World War One
Chapter 19 Summary

1. World War I Begins

Long term causes of the war: nationalism, imperialism, militarism, alliances

Nationalism--excessive pride and patriotism, "my country right or wrong," among the European powers

Imperialism--establishment of colonies to create empires: critics of the war argued it was really about land and power

Militarism--an arms race involving both armies and navies in Europe: European governments had built up their militaries, there had not been a major war since the 1870s (Franco-Prussian War)

Alliances--Triple Entente (France, Britain and Russia) vs. Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy); during the war Allies vs. Central Powers, Italy would switch sides in 1915, US would eventually side with Allies as an Associated Power, Russia would drop out after Bolshevik Revolution

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalists in June1914 in Bosnia (a province of Austra-Hungary)

Austria-Hungary declares war in July, Russia mobilizes to support Serbia, Germany declares war on Russia and France, Germany attacks France and brings Britain into the war as it crosses through Belgium, Ottoman Empire (Turkey) sides with Germany

Germany's Schlieffen Plan called for a quick and decisive strike against France, and then to attack Russia

German army stopped at the Battle of the Marne, outside of Paris; French mobilized taxicabs to get soldiers to the front

Trench warfare unfolds by 1915 for the rest of the war, extending from Switzerland to the English Channel

Artillery weapons (cannons could hurl huge shells 75 miles), machine guns, poison gas and tanks; trench foot disease, shell shock, general slaughter on all sides including civilians

American neutrality: despite general sympathy for the British most Americans hoped the USA would avoid the bloodshed

Both the British and the Germans established blockades to attempt to strangle their enemies

Over 750,000 Germans died as a result of the British blockade (from starvation)

About 75,000 people lost their lives due to ships damaged by German U-boats (submarines)

American anger at the British, outrage towards the Germans: British propaganda convinced many Americans that the Germans were hostile brutes terrorizing their European victims, American cultural ties to Britain were also helpful to the Allies

Between 1914 and 1917 commercial trade with the Allies quadrupled while trade with the Central Powers dropped to practically zero

Sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915: Americans were warned by the German government not to travel on a ship headed for the war zone; besides passengers it carried war supplies

Wilson runs in 1916 as the candidate "who kept us out of war" and narrowly wins against Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes

Zimmermann Telegram revealed a plan by Germany to lure Mexico into the war with hopes of regaining some of its lost land from the 1846-7 war was intercepted by British intelligence, and more submarine aggression leads to declaration of war in April 1917

2. American Power Tips the Balance

US Army had 200,000 men, out of date weapons, and 55 planes

Selective Service Act of May 1917 passed, 24 million registered, 3 million drafted, 2 million actually serve in Europe with 1.5 million in combat, led by Gen. John Pershing

Massive ship building campaign to send materiel to Europe

Convoy system used to protect merchant ships

American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was green and lightly trained, fresh and eager for combat, known as "doughboys," remained a separate force

Teddy Roosevelt hoped to lead an all volunteer unit to France, Wilson refused the request and instead TR's four sons would serve (with one killed and one seriously wounded)

48,000 killed in combat, another 62,000 died from disease

Beginning in the spring of 1918 they had begun to make a major contribution to the war, at Cantigny, Chateau-Thierry, and Belleau Wood, 2nd Battle of the Marne, Saint-Mihiel and Meuse Argonne

Americans were important because of Russia's departure from the war in late 1917 due to Bolshevik Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and problems in the French Army with its mutinies that seemed to indicate a possible collapse of their war effort

Germany navy revolts in November 1918, followed by civilian revolts across Germany, led by socialists, the Kaiser abdicates and German leaders ask for an armistice, general exhaustion

Total death count: 26 million (soldiers and civilians), 30 nations involved, cost: $350 billion, 10 million refugees (note: numbers and $ vary widely)

3. The War at Home

War production at home would be a major factor in the Allies winning the war

War Industries Board (WIB) organized and led by Wall Street financier Bernard Baruch, it standardized and supervised private production, increase of 20% or more in production

Fuel Administration Board and Railroad Administration Board organized to support the war effort

Wages and inflation both rose appreciably during the war; strikes are outlawed

The war created a period of unprecedented prosperity for many Americans: due to decreased immigration wages rose for American workers, factory production would be sent overseas, America became a creditor nation for the first time

Union membership increased from 2.5 million to 4 million

Food Administration Board led by Herbert Hoover, organized "meatless" or "wheatless" days, encouraged victory gardens

Farmer income rose by 30%; Great migration of southern blacks to northern cities--factory jobs

Women entered the labor force in record numbers (at less pay than men) and most would lose their jobs at the end of the war

The government spent $33 billion in the war effort--$11 billion was raised by taxes: higher income tax, war profits taxes, and excise taxes

Liberty and Victory bonds (loans to the government) paid for the rest of the war costs

Government propaganda effort to build public support for the war effort through Committee on Public Information, led by George Creel; public speakers and pamplets

Anti-German feelings increased among the American people; however 2 million Americans were born in Germany and many sympathized with the German government; Irish-Americans tended be be anti-British as well

American Protective League organized a "Hate the Hun" campaign; some violence took place against German-Americans; teaching of German language was forbidden in some public schools, including within the APS

Many progressives, socialists, and former populists had doubts about the war

Espionage and Sedition Acts passed, violating the spirit of the First Amendment

Even Teddy Roosevelt was considered a security risk and the Wilson cabinet actually considered prosecuting him due to his criticism of Wilson during the war

6,000 arrests and 1,500 convictions: any action that interfered with war effort was open to prosecution, Eugene Debs received a 10 year sentence for addressing a crowd, discussing the economic causes of the war (he was imprisoned at Atlanta Federal Prison)

Labor leaders targeted to discourage strikes, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) smashed as its leaders were imprisoned or deported

U.S. vs. Schenck: in 1919 Supreme Court led by Oliver Wendall Holmes rules that in times of a "clear and present danger" constitutional rights may be limited

Influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 killed over 650,000 Americans and 40 million worldwide

4. Wilson Fights for Peace

Wilson traveled to Europe after the war with his Fourteen Points: self-determination for all peoples, open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, arms reduction, limits on colonialism, limits on tariffs, and a League of Nations that would work to prevent future wars

He was hailed as a great leader by the European peoples though most of his proposals would be set aside during the post-war negotiations

British and French were extremely angry towards the Germans, sought revenge and over $30 billion in monetary reparations

The Treaty of Versailles was forced upon the German government and would prove disastrous, sowing the seeds for Nazism in German and WW2

Defeated Central Powers, Russia (it lost more land than Germany) and smaller Allies were not allowed to participate in negotiations

New nations, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and Ireland were formed after the war

Germany was demilitarized and forced to pay $33 billion in war damages (reparations) and sign a war guilt clause admitting sole responsibility for the war: the German government and people felt betrayed by the harsh terms

Germany was stripped of its colonies

People living in European colonies were denied right to self-determination

Wilson refused to allow Republican Senate leaders to participate in the American delegation, and consequently found they refused to support the treaty

American tradition of independence and isolation in foreign policy worked against America's participation in the League: the USA was not isolationist but more accurately unilateralist in its approach to foreign policy

Wilson, arrogant and uncompromising, proved inflexible in his efforts to win Senate support for the treaty and the League

He made an attempt to take his case directly to the people, suffered a major stroke (first described as a "nervous breakdown") in October 1919

The treaty and League were defeated twice, in votes of November 1919 and March 1920, finally a treaty with Germany was signed in 1921 under Harding's leadership--US never joined the League

German people believed their country had been unfairly treated after the war; experienced a severe depression and inflation in 1920s, seeds of bitterness for WW2 and Adolph Hitler & the Nazis