had a bomb sent to his residence, took action against the radicals. Palmer created a special division within the Justice Department to deal with radicals and to raid radical headquarters looking for communist. The Division was headed by J. Edgar Hoover and became the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The War’s Impact The actions of the FBI resulted in a large number of immigrants being deported or expelled from the country and immigration restrictions place on those entering the country. The Red Scare had greatly influenced American opinions and often linked the radicalism with immigrants and led to the restrictions.