1. Chapter 24 THE NATION AT WAR1

2. A New World Power
American foreign policy pursued by Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, & Wilson ( ) was aggressive & nationalistic
US left the Span-Am War peace table (1898) possessing the Philippines, Puerto Rico, & Guam
Built a large navy to protect the colonial empire, estab’d US Army War College
More & more involved in economic ventures abroad
p.691 2

3. "I Took the Canal Zone"
TR wanted a canal to link the Atlantic & Pacific oceans across the isthmus connecting N Am & S Am
It would be open to ships of all nations
Desired route was in Panama, a Columbian possession ~ Columbia said “no deal”
TR considered seizing the area, but settled for encouraging a revolution & then sent US forces to prevent Colombia from putting down the revolt
The new, independent Panama permitted construction to begin in 1904
1914 ~ Panama Canal opened p 3

4. The Panama Canal Zone
p.691

5. The Roosevelt Corollary
US treated Latin America as a protectorate
“Roosevelt Corollary” ~ Warned Latin Am countries to keep their affairs in order or face US intervention
Intervention occurred in…
Dominican Republic
Panama
Cuba
p.692 4

6. Ventures in the Far East
1905 ~ Roosevelt mediated the Russo-Japanese War (Russia losing/Japan bankrupt)
Taft-Katsura Agreement (Taft Sec of War)
Korea under Japanese influence
Japan to respect US control of Philippines
1907 ~ ”Gentleman’s Agreement” Japan promises to stop immigration
1908 ~ (Sec State) Root-Takahira Agreement
Maintain status quo in Far East
Accept Open Door & Chinese independence
1915 ~ Japan seized German colonies in China and claimed authority over China p 5

7. Taft & Dollar Diplomacy
Taft substituted economic force for military
American bankers assumed Honduran debt to English bondholders, took over assets of the Natl Bank of Haiti & Nicaragua’s Natl Bank
Taft's support for US economic influence in Manchuria alienated China, Japan, Russia
Generally speaking, Dollar Diplomacy promoted US financial & business interests abroad p 6

8. Foreign Policy Under Wilson
Wilson inexperienced in diplomacy, yet he faced crisis after crisis foreign affairs, including the outbreak of WWI
Conducted his own diplomacy, composing diplomatic notes on his own typewriter
“The force of America is the force of moral principle.”
Militarism, colonialism & war must be brought under control
“Extend the blessings of democracy”
p.694 7

9. Conducting Moral Diplomacy
Wilson negotiated “cooling-off” treaties to try & settle disputes without war
Resorted to military force in Latin America
Intervened there more than Roosevelt or Taft

10. Troubles Across the Border
1913 ~ Gen Victoriano Huerta led coup in Mexico (Francisco Madero)
Wilson denied Huerta recognition
Revolutionary regimes must reflect “a just govt based upon law”
Wilson blocked arms shipments to Mexico
1914 ~ US seized Vera Cruz
1916 ~ US Army pursued “Pancho” Villa p 8

11. Activities of the United States in the Caribbean, 1898–1930
Several Americans killed
p.695

12. Toward War War in Europe
Large armies dominated Europe & a web of alliances entangled nations, maximizing risks
June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to throne in Austria-Hungary assassinated by Bosnian linked to Serbia
Central Powers ~ Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Turkey
Allied Powers ~ Eng, France, Italy, & Russia
Wilson sympathized with Allies, but sought US neutrality
p.696 9

13. The Neutrality Policy Progressives saw war as wasteful, irrational
Suspicion that business sought war for profit
Immigrants preferred US neutrality
A long tradition of US neutrality
Americans saw little national stake in war p 10

14. Freedom of the Seas England blockade of Germany
US ships to Germany seized by English
Wilson accepted English promise of reimbursement at war’s end
Germans used U-boats to interrupt trade with Allies
US trade with Allies boomed, but was increasingly financed by loans from American banks
Allies owed US banks $2B by 1917 p 11

15. The U-Boat Threat
German submarines violated international law by shooting without warning
Wilson was urged to ban travel, but he refused
1915 ~ Lusitania sunk by U-Boat
Wilson demanded Germans protect passenger ships & pay for losses
April, 1916 ~ Wilson issued ultimatum: Call off attacks on cargo & passenger ships or US-German relations would be severed
May, 1916 ~ Sussex Pledge—Germany pledges to honor US neutrality p 12

16. "He Kept Us Out of War"
~ Wilson campaigned for peace & “preparedness” ~ Growing U-Boat threat
Republican Charles Evans Hughes campaigned on tougher line against Germany
Wilson won close election
Won large labor, progressive vote
Won majority of women’s vote p 13

17. p.700

18. The Final Months of Peace
Feb 1917 ~ Germany renewed U-Boat attacks
The British govt provided a copy of an intercepted telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico ~ The (Arthur) Zimmerman Telegram
Wanted Mexico to enter the war against the US
Wilson’s response
Ordered US merchant vessels armed
Ordered US Navy to fire on German U-Boats
April 6, 1917 ~ War declared on Germany p 14

19. US Losses to the German Submarine Campaign, 1916–191814

20. Over There Allies were in danger of losing the war
Germans sunk 881,000 T of Allied shipping during April, 1917
Mutinies in French army
British drive in Flanders stalled
Bolsheviks signed separate peace with Germany; German troops to West
Italian army routed on southern flank
Allies braced for spring, 1918 offensive
Lftoff hre
p.701

21. Mobilization US Not Prepared
Wilson placed John J. “Black Jack” Pershing in command of the Am Expeditionary Force
No US contingency plans for war
300k old rifles, 1.5k machine guns, 155 out of date airplanes, 2 field radio sets
200k troops at war’s beginning
Congress ~ Selective Service Act
Conscripted 2.8M by war’s end
African Americans drafted as well p 15

22. European Alliances & Battlefronts, 1914–1917

23. War in the Trenches
Teaming of US, English navies reduced Allied losses to submarines by half
June, 1917 ~ US troops arrived in France
Spring, 1918 ~ US forces helped halt final German offensive
Battle of Chateau Thierry
Battle of Belleau Wood
September ~ Germans out of St. Mihiel
First use of poison gas & tanks p 16

24. The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918

25. The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918
Armistice (Peace) Treaty signed on November 11, 1918
Note: 11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month Veterans’ Day
p.703

26. The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918
Armistice (Peace) Treaty signed on November 11, 1918
Note: 11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month Veterans’ Day
112k Americans Died
p.703

27. Over Here Victory on front depends on mobilization at home
War financed primarily by the sale of “Liberty Bonds”
Wilson consolidates federal authority to organize war production & distribution
Wilson campaigned for American mind’s, the “conquest of of their convictions,” was as vital as events on the battlefield
p.706

28. The Conquest of Convictions
Wartime laws to repress dissent
Espionage Act ~ Outlawed acts to aid the enemy, even encouraging disloyalty
Trading with the Enemy Act ~ Govt can censor foreign language press
Sedition Act ~ Criticism of the war made a crime
1.5k dissenters imprisoned, including Eugene Debs
Numerous atrocities (lynching, etc.)
Summer, 1918 ~ Anticommunism prompts deployment of US troops to Russia to “protect US supplies from the Germans”
1917 Bolshevik Revolution ~ Vladimir Lenin
Wilson feared the communist idea would spread p 17

29. A Bureaucratic War
War Industries Board & other agencies supervised production, distribution to maximize war effort
Govt seized some businesses to keep them running
Cooperation between govt & business the norm
Business profits from wartime industry 18

30. Labor in the War Union membership swells Labor shortage prompts
Wage increase
Entry of Mexican Americans, women, African Americans to war-related industrial work force
Labor saw a chance to “trade labor peace for labor advances” p 19

31. African American Migration Northward, 1910–1920
p.711

32. Labor in the War 200k blacks served in France
42k combat troops
Expected to find better conditions when they returned
Great Migration to northern factories
Blacks must adjust industrial work pace
Encounter Northern racism
1917–1919 ~ Race riots in urban North
Wartime experience prompted new surge of black resistance to discrimination p 20

33. The Treaty of Versailles Official end to WWI
Common concern about Bolshevik revolution
Wilson’s Fourteen Points call for non-punitive settlement
England & France balk at Fourteen Points
Want Germany disarmed & crippled
Want Germany’s colonies
Skeptical of principle of self-determination p 21

34. The Treaty of Versailles
Near Paris, France 21

35. A Peace at Paris
Wilson failed to deflect Allied punishment of Germany in treaty
Treaty created Wilson’s League of Nations
Article X of League charter required members to protect each others’ territorial integrity
League's jurisdiction excluded member nations’ domestic affairs p

36. p.713

37. Europe after The Treaty Versailles, 1919

38. Rejection in the Senate
William Borah (R-ID) led “irreconcibles” who opposed treaty on any grounds
14 Republican senators against every aspect of the League of Nations
October, 1919: Stroke disables Wilson
November: Treaty fails in Senate
January, 1920: Final defeat of Treaty
July, 1921: US peace declared by joint Congressional resolution p 22

39. Rejection in the Senate
Wilson hopes democratic victory in 1920 election would provide mandate for League of Nations
Landslide for Republican Warren Harding
Defeat of League of Nations brought defeat of Progressive spirit p 23

40. The Election of 1920
James M. Cox
See picture p.708
p.716

41. Postwar Disillusionment
To the next generation the war seemed futile, wasteful
The progressive spirit survived but without enthusiasm or broad based support
Americans welcomed Harding’s return to “normalcy”
p.717

42. Chapter 24 THE NATION AT WAR
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