World War I (1914-1918)
Fundamental Causes
Imperialism – Europe grabbed colonies
Militarism – Build up; poised to fight
Nationalism – Pride
- Pride in owning colonies
- Subject nationalities want independence
Alliances – Complicated web; bound to honor them
Immediate Cause
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Austria-Hungary)
Chain of events:
Austria blames Serbia, declares war
Russia (aids Serbia) – war on Germany
France (aids Russia) – prepares to fight
Germany invades France through neutral Belgium (Schlieffen Plan)
Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey
Allies – Russia, France, Great Britain
Marne – French stop Germany 30 miles outside Paris
Stalemate – 600 mile Western Front
War of attrition – trenches, “no man’s land,”
Weapons – giant artillery, machine guns, grenades, tanks, poison gas, dirigibles,
Airplanes, torpedoes (U-Boats)
Massive casualties; line blurs between military and civilian; morale declines
American response – mixed
Many German and Irish Americans (hostile to GB)
Most favored Allies – saw Germany as autocratic, militaristic, cold-blooded
Official policy – NEUTRAL (Woodrow Wilson)
Growing preparedness movement – German subs threatened American business (“unrestricted submarine warfare”) – firing on commercial vessels
1915 – Germany sinks Lusitania (128 Americans die) – Americans outraged
1916 – Germany sinks Sussex (Fr)
Sussex pledge – will warn before attacking
1916 – Wilson reelected – “He kept us out of war”
1916 – Zimmerman note – Germany promises Mexico part of U.S. territory lost
1917 – Russian gov’t. (Czar Nicholas II – autocrat) overthrown; republican gov’t. installed
U.S. now more willing to support Russia
1917 – U.S. joins war – “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Wilson)
Americans in Europe
John J. Pershing – commander of AEF – American Expeditionary Force
U.S. unprepared; Selective Service Act, but many volunteers
Women – nurses, drivers, clerks
Convoy system – destroyers & armed vessels surrounded ships carrying troops
Americans – “doughboys” (dumpling shaped buttons)
1917 – Bolsheviks (Lenin) come to power in Russia and withdraw from war
Germany now only has to fight on one front – turns attention to France
Americans help save Paris at Chateau-Thierry
Began to break German lines (tanks)
Meuse-Argonne – final allied assault (Sgt. Alvin York)
Armistice – November 11, 1918 (Veterans Day)
Europe – 8 million dead (116,000 Americans)
Millions of civilians; genocide (Turks against Armenians)
Home Front
Liberty Bonds to raise money
Economy switches to wartime production
War Industries Board – materials, production, prices
Lever Food and Fuel Control Act – price controls, rationing
Rationing – meat, fuel, sugar, etc. ; saved metal scraps, rubber
Gospel of the Clean Plate
Fuel Administration – daylight savings time
Restriction of immigrants
Censorship
Propaganda – German measles – Liberty Measles, hamburger – Liberty Sandwich; “Huns”
Civil liberties repressed – Espionage Act; Sedition Act
Socialists, radicals, labor leaders harassed, arrested (Debs, Gompers)
Some opportunities for minorities and women as men went to war
Prohibition 1919 (18th Amendment)
Peace
Wilson’s 14 Points – no interest in “spoils” of war
No alliances, freedom of the seas
Reduction of arms, self determination for all
League of Nations – organization to keep peace (if one is attacked, all are attacked)
Paris 1919 – Big 4 (GB, FR, US, IT)
Allies punished (crushed) Germany
“war guilt”; reparations (56 billion)
humiliated, desire for revenge (Hitler????)
Wilson travels country to promote League of Nations; stroke;
Senate fails to ratify, signed separate agreements
The 20’s
Unrest:
Red Scare – fear of communism (Russia)
Government owns land/property
Single political party
No individual rights
Government urges revolution worldwide
Schenk v. U.S. – “Clear and present danger”
Individual rights may be repressed if actions endanger society
Palmer Raids – Attorney A. Mitchell Palmer
Raids against subversives, radicals, socialists, labor organizers
Arrested, deported, ruined lives and careers
Labor – strikes increased
Republican Leadership – Harding, Coolidge, Hoover
Harding – policies/issues
Isolationism – avoid involvement in foreign affairs
Disarmament – urged nations to reduce military
Increased nativism – restrictions on immigration – quotas (esp. S. and E. Europe)
Teapot Dome Scandal – Sec. of Interior Albert Fall
Leased gov’t land for oil use; took paybacks; corrupt
Coolidge – Silent Cal
Restored confidence after corruption
Laissez faire
Continued isolationism
Kellogg Briand Pact – 15 nations agreed not to use war to settle disputes
Hoover – 1928
Growth of consumer economy
Industry grew, more products available (electricity), wages rose, economic BOOM
Buying on credit; installment plan
Henry Ford – automobile industry – Model T
Assembly line, specialization (interchangeable parts); mass production
Car every 24 seconds; lowered cost; more available to consumers
Led to new businesses – highways, gas stations, motels, restaurants, etc.
Society in the 1920’s
Flappers – rebellious, bold young women; changing roles
Smoking, drinking, short dresses
More women in the workplace
Movement to northern cities
African American movement north as well
Growth of suburbs
Heroes
Charles Lindbergh “Lucky Lindy” – crossed Atlantic alone – 33 hours
Amelia Earhart – from Hawaii to California; disappeared later over Pacific
Sports – Jack Dempsey (boxing); Babe Ruth (baseball); Gertrude Ederle (swam
English channel); Helen Wills (tennis); Bobby Jones (golf)
Mass Media
Newspapers, magazines, radio
Movies – Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford (birth of Hollywood)
The Jazz Singer – Al Jolson
Jazz Age – nationwide, not just urban areas
Clubs, radio
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie
Literature – “Lost Generation” – rebelled against culture
Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby); Ernest Hemmingway
Harlem Renaissance – revival of literature, music, poetry (Langston Hughes)
Prohibition (18th Amendment)
Bootleggers – stills, “bathtub gin”; speakeasies
Organized crime – competition over bootlegging
Al Capone – “Scarface” – ruthless
Gambling, prostitution, racketeering (finally caught for tax evasion)
FBI – J. Edgar Hoover
Religion – Fundamentalism vs. Evolution
Scopes Trial - John Scopes taught evolution to students
Clarence Darrow v. William Jennings Bryan (Fundamentalist)
Racial tensions
Violence against African Americans; revival of the KKK (peak membership 4 mil)
Marcus Garvey – racial pride, self improvement; Motherland Africa (back to Africa)
UNIA – Universal Negro Improvement Association