1. 24
The Nation at War 1901–1920

2. A Fateful Torpedo With the sinking of the Lusitania, the American people learned firsthand of the horrors of total war. President Wilson’s decision to protest the incident through diplomacy kept the United States out of the war—but only temporarily.
A Fateful Torpedo With the sinking of the Lusitania, the American people learned firsthand of the horrors of total war. President Wilson’s decision to protest the incident through diplomacy kept the United States out of the war—but only temporarily.

3. The Nation at War 1901–1920 A New World Power
Foreign Policy Under Wilson
Toward War
Over There
Over Here
The Treaty of Versailles
Conclusion: Postwar Disillusionment

4. The Sinking of the Lusitania
Germans sink British luxury liner
Americans sifted through British, German claims and hoped for peace
Wilson hated war but diplomacy failed
April 1917, U.S. enters World War I 2

5. A New World Power
American foreign policy aggressive, nationalistic since late 19th century
Colonialism drew U.S. into international affairs 2

6. Building the Panama Canal
1903: Colombian senate refused to allow U.S. to build Panama Canal
Roosevelt abetted revolution to separate Panama from Colombia
Independent Panama permitted construction 3

7. Building the Panama Canal (cont’d)
HayBunau–Varilla Treaty with Panama granted U.S. control of canal zone; 1914: canal opened
“Roosevelt Corollary”: U.S. would ensure stability of Latin American finance
Roosevelt Corollary spurred intervention in, Cuba, Panama, Dominican Republic 3

8. Map The Panama Canal Zone Construction of the canal began in 1904, and despite landslides, steamy weather, and yellow fever, work was completed in 1914.
Map The Panama Canal Zone Construction of the canal began in 1904, and despite landslides, steamy weather, and yellow fever, work was completed in 1914.

9. Ventures in the Far East
1905: Roosevelt mediated the Russo-Japanese War
Taft-Katsura Agreement
Korea under Japanese influence
Japan to respect U.S. control of Philippines
1907: “Gentleman's Agreement” Japan promises to stop immigration 5

10. Ventures in the Far East (cont’d)
1908: Root-Takahira Agreement
Maintain status quo in Far East
Accept Open Door and Chinese independence
1915: Japan seized German colonies in China and claimed authority over China 5

11. Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
Taft substituted economic force for military
American bankers replaced Europeans in Caribbean
Taft's support for U.S. economic influence in Manchuria alienated China, Japan, Russia 6

12. Foreign Policy Under Wilson
Wilson inexperienced in diplomacy
Tried to base foreign policy on moral force 7

13. Troubles Across the Border
1913: Huerta led coup in Mexico
Wilson denied Huerta recognition
Revolutionary regimes must reflect “a just government based upon law”
Wilson blocked arms shipments to Mexico
1914: U.S. seized Vera Cruz
1916: U.S. Army pursued “Pancho” Villa across U.S., Mexican border 8

14. Map Activities of the United States in the Caribbean, 1898– During the first three decades of the twentieth century, the United States policed the Caribbean, claiming the right to take action when it judged Latin American countries were doing a bad job of running their affairs. During the first three
Map Activities of the United States in the Caribbean, 1898– During the first three decades of the twentieth century, the United States policed the Caribbean, claiming the right to take action when it judged Latin American countries were doing a bad job of running their affairs. During the first three

15. Toward War 1914: War in Europe
Central Powers headed by Germany
Allied Powers headed by England, France
Wilson sympathized with England, sought U.S. neutrality 9

16. The Neutrality Policy Progressives saw war as wasteful, irrational
Suspicion that business sought war for profit
Immigrants prefered U.S. neutrality
A long tradition of U.S. neutrality
Americans saw little national stake in war 10

17. Freedom of the Seas England blockade of Germany
U.S. ships to Germany seized
Wilson accepted English promise of reimbursement at war's end 11

18. Freedom of the Seas (cont’d)
Germans used U-boats to interrupt trade with Allies
U.S. trade with Allies boomed, but was increasingly financed by loans from American banks
Allies owed U.S. banks $2 billion by 1917 11

19. The U-Boat Threat
German submarines violated international law by shooting without warning
Bryan advised Wilson to ban travel, Wilson refused
1915: Lusitania sunk by U-Boat
Wilson demanded Germans protect passenger ships and pay for losses
Bryan resigned, replaced by Robert Lansing, who favored Allies 12

20. The U-Boat A new and terrifying weapon of the war was the German U-boat, which attacked silently and without warning.
The U-Boat A new and terrifying weapon of the war was the German U-boat, which attacked silently and without warning.

21. The U-Boat Threat (cont’d)
April, 1916: Wilson issued ultimatum: call off attacks on cargo and passenger ships or U.S.-German relations would be severed
May, 1916: Sussex Pledge—Germany pledges to honor U.S. neutrality 12

22. The Election of 1916 1916: Wilson campaigned on record of neutrality
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 13

23. The Final Months of Peace
Feb., 1917: Germany renewed U-Boat attacks
Zimmerman Telegram
Wilson's response
Ordered U.S. merchant vessels armed
Ordered U.S. Navy to fire on German U-Boats
April 6, 1917: War declared on Germany 14

24. Over There U.S. allies were in danger of losing war
Germans sunk 881,000 tons 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
Allies braced for spring, 1918 offensive
Lftoff hre

25. Map European Alliances and Battlefronts, 1914– Allied forces suffered early defeats on the eastern front (Tannenberg) and in the Dardanelles (Gallipoli). In 1917, the Allies were routed in the Alps (Caporetto); the western front then became the critical theater of the war.
Map European Alliances and Battlefronts, 1914– Allied forces suffered early defeats on the eastern front (Tannenberg) and in the Dardanelles (Gallipoli). In 1917, the Allies were routed in the Alps (Caporetto); the western front then became the critical theater of the war.

26. Mobilization No U.S. contingency plans for war
200,000 troops at war's beginning
Selective Service Act created draft
Conscripted 2.8 million by war's end
African Americans drafted as well 15

27. War in the Trenches
Teaming of U.S., English navies halved Allied losses to submarines
June, 1917: U.S. troops arrived in France 16

28. War in the Trenches (cont’d)
Spring, 1918: U.S. forces helped halt final German offensive
Battle of Chateau Thierry
Battle of Belleau Wood
September: Germans out of St. Mihiel 16

29. Map 24. 5 The Western Front: U. S
Map The Western Front: U.S. Participation, The turning point of the war came in July, when the German advance was halted at the Marne. The “Yanks,” now a fighting force, were thrown into the breach. They helped stem the tide and mount the counteroffensives that ended the war.
Map The Western Front: U.S. Participation, The turning point of the war came in July, when the German advance was halted at the Marne. The “Yanks,” now a fighting force, were thrown into the breach. They helped stem the tide and mount the counteroffensives that ended the war.

30. Over Here Victory depended on economic, emotional mobilization at home
Wilson moved quickly to organize war production
Recognized need to enlist American emotions 16

31. 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: Government can censor foreign language press
Sedition Act: Criticism of the war made a crime
1500 dissenters imprisoned, including Eugene Debs 17

32. The Conquest of Convictions (cont’d)
Summer, 1918: Anticommunism prompts deployment of U.S. troops to Russia
1918–1919: “Red Scare” resulted in domestic suppression of “radicals” 17

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

34. Labor in the War
War Labor Board standardizes wages, hours, offered women equal pay
Corporations recruited Southern blacks
Growing competition for housings, jobs increased racial tensions and blacks fought back 19

35. Women at Work Housewives did not leave home for the factory en masse in 1917 as they did during World War II, but many women already employed outside the home found new, well-paying opportunities in jobs previously held by men.
Women at Work Housewives did not leave home for the factory en masse in 1917 as they did during World War II, but many women already employed outside the home found new, well-paying opportunities in jobs previously held by men.

36. Labor in the War (cont’d)
Labor shortage prompts entry of Mexican Americans to war-related work force
U.S. emerged from war strongest economic power in the world 19

37. Heroes of the War The 369th infantry regiment returning from the war on the Stockholm in February France awarded them its highest medal for valor, the Croix de Guerre, for bravery in the Meuse-Argonne.
Heroes of the War The 369th infantry regiment returning from the war on the Stockholm in February France awarded them its highest medal for valor, the Croix de Guerre, for bravery in the Meuse-Argonne.

38. The Treaty of Versailles
Common concern about Bolshevik revolution
Wilson's 14 Points call for non-punitive settlement
England and France balk at 14 Points
Want Germany disarmed and crippled
Want Germany's colonies
Skeptical of principle of self-determination 21

39. TABLE Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, 1918: Success and Failure in Implementation Sources: Data from G. M. Gathorne-Hardy, The Fourteen Points and the Treaty of Versailles (Oxford Pamphlets on World Affairs, no. 6, 1939), pp. 8–34 ; Thomas G. Paterson et al., American Foreign Policy: A History Since 1900, 2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 282–293 .
TABLE Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, 1918: Success and Failure in Implementation Sources: Data from G. M. Gathorne-Hardy, The Fourteen Points and the Treaty of Versailles (Oxford Pamphlets on World Affairs, no. 6, 1939), pp. 8–34 ; Thomas G. Paterson et al., American Foreign Policy: A History Since 1900, 2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 282–293 .

40. 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

41. Map Europe after the Treaty of Versailles, The treaty changed the map of Europe, creating new and reconstituted nations. (Note the boundary changes from the map on p. 618.)
Map Europe after the Treaty of Versailles, The treaty changed the map of Europe, creating new and reconstituted nations. (Note the boundary changes from the map on p. 618.)

42. Rejection in the Senate
William Borah (R-ID) led “irreconcibles” who opposed treaty on any ground
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA) led “strong reservationists” demanded major changes; “Article X”
Wilson takes case to the people; October, 1919: Stroke disables Wilson
November: Treaty fails in Senate 22

43. Rejection in the Senate (cont’d)
Wilson hopes democratic victory in 1920 election would provide mandate for League of Nations
Harding wins election
January, 1920: Final defeat of Treaty
July, 1921: U.S. peace declared by joint Congressional resolution 22

44. Conclusion: 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”

45. Timeline
Timeline

46. Timeline (continued)
Timeline (continued)