Unit 6: The Age of Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 191) Winning WW I in Europe and at Home!

Unit 6: The Age of Imperialism and World War I (1890 – 191)

Winning WW I in Europe and at Home!

Bell Ringer: From Neutrality to War1. What was the U.S. policy on World War I in 1914?2. Which Allied nation flooded the U.S. with anti-

German propaganda in the early years of World War I?

3. What was the Lusitania?4. The 1917 Zimmermann Note was written by a

German statesman to ask what nation to join Germany in an alliance and attack the U.S.?

The Selective Service Act (1917)

• The draft authorized men 21-30 (later 18-45) to register for military service.

• Lottery numbers were assigned and cards were issued.

• 1 million registered on “Draft Day” June 5, 1917!

• 24 million registered and 2.8 million were drafted.

“The Yanks Are Coming, The Yanks Are Coming!”

• Congress declares war April 6, 1917 as Wilson asked on April 2nd to “make the world safe for democracy.”

• The Russian Revolution & overthrow of the Czar eased the minds of skeptical Americans.

• European leaders didn’t know what to expect from the “Yanks.” Could we get an army ready & in Europe in time? Would we fight?

• U.S “doughboys” were not respected and very inexperienced.

• How would we even get our army safely “Over There?”

Convoys Protect Allied Shipping• Unrestricted Sub. Warfare was

taking its toll as ships were being sunk faster than they were built.

• U.S. Admiral William Simms devised the convoy system – merchant ships surrounded by war ships with trawlers, destroyers, & cruisers.

• Between April and December 1917, Allied losses were cut in half.

The A.E.F. Turns the Tide!• American Expeditionary Force – General

John J. Pershing arrived in France in June 1917, but large numbers of “doughboys” didn’t arrive in until beginning of 1918.

• After Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1917, Russia surrendered and Germany turned all might toward Western Front & launched an all out offensive.

• By end of March 1918, U.S. soldiers had helped turn the tide with counter offensives.“Lafayette, we are here!”

Financing the War• 1915 – Total U.S. budget = $1

Billion.• WW I cost the U.S. $32

Billion!• Liberty Bonds raised $23

Billion.; new taxes paid rest. • Ran by William Gibbs McAdoo

(Treasury Secretary) • Hollywood stars worked Bond

Rallies.• Most bought by banks and

financial groups; a few individuals bought them. Cheapest could be bought for $1.00.

Mobilizing the Economy for War• War Industries Board (July

1917) to oversee government purchases of military supplies.

• Independent of the Council of National Defense and Railroad War Board

• Ran by Bernard Baruch who worked for $1.00/ yr.

• Determined what was made, where it went, and how much it cost.

The Food Administration

• Ran by future U.S. President Herbert Hoover.

• The U.S. and our Allies were dependent on U.S. agriculture.

• Set high prices for wheat and other food products to encourage farmers to plant more.

“Hooverizing” Household Economies• Conserving food viewed

as a patriotic gesture• Adopted slogans like

“Food Will Win the War!”

• “Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays, Porkless Saturdays…”

• Smith-Lever Food & Fuel Act – Daylight Savings Time

Propaganda and Public Opinion• Committee on Public

Information (CPI)• Ran by ex-muckraker

George Creel• Its job was to “sell

America” and “sell the war”

• 75 Million posters and brochures

• Hollywood stars and Four-minute Men gave speeches and held Bond Rallies

• It also sponsored movies.

Government Cracks Down on Dissenters• Individual Rights (Free Speech) vs. War Effort?• Espionage Act (1917) – Treasonable papers and speech

banned! Disloyalty could be punished by $10,000 fine and 20 years prison!

• Sedition Amendment (1918) – Further restricted free speech (on government, the Constitution, or the military. Used to prosecute Socialists (often labor union leaders) , Communists, radicals, and pacifists.

• Eugene V. Debs ( 1/1500 arrested) -10 year sentence in 1918 (pardoned by President Harding in 1921)

Anti-German Hysteria• Vigilante mobs “disciplined” some

who opposed the war.• Dissenters & immigrants, especially

Germans, often the targets of mail, phone taps, harassment, & worse!

• Conscientious Objectors – Americans against war for moral reasons were often targeted

• The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918 movie)

• The Kaiser: The Beast of Berlin• Anything German-sounding banned

(i.e. frankfurters = hotdogs, dachshunds = ? )

Women and the War Effort• Wanted the vote!• Worked in munitions

factories, for railroad & telegraph companies, mail(wo)men, and as clerks.

• Red Cross & Army Corps of Nurses (1918)

• Proved they could do jobs once held by only men!

• 19th Amendment (Summer 1920) finally gave them the vote!

The Great Migration (1910-1920)• Nearly 400,000 African-

Americans served in A.E.F.!

• 1.2 Million moved North to the “Land of Hope”

• Chicago (meatpacking), Detroit (new auto industry), and to cities in the NE U.S.

• Push (racism & Jim Crow laws); Pull (jobs & family)

Bell Ringer – The Home Front1. What agency did future president Herbert Hoover head during WW I?

a. War Industries Board b. Food Administrationc. Committee on Public Information

2. How did the Treasury Department support the war effort?a. Printed more money b. Reduced taxesc. Sold liberty bonds

3. What freedom did the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment restrict to keep Americans loyal?a. Press b. Religion c. Speech

4. During the Great Migration, many African Americans moved from the _________ to the _________ in search of a better way of life.a. South; North b. North; South c. East; West

Ending the Great War!• With each passing week AEF became

more involved. At battles like the 2nd Marne, Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, & St. Mihiel we helped to wear the Germans down at high cost.

• At Chateau-Thierry in Sept. 1918, ½ of doughboys who fought were casualties of war.

• Final offensive – the Meuse-Argonne Campaign (Sept. – Oct. 1918) saw 1 million Americans participate in the last offensive of the war & convince Germany it could not win the war.

Armistice Day – November 11, 1918• Germany surrenders in a railroad car at

Compiegne, France.• 5 Million Allied troops (50,000 US dead and

230,000 wounded) & 8 Million Central Power troops dead! 10% of American troops were killed.

• Maybe as many as 20 million civilians also died! 50-100 million of Influenza

• Most destructive war in history until WW II!• Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to Holland; Czar Nicholas

II assassinated by Bolsheviks!• President Wilson advocates “Peace without

victory.”

Bell Ringer: America Joins the Fight1. The ____ system was developed by the U.S. and used

to protect troop/ supply shipments at sea?a. Rocking Chair b. Convoy c. Cradle

2. He commanded the A.E.F.?a. Alexander b. Patton c. Pershing

3. U.S. troops of the A.E.F. were called _____?a. Doughboys b. Soulja Boys c. Home Boys

4. The armistice that ended WW I was signed on _________, 1918; Veteran’s Day now.a. Oct. 18th b. Nov. 11th c. Dec. 4th