1. World War I and the 1920s

2. World War I Origins Allies: France, Britain, Russia
Central Powers: Germany, Austria
FOUR MAIN CAUSES
Militarism – army/navy build-up
Alliances – common defense guarantees
Imperialism – competition for lands
Nationalism – overdeveloped pride
WWI began in Europe in 1914 and president Woodrow Wilson vowed to keep America neutral
Why would Woodrow Wilson’s America want to stay neutral?
15a

3. MAIN Causes of wwi
15a

4. Who’s in and who’s out Alliance Central Powers Serbia Russia France
Great Britain
United States
Austria Hungary
Germany
Ottoman Empire
Italy (kinda)
15a

5. America Ends Neutrality
In 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by German u-boats
America demanded an end to unrestricted submarine warfare that endangered our neutral rights, lives, and trade
In 1917, the German Zimmerman Note to Mexico enraged Americans
In 1917, Russia’s communist revolution pulled them out of the war
Why would Russia’s pull-out push America into WWI?
15a

6. Sinking of the Lusitania
Zimmerman Note

7. Great Migration
WWI created lots of industrial jobs in the cities of the NE and MW
African Americans moved North by the thousands
Why would African Americans be eager to leave the South?
15b

8. Fourteen Points
America had put the Allies over the top to win WWI in just over one year of fighting
President Woodrow Wilson had a plan to avoid future wars and as the war came to an end he started to push it at home and abroad
#1: Open Diplomacy
#2: Freedom of the Seas
#3: Equal Access to Trade
#4: Disarmament
#5: National Self-Determination
#14: International Peace-Keeping Group
Why does Wilson think he gets such a voice in the post-war treaty-making process?
15c

9. Wilson’s 14 Points
1. No more secret agreements ("Open covenants openly arrived at").
2. Free navigation of all seas.
3. An end to all economic barriers between countries.
4. Countries to reduce weapon numbers.
5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be impartial
6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop her own political set-up.
7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.
8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine
9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "along clearly recognizable lines of nationality."
10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary.
11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for the Balkan states.
12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in the old Turkish Empire should govern themselves.
13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea.
14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial independence of all states.
15c

10. Woodrow Wilson
15c

11. League of Nations
Wilson’s 14th point was the most controversial – and unpopular at home
Isolationists in America feared the League
The Senate refused to ratify the treaty including the League of Nations
Wilson campaigned heavily across the country for the League, but the US never bought into the international peace-keeping group
Why would isolationists fear joining the League of Nations?
15c

12. League of nations
15c

13. Checking for Understanding
What were the four main causes of WWI?
Why did America enter WWI?
How did WWI change African American lives?
How did WWI change women’s lives?
Why was the Espionage and Sedition Act viewed as unconstitutional?
What rule did Eugene Debs break?
What was Woodrow Wilson’s 14th point going to create?
Why would isolationist fear joining the League of Nations?

14. Isolationism
After WWI was over and Wilson left the presidency, America craved a return to normalcy in the 1920s
For many, this meant a rejection of external political trends, international trade and more of a focus on domestic issues
It has been said that WWI killed progressivism in the US…if so, what should we expect of government in the 1920s?
15c

15. Great Migration
Before
During
15b

16. Great Migration
After
15b

17. The Great Migration
15b

18. Espionage & Sedition Acts
Fear of dangers amongst us led the government to pass these acts in 1917
Communicating any info that would interfere with military operations or help our enemies would be a criminal offense
What might be Constitutionally problematic about these wartime laws?
15b

20. Espionage Act
15b

21. Eugene V. Debs
Labor union leader (Pullman Strike!) and Socialist presidential candidate in 1904, 1908, 1912
Gave a speech protesting military recruitment tactics and got TEN years in jail
When else have we seen constitutional rights taken away during an American war?
15b

22. 15b

23. Socialism & Communism
In the late 1800s, socialism was born out of workers’ calls for better lives
Communism evolved out of socialism
Abolish private ownership
Social classes would be leveled across the board
All property is owned by the government
Capitalism will be destroyed
Russia became the Soviet Union after a communist (Bolshevik) revolution
Why were Americans afraid of communism?
16a

24. Red Scare
The fear of international communism flooding over American borders
(RED = the color of the Soviet flag)
The US government started to an expanded search for suspected communists & socialists here at home
Who would you guess were the main targets of the government’s searches?
16a

26. Immigration Restrictions
Nativism was reborn again in the 1920s
So was the Ku Klux Klan, and not just in the South
Americans felt superior to immigrants
They felt their culture was better and had to be protected from outside influences
Catholics, Jews, Immigrants, etc.
The government responded to this with immigration restriction acts like the Emergency Quota Act in 1921
What is a “quota”?
16a

27. Emergency Quota Act
16a

28. Jazz
Jazz combined themes and patterns developed by slaves, New Orleans musicians, and many other sources
It also emphasized improvisation
It brought African American writers and artists to the mainstream quickly
What themes should we expect to find in Jazz music?
16d

29. Louis Armstrong “Satchmo”/“Pops” played the trumpet
One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 1920s
Born in New Orleans, began playing with the Creole Jazz Band
Moved to Chicago & New York to play
How does Armstrong’s life mimic the Great Migration?
16d

30. Harlem Renaissance
The Great Migration had brought African Americans to northern cities, crowded into these neighborhoods, African American culture became blended in mainstream American culture
A blossoming of African American culture and arts in the 1920s
Where is Harlem?
16d

31. Langston Hughes
The Harlem Renaissance’s most famous poet, wrote about the lives of working-class African Americans
Sometimes set his words to the tempo of jazz or the blues
What could his voice actually do for African Americans during the 1920s?
16d

32. Harlem Speaks A Living History of the Harlem Renaissance
Langston Hughes “The Weary Blues”
Langston Hughes “Mother to Son”
Langston Hughes “Dream Variation”
Zora Neale Hurston “Uncle Bud”
Bessie Smith “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”
Louis Armstrong “I’m Not Rough”
Duke Ellington “The Creeper”
Ethel Waters/James P. Johnson “Do What You Did Last Night”
WEB DuBois on his role & his desires
Marcus Garvey on the objectives of the UNIA
16d

33. I, Too by Langston Hughes
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. =6CmKf9nZ_4I
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
16d

34. 18th Amendment
Social changes born out of WWI had big impacts on the ROARING TWENTIES
The 18th Amendment brought something many Americans had wanted for a long time --- prohibition
“the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors illegal”
Americans will resist the law.
Who might benefit from this new law that the government had not intended?
15d

35. 15d

36. 15d

37. 19th Amendment
Ratification of the 19th Amendment also had been a long fight
Women were finally given the right to vote, in part thanks to their economic contributions during WWI
What had women done during WWI?
What should we expect of the “Twenties woman”?
15d

38. 15d

39. 15d

40. 15d

41. Henry Ford The automobile would truly replace the horse in the 1920s
The Ford Motor Company’s Model T was the most popular automobile
It was available in any color, so long as that color was black 
What other major industries would benefit from America’s new-found obsession with the automobile?
16b

42. 16b

43. Mass Production
The assembly line is what made the automobile and so many other industries so profitable in the 1920s
American businesses were able to produce more…more efficiently, more quickly & more cheaply than before
If America is producing more than ever before, what does that mean about American consumption of goods?
16b

44. Popular Culture
Radios brought news, sports, and entertainment straight to millions of American homes
Movies helped create the first extremely popular media stars (and lifestyles)
How can movies and radios feed the American trend toward consumerism?
16c