Dr. Robbins’ Lecture PowerPoint for Ch 30 (American Pageant, 13th ed)

1. The War to End War
1917-1918
Lecture
Chapter 30
The American Pageant, 13th edition

2. Quickwrite
 What was the goal of the Committee
of Public Information, and how did it
achieve it?
OR
 What was the purpose of Wilson’s
Fourteen Points Address?

3. US Enters the War
 What led the US to finally enter the war in
April, 1917?
 How prepared was the US for battle in
Europe?

4. US Enters the War
 Zimmerman Note
 German foreign secretary Zimmerman sent telegram
offering German-Mexican alliance
 Suggested return of old Mexican territory if US was defeated
 Intercepted by British & passed on to US
 Americans furious; adds to anti-German anger
 Unrestricted submarine warfare
 New submarine attacks push the US to declare war
 Four unarmed US merchant vessels sunk in two weeks

5.  US declares war on Germany on April 6,
1917
 The US was not prepared for war
 Wilson inspired the populace with the call “to
make the world safe for democracy”

6. The Fourteen Points
 What was the purpose of Wilson’s Fourteen
Points Address?
 How did the Fourteen Points address
colonial issues?
 What was the most important of the
Fourteen Points?

7. The Fourteen Points
 Purpose of the Fourteen Points
 Offer solutions to long-standing issues that had
led to WW1
 Perhaps lead to a quick conclusion to the war

8. Key Themes of the Fourteen Points
 Abolish secret treaties
 Freedom of the seas
 Removal of economic barriers
 Reduction of armaments
 Shifting of colonial claims to address
colonists’ and imperialists’ concerns

9. More Key Themes of the Fourteen
Points
 Eventual self-determination of minority
nationalities
 International organization for shared
security
 Led to the League of Nations (predecessor to the
United Nations)

10. The US War Effort
 What was the goal of the Committee of
Public Information, and how did it achieve it?
 What was the effect of the war on
 German-Americans?
 American civil liberties?
 The labor movement?
 African-Americans?
 American women?

11. Committee on Public Information
 Propaganda committee to convince Americans to
support the war, led by George Creel
 And other countries to support Wilson’s goals
 Forms of propaganda
 Army of 75,000 patriotic speechgivers
 Posters
 Leaflets and pamphlets
 Anti-German movies
 Patriotic and pro-military songs (Over There)
 Sold program so well that disappointment was
great when not all Wilson’s goals were fulfilled

12. Over There 12 Over There.m4p
 Johnnie, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run,
Hear them calling you and me, ev'ry son of liberty
Hurry right away, no delay, go today
Make your Daddy glad to have had such a lad,
Tell your sweetheart not to pine, to be proud her boy's in line
Over there, over there!
Send the word, send the word, over there!
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming ev'rywhere!
So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word to beware!
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back 'til it's over
Over There!

13. …Over There
Johnnie, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun you're a son of a gun!
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die
Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit
Yankees to the ranks from the towns and the tanks
Make your mother proud of you and the old Red White and Blue
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word, over there!
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming ev'ry where
So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back 'til it's over
Over There!

18. German Americans
 Most German Americans supported US, but
fears spread anti-German fervor and led to
sometimes mistreatment
 A few tarred and feathered, beaten; one lynched
 German foods renamed “liberty cabbage” and
liberty steak” while German music etc ignored
 (no Beethoven or Wagner)

19. Civil Liberties
 Espionage Act of 1917 & Sedition Act of 1918
 Led to 1900 prosecutions directed mostly at German-
Americans, anti-war activists, and social radicals
 Socialist leader Eugene Debs and Labor Leader Bill
Haywood each sentenced to 10 years
 Criticism of government often censored or punished
 Schenk vs. U.S.
 Supreme Court case supported censorship by saying
that freedom of speech could be revoked when it
posed a “clear and present danger”

20. “Labor Will Win the War”
 War effort built up by US workers
 National Labor War Board mostly treated workers
fairly
 Worked to avoid labor disputes
 Pushed concessions for higher wages & 8-hour day
 AF of L supported the war; IWW did not
 AF of L skilled workers wages rose 20%
 IWW unskilled workers (Wobblies) often badly treated
 Still about 6,000 strikes during WW1
 Steelworkers strike the biggest in US history (250,000
workers out)

21. African-Americans
 First major African-American migration
north occurred during WW1
 10,000s went north for wartime jobs, most stayed
 Beginning of the “Great Migration”
 Led to race riots in some communities
 East St. Louis, MO
 Chicago: two weeks of violence led to 23 blacks
and 15 whites killed

22. Women & the War Effort
 Women’s Movement split between pro- and
anti-war feminists
 But pro-war women in the majority
 Gained them much gratitude and respect from
president who had previously ignored call for woman
suffrage (finally achieved in 1920)
 1000s of women worked in factories replacing
men at war, or served as nurses at the front
 Most returned home after war

23. Home Front War Effort
 Home Front efforts largely voluntary
 “heatless Mondays”, “meatless Tuesdays”, etc.
 Victory Gardens in backyards
 farm production increased 25%
 Liberty Bonds

24. Over There, Over There
 What was the difference between the
expectation and the reality of war for the
American soldiers?
 How important was the arrival of the
Americans to the Allied victory?

25. Over There, Over There
 Conscription (or Draft) Law was reluctantly
passed by Congress
 4 million men joined or were drafted
 Sent over with minimal training
 More than 10,000 women also joined as support
staff
 African-American men served in segregated
units under white officers, mostly as support staff
(construction, shiploading, etc)

26.  Though poorly trained and late in arriving,
US soldiers tipped the balance in the Allies’
favor
 Through relatively few Americans died, several
battles were fierce and deadly (Argonne Forest)
 Germans surrender Nov 11, 1918 due to
 sheer number of Americans arrived…and
expected
 exhaustion of their own forces and resources

27. After Armistice
 What was the result of the 1918 U.S.
elections and how did it affect Wilson’s
position at the Treaty conference?
 What led to Wilson’s downfall at home and
abroad?
 What were some of the main ideas of the
final Treaty of Versailles?

28. After Armistice
 Wilson was at the peak of popularity, but his partisan
campaigning led to a narrow Republican win in
Congress
 Wilson arrived at Treaty negotiations politically weaker
due to Democratic election losses
 Made matters worse by only inviting one Republican to the
Treaty meetings
 Despite all his efforts, only one of his Fourteen Points
was adopted by Allies: the League of Nations
 Germany was seriously punished for its key role
 Colonies simply switched from one imperialist to another etc

29.  Wilson campaigned around the country to get
public support for Treaty of Versailles
 Wilson collapsed while on his campaign, then had a
stroke; virtually immobile back at the White House
 Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
presented compromises to Wilson for Treaty
agreement, but Wilson refused
 Lodge asked to add list of reservations over US
sovereignty (objected to League of Nations)
 Treaty vote failed to get 2/3 required vote in the
Senate
 US never signed Treaty of Versailles

30. Aftermath
 US voters turned out Democrats in next
election
 Republican Warren G Harding elected president
in 1920
 Led to more conservative politics and
isolationism of the 1920s
 Without US support, Treaty of Versailles
and League of Nations ultimately fail
 Hitler and Germany rise again 20 years later