Chapter 24THE NATION AT WAR

A New World Power American foreign policy pursued by

Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, & Wilson (1901-1920) was aggressive & nationalistic

US left the Span-Am War peace table (1898) possessing the Philippines, Puerto Rico, & Guam

Built a large navy to protect the colonial empire, estab’d US Army War College

More & more involved in economic ventures abroad

p.691

"I Took the Canal Zone" TR wanted a canal to link the Atlantic &

Pacific oceans across the isthmus connecting N Am & S Am– It would be open to ships of all nations

Desired route was in Panama, a Columbian possession ~ Columbia said “no deal”– TR considered seizing the area, but settled for

encouraging a revolution & then sent US forces to prevent Colombia from putting down the revolt

The new, independent Panama permitted construction to begin in 1904– 1914 ~ Panama Canal opened p.691-692

The Panama Canal Zone

p.691

The Roosevelt Corollary

US treated Latin America as a protectorate “Roosevelt Corollary” ~ Warned Latin Am

countries to keep their affairs in order or face US intervention

Intervention occurred in… – Dominican Republic– Panama– Cuba

p.692

Ventures in the Far East 1905 ~ Roosevelt mediated the Russo-Japanese

War (Russia losing/Japan bankrupt) Taft-Katsura Agreement (Taft Sec of War)

– Korea under Japanese influence – Japan to respect US control of Philippines

1907 ~ ”Gentleman’s Agreement” Japan promises to stop immigration

1908 ~ (Sec State) Root-Takahira Agreement – Maintain status quo in Far East– Accept Open Door & Chinese independence

1915 ~ Japan seized German colonies in China and claimed authority over China

p.692-693

Taft & Dollar Diplomacy Taft substituted economic force for military American bankers assumed Honduran debt to

English bondholders, took over assets of the Natl Bank of Haiti & Nicaragua’s Natl Bank

Taft's support for US economic influence in Manchuria alienated China, Japan, Russia

Generally speaking, Dollar Diplomacy promoted US financial & business interests abroad

p.693-694

Foreign Policy Under Wilson Wilson inexperienced in diplomacy, yet

he faced crisis after crisis foreign affairs, including the outbreak of WWI

Conducted his own diplomacy, composing diplomatic notes on his own typewriter

“The force of America is the force of moral principle.”– Militarism, colonialism & war must be

brought under control– “Extend the blessings of democracy” p.694

Conducting Moral Diplomacy

Wilson negotiated “cooling-off” treaties to try & settle disputes without war

Resorted to military force in Latin America– Intervened there more than Roosevelt or

Taft

Troubles Across the Border

1913 ~ Gen Victoriano Huerta led coup in Mexico (Francisco Madero)

Wilson denied Huerta recognition– Revolutionary regimes must reflect “a just govt

based upon law” Wilson blocked arms shipments to Mexico 1914 ~ US seized Vera Cruz 1916 ~ US Army pursued “Pancho” Villa

p.695-696

Activities of the United States in the Caribbean, 1898–1930

p.695

Several Americans killed

Toward War War in Europe

– Large armies dominated Europe & a web of alliances entangled nations, maximizing risks

– June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to throne in Austria-Hungary assassinated by Bosnian linked to Serbia

Central Powers ~ Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Turkey

Allied Powers ~ Eng, France, Italy, & Russia Wilson sympathized with Allies, but sought

US neutrality p.696

The Neutrality Policy

Progressives saw war as wasteful, irrational

Suspicion that business sought war for profit

Immigrants preferred US neutrality A long tradition of US neutrality Americans saw little national stake in

war

p.696-697

Freedom of the Seas England blockade of Germany US ships to Germany seized by English Wilson accepted English promise of

reimbursement at war’s end Germans used U-boats to interrupt trade

with Allies US trade with Allies boomed, but was

increasingly financed by loans from American banks

Allies owed US banks $2B by 1917p.697-698

The U-Boat Threat German submarines violated international

law by shooting without warning Wilson was urged to ban travel, but he

refused 1915 ~ Lusitania sunk by U-Boat

– Wilson demanded Germans protect passenger ships & pay for losses

April, 1916 ~ Wilson issued ultimatum: Call off attacks on cargo & passenger ships or US-German relations would be severed

May, 1916 ~ Sussex Pledge—Germany pledges to honor US neutrality

p.698-699

"He Kept Us Out of War"

1915-16 ~ Wilson campaigned for peace & “preparedness” ~ Growing U-Boat threat

Republican Charles Evans Hughes campaigned on tougher line against Germany

Wilson won close election– Won large labor, progressive vote – Won majority of women’s vote

p.699-700

p.700

The Final Months of Peace Feb 1917 ~ Germany renewed U-Boat

attacks The British govt provided a copy of an

intercepted telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico ~ The (Arthur) Zimmerman Telegram– Wanted Mexico to enter the war against the US

Wilson’s response– Ordered US merchant vessels armed– Ordered US Navy to fire on German U-Boats

April 6, 1917 ~ War declared on Germany

p.700-701

US Losses to the German Submarine Campaign, 1916–1918

p.701

Over There

Allies were in danger of losing the war– Germans sunk 881,000 T of Allied shipping

during April, 1917– Mutinies in French army– British drive in Flanders stalled– Bolsheviks signed separate peace with

Germany; German troops to West– Italian army routed on southern flank

Allies braced for spring, 1918 offensive

p.701

MobilizationUS Not Prepared

Wilson placed John J. “Black Jack” Pershing in command of the Am Expeditionary Force

No US contingency plans for war– 300k old rifles, 1.5k machine guns, 155 out of

date airplanes, 2 field radio sets– 200k troops at war’s beginning

Congress ~ Selective Service Act– Conscripted 2.8M by war’s end– African Americans drafted as well

p.701-702

European Alliances & Battlefronts, 1914–1917

p.702

War in the Trenches

Teaming of US, English navies reduced Allied losses to submarines by half

June, 1917 ~ US troops arrived in France Spring, 1918 ~ US forces helped halt final

German offensive– Battle of Chateau Thierry – Battle of Belleau Wood

September ~ Germans out of St. Mihiel First use of poison gas & tanks

p.702-703

The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918

p.703

The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918

p.703

Armistice (Peace) Treaty signed on

November 11, 1918

Note: 11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month Veterans’ Day

The Western Front: U.S. Participation, 1918

p.703

Armistice (Peace) Treaty signed on

November 11, 1918

Note: 11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month Veterans’ Day

112k Americans Died

Over Here Victory on front depends on mobilization at

home– War financed primarily by the sale of “Liberty

Bonds” Wilson consolidates federal authority to

organize war production & distribution Wilson campaigned for American mind’s,

the “conquest of of their convictions,” was as vital as events on the battlefield

p.706

The Conquest of Convictions

Wartime laws to repress dissent– Espionage Act ~ Outlawed acts to aid the enemy, even

encouraging disloyalty– Trading with the Enemy Act ~ Govt can censor foreign

language press– Sedition Act ~ Criticism of the war made a crime– 1.5k dissenters imprisoned, including Eugene Debs– Numerous atrocities (lynching, etc.)

Summer, 1918 ~ Anticommunism prompts deployment of US troops to Russia to “protect US supplies from the Germans”– 1917 Bolshevik Revolution ~ Vladimir Lenin– Wilson feared the communist idea would spread

p.706-709

A Bureaucratic War

War Industries Board & other agencies supervised production, distribution to maximize war effort

Govt seized some businesses to keep them running

Cooperation between govt & business the norm

Business profits from wartime industry

709-710

Labor in the War

Union membership swells Labor shortage prompts

– Wage increase– Entry of Mexican Americans, women,

African Americans to war-related industrial work force

Labor saw a chance to “trade labor peace for labor advances”

p.710-712

African American Migration Northward, 1910–1920

p.711

Labor in the War 200k blacks served in France

– 42k combat troops– Expected to find better conditions when they

returned Great Migration to northern factories

– Blacks must adjust industrial work pace– Encounter Northern racism

1917–1919 ~ Race riots in urban North Wartime experience prompted new surge of

black resistance to discrimination p.711-712

The Treaty of VersaillesOfficial end to WWI

Common concern about Bolshevik revolution

Wilson’s Fourteen Points call for non-punitive settlement

England & France balk at Fourteen Points– Want Germany disarmed & crippled– Want Germany’s colonies– Skeptical of principle of self-determination

p.712-713

The Treaty of Versailles

Near Paris, France

A Peace at Paris Wilson failed to deflect Allied punishment of

Germany in treaty Treaty created Wilson’s League of Nations

– Article X of League charter required members to protect each others’ territorial integrity

League's jurisdiction excluded member nations’ domestic affairs

p.713-715

p.713

Europe after The Treaty Versailles, 1919

p.715

Rejection in the Senate

William Borah (R-ID) led “irreconcibles” who opposed treaty on any grounds– 14 Republican senators against every aspect of the

League of Nations October, 1919: Stroke disables Wilson

– November: Treaty fails in Senate January, 1920: Final defeat of Treaty July, 1921: US peace declared by joint

Congressional resolution

p.715-716

Rejection in the Senate

Wilson hopes democratic victory in 1920 election would provide mandate for League of Nations

Landslide for Republican Warren Harding

Defeat of League of Nations brought defeat of Progressive spirit

p.715-716

The Election of 1920

p.716See picture p.708

James M. Cox

Postwar Disillusionment

To the next generation the war seemed futile, wasteful

The progressive spirit survived but without enthusiasm or broad based support

Americans welcomed Harding’s return to “normalcy”

p.717

Chapter 24THE NATION AT WAR

End