Tommy's Notes Repository

5 - 6 World War I

7 min read

World War I

Here comes the USA

The Road to America’s Entry

Neutrality

  • President Wilson was determined to keep the United States neutral in World War 1
  • This would prove to be easier said than done.

Divisions in America

  • 8 million German Americans.
    • Many of them supported their old homeland
  • 4.5 million Irish Americans.
    • Resentment over centuries of British rule led many of them to support the central powers
  • Majority of Americans supported the Allies.
    • Common heritage and culture with England.
    • Age old friendship with France since they helped us in our Revolutionary war

Propaganda

  • Both sides in the war used propaganda tactics.
  • The British, who were particularly skilled in this, cut the translatlantic cable from Europe to the US so that they could control war reports to the US
    • British reports of German atrocities helped sway American public opinion onto the side of the Allies.

American Businesses

  • Had strong ties to Allied countries.
    • Some pro-German banks lent around $27 million to Germany.

U - Boats

  • German Submarines
  • England blockaded German ports.
    • Intercepting merchant ships and forcing them into British ports for inspection
  • February 1915 – Germany declared it would sink, without warning, any ship found in the waters around Britain.
  • Americans are outraged, Germany had previously signed an international treaty which banned attacks on civilian ships withou warning

The Lusitania

  • British passenger ship.
  • Sunk by a uboat killing aroud 1200 people including 128 Americans ( May 7, 1915 )
  • Americans see this as a terrorist attack on civilians.
  • President Wilso nstill refused to declare war, still seeking neutrality
  • U-Boats attack a French passenger ship, the Sussex, injuring several Americans on board.
  • Wilson finally issued a last warning to Germany, calling for an end to “unrestricted submarine warfare”
  • Germany, to avoid war with the U.S., pledges to stop sinking merchant ships without warning.

The Election of 1916

  • Wilson is re-elected with the slogan:
    • “He kept us out of the war”

The Zimmerman Telegram

  • Junary 1917 - German official Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram to Germany’s ambassador in Mexico
  • This telegram proposed a deal with Mexico.
    • If Mexico joined Germany in a war with the US Germany promisde to restore Mexio’s lost terriroty in Texas, New mexico, and Arizona
    • British intelligence intercepted the letter and leaked it to the American newspapers.
  • Furious Americans concluded that war with Germany is now necessary

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

  • February 1 1917 - Germany resumed its practice of sinking all shpis bound for England
  • Germany hoped to starve Britain of supplies, bringing them into submission in a few months.
  • In just under 2 months, German U-boats sank 6 American ships.
  • Germany underestimated America’s ability to respond quickly

U.S. Declares War

  • April 2, 1917 – President Wilson appeared before a special session of Congress.
  • Wilson declared that ” The world must be made safe for democracy ”
  • Congress passed the war resolution, bringing America officially into WWI

Organizing the War Effort

  • Progressives in the govenrment applied their ideas of planning and scientific management, to the war effort

Wartime Agencies

  • Created by the government to coordinate between the federal government and big businesses.
  • Emphasized cooperation between the two in order to meet war needs

The War Industries Board

  • Established in July 1917 to coordinate the production of war materials.
    • Told manufacturers what they could produce.
    • Allocated raw materials to businessess
    • Created new factories
    • Set prices

The Food Administration

  • Run by future president Herbert Hoover
  • Responsible for increasing food production
  • Worked to reduce civilian food consumption.
    • “Food will win the war, dont waste it”
    • Encouraged families to plant Victory gardens.
    • Hooverizin - Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays, Porkless Thursdays
    • Made more food available for troops.

Fuel Administration

  • Managed the nation’s coal and oil use.
  • Established day-light savings time toconserve energy in factories
  • Encouraged families to take part in Heatless Mondays

National War Labor Board

  • Established to keep strikes from disrupting the war effort.
  • Mediated Labor disputes that would lead to strikes
  • Encouraged businesses to improve wages, adopt an eight hour day, and allow collective bargaining.
  • In exchange, labor leaders agreed not to hurt war production with strikes.

Committee on Public Information

  • CPI
  • Created by Wilson to “Sell” the war to Americans.
  • Recruited Advertising Executives, artists, authors, songwriters, entertainers, public speakers, and movie companies
  • American propaganda machine

Paying For the War

  • Spent 32 billion by the end of WW1
  • Raise income tax
  • Imposed extra taxes on arms factories profits.
  • Sold Liberty and Victory Bonds
    • Govt borrowed 20 billion from Americans by selling bonds
    • Bonds would gather interest for a specified amount of time.

Women in War

  • With men fighting in Europe, factories hired women
    • Women worked in factories, shipyards, and railroad yards as well as serving as police officers, mail carriers, and train engineers.
  • After the war, women woudl return to previous roles at home or in their old jobs

The Great Migration

  • African Americans also moved north to fill war time jobs.
  • Henry ford sent agents to the south to recruit workers.
  • Other companies followed his example.
  • Between 300,000 and 500,000 African Americans moved north.
    • Greatly changing the racial makeup of cities such as Chicago, New York, Cleveland, and Detroit.
  • This move also changed the politics in the north.
    • Many African Americans who had been prevented from voting in the south, now were able to vote in the north

Building the Military

Selective Service Act (1917)

  • Congress with wilson’s support passed a new draft to fill the war time military
  • This required all men, ages 21-30, to register.
  • A lottery was used to randomly determine the order of draft.
  • Draftees appeared before local draft boards who decided who to enlist and who to leave at home.
  • Approximately 2.8 million men were drafted

African American Soldiers

  • 400,000 African Americans were drafted.
  • 42,000 would serve as combat troops, the rest would serve as cooks, laborers, laundrymen, etc.
  • Combat troops served in segregated units, usually under white officers

The “Harlem Hell-Fighters” * 369th Regiment – An African American unit. * Assigned to the Frnech army and sent immediately to the front * First Americans in combat in WWI. * Spent 191 days in the trenches * Suffered 1,500 casualties. * Whole unit received the French war cross for gallantry in combat

Women In The Military

  • WWI = First war in which women officially served in the armed forces ( or atleast wore the uniform ) . Noncombatant positions
  • Noncombatant positions.
    • Navy
      • Clerical workers, radio operators, electricians, pharmicists, chemists, photographers
    • Army
      • Nursing Corp - the only women sent overseas

The War Effort vs. Civil Liberties

Espionage

  • Spying to acquire government information

The War Effort vs. Civil Liberties

  • in an effort to limit opposition to the war efforts, and fight espionage, the US govenrment passed new legislation focusing on these goals

Espionage Act (1917)

  • Made it illegal to aid the enemy give false reports or interfere in the war effort

Sedition Act (1918)

  • Made it illegal to speak out against the war ( or government ) publicly
  • The 1st amendment to the constitution states that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”.
  • Despite protests over 1st ammendment violations the Superme court upheld both of these acts on nuemrous occasions ( over 1000 convictions )
  • The Supreme Court ruled that the government could restrict speech when the words constitute a “Clear and present danger”.

Supreme Court Cases Schenck v. United States, 1919 * Charles Schenck mailed pahmphlets to draftees telling them that the draft was wrong and urging them to write protest letters Abrams v. United States, 1919 * Jacob Abrams wrote pamphlets denouncing the war and criticizing the decision to send troops to Russia to fight communist forces

  • Both men were convicted under the Espionage Act.