1. America in WWI
On the Home front

2. Free Write & Discussion
Do you think it is patriotic or anti-American to criticize the United States government in a time of war?

3. U.S. Public Opinion Public opinion on WWI was divided in the U.S.
Some supported U.S. entry into the war in light of the Zimmerman telegram and the sinking of the Lusitania.

4. “He Kept Us Out of War”
In 1916 President Wilson won re-election running on the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War.”
Wilson declared war in April 1917.

5. Committee on Public Information
During WWI, the U.S. took drastic steps to make sure people were supportive of the war effort
The CPI was America’s first domestic propaganda campaign

11. Meanwhile… As the government was producing propaganda for war –
Also started changing laws to limit what people could say in a time of warfare

12. Espionage & Sedition Acts
Both acts suppressed anti-British, pro-German, and anti-war opinions.
Over 1,500 people were prosecuted
Over 1,000 convicted under these laws, many for small acts of dissent.

13. Espionage & Sedition Acts
Espionage Act: Banned any activity that hindered military recruitment.
Sedition Act: Much broader limitation on peoples’ free speech rights during war.
Excerpt from Sedition Act:
it was a crime to speak against the purchase of war bonds or
“willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about this form of US Govt., the US Constitution, or the US armed forces” or to
“willfully urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production of things necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war…with intent of such curtailment to cripple or hinder, the US in the prosecution of the war.”

14. What do you think? Is this law unconstitutional?
The Sedition Act (1918)
“Whoever shall willfully say, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, or abusive language about the form of government, Constitution, military or naval forces, or flag, shall be punished by a fine of no more than $10,000 and/or 20 years in prison
First Amendment (1791)
“Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”
What do you think? Is this law unconstitutional?

15. Charles Schenck Charles Schenck was a Socialist
Between , printed and distributed more than 15,000 anti- war pamphlets, including some to drafted American men.

16. Schenck’s pamphlet
“To draw this country into the horrors of the present war in Europe,
to force the youth of our land into the shambles and bloody trenches of war crazy nations,
would be a crime the magnitude of which defies description. Words could not express the condemnation such cold-blooded ruthlessness deserves.
In this world crisis where do you stand? Are you with the forces of liberty and light or war and darkness?”

17. The Supreme Court’s Decision
Schenck v. US (1919) Ruling:
In ordinary times the 1st Amendment would have protected it
BUT every act of speech must be judged by the circumstances in which it was spoken
If an act of speech posed a clear and present danger, then Congress had the power to restrain such speech
Upheld Schenck’s conviction

18. The state of the war
Germany initially doing well against British and French troops
By May of 1918 they were just 50 miles from Paris

19. America to the rescue American troops jumped in and saved Paris
Turned the tide of war
250,000 American troops arriving in France each month

20. America’s contribution
In total, 1.5 million American troops arrived in Europe in the last 6 months of the war

21. Surrender begins
Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire surrendered in the fall of 1918
Finally Germany surrendered on Nov. 11, 1918

22. Influenza Epidemic Last months of the war
Killed more people worldwide than all battles of the war

23. Progression of the Great Influenza
First detected in Kansas
Then carried to Europe by American soldiers
The influenza killed within a few days
30 million people died

24. Consequences of War Deaths: Killed 14 million Politically
9 million combatants and 5 million civilians
Politically
Downfall of 4 empires, led to Bolshevik rise to power in Russia, triumph of fascism in Italy
Other consequences
Mass murder of Armenians in Turkey
Influenza epidemic that killed 25 million people

25. Consequences for America
Europe’s leading creditor
Most industrialized nation
Comparatively few deaths
Leads to America becoming a major world power

26. The Peace
European Allies wanted to make Germany pay for the damage of war
President Wilson, instead, thought the treaty should lay the groundwork to “end all wars”
Wilson brought his “Fourteen Points” to Paris

27. League of Nations
Wilson’s 14 Points called for a League of Nations, an international governing body
This became part of the Treaty of Versailles
But Congress refused to ratify the treaty
Disliked the idea of “internationalism” wanted to stay out of the conflicts of Europe
Instead wanted to focus on America & its interests