World War I Chapter XXI

THE CAUSE AND FALLOUT

June 28th, 1914 – ASSASINATION OF FRANZ FERDINAND

 Heir to Austrian Hungarian Empire

 FRANZ FERDINAND went to Sarajevo, Bosnia, on an inspection tour when he and his wife
were capped.
 This was the spark which set everything ablaze

1914 – AUSTRIA-HUNGARY DECLARES WAR ON SERBIA

 Serbia was partially responsible for the assassination

 This relatively minor flare-up should have ended quickly. BUT...

1914 – GERMANY DECLARES WAR ON RUSSIA

 This feeds the fire and the war is on.

>ALLIANCES FORMED

Central Powers Allies

Germany France
Austria Hungary England
Turkey** Russia
Bulgaria Serbia
Japan
Italy (1917)
United States of America (1917)

>KEY RIVALRY – GERMANS vs FRENCH

 A LOT of bad blood in the rivalry

 Germans were blamed for starting the war

1914-1917 – AMERICA STAYED NEUTRAL

 Woodrow Wilson wanted nothing to do with the war

 But yellow journalism riled up the masses and turned the United States towards the allies.

1914-1917 - THE WAR AT SEA: THE UNITED STATES ENTERS THE WAR

 The English began blockading German merchant ports

 The Germans: “To hell with you guys”
 They filled the ocean with armed submarines, their signature weapons, and begin to mercilessly
sink any passing ship, merchant or combat.
 UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE
 The Germans say that they can do whatever they please with their submarines.
  Wilson warns the Germans: “Knock it off!”

 The Germans ignore Wilson; they sink the luxury passenger ship Lusitania off the coast of
Ireland.
■ The blast kills 12,000 people; 128 Americans went down with the ship.
 America was outraged and wanted Germany's blood. Wilson, however, declines to take any
action against Germany.
 1916-1917 - SUSSEX PLEDGE
 The Germans promise to give any unarmed ship fair warning well in advance of shooting
her down.
 America feels that is fair enough and the outrage dies down for a while.
 **In The Arabic Pledge, the Germans pledged not to shoot down any passenger ships.
 BRITISH GET REVENGE
 The English begin to disguise their warships as unarmed “Q-Ships”.
■ These seemingly harmless ships would be encountered or encounter German subs.
■ The German submarine would come up to the surface.
■ Obviously, it's “so long” German submarine.
 America is stunned at the antics of the English.
 The Germans get pissed; they start up unrestricted submarine warfare again.
 UNITED STATES FINALLY GETS INVOLVED
st
 On January 31 , 1917, the Sussex Pledge was dropped.
st
 On March 1 , 1917, the British intercept a coded note: The Zimmerman Note. This note
was a note between a German ambassador in Mexico and the Foreign secretary of German
affairs which encouraged Mexico to attack and invade the United States. This was intended
to keep the United States busy while the Germans continued their unrestricted submarine
warfare. They would have preferred the United States stay out of the whole affair.
 They knew that if the United States entered the war, they were going to get their asses
handed to them.
nd
 Wilson says: “That's enough”, and asks Congress for permission to go to war on April 2 ,
1917. Four days later on April 6th, 1917, Congress opens the gates to let America into World
War I.
World War I Chapter XXI

A WAR OF TWO FRONTS

19th CENTURY TACTICS WITH 20th CENTURY WEAPONS

 The war was fought mainly through trench warfare, a relatively derelict and anachronistic
tactic. It worked in the American Civil War, but not here.
 Some of the most notable technological advances used included:
■ The machine gun and repeating rifle
■ Hand grenades
■ Flamethrowers
■ Land mines
■ Noxious gases (used sparingly as they were greatly affected by wind and temperature)
■ British tanks
■ American planes (towards the end of the war)
 Trench warfare was mainly man vs. machine.
 Machine usually won.
 The death toll reaches 6,000 killed in action each day.

1918 – TREATY OF BREST LITOVSK

 The Russians signed a treaty with the Central Powers agreeing to pull out of the war.
 Thus, much of their territory went to the Germans.
 The Germans would send 500,000 to the Western Front to further strengthen their efforts.

1918 – SPRING OFFENSIVE

 GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING, the only person in United States military history to be
promoted to General of the Armies during his lifetime, controlled the AEF, or the American
Expedition Force. The Force was two million strong by July 1918.
 The Spring Offensive was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the Spring
of 1918. Two main battles were part of this series:
 CHATEAU THIERRY
■ For the first time in their history, the United States is stuck defending a foreign capital
(in this case, Paris) on foreign turf (France.)
■ The Americans become sandwiched between a rock and a hard place.
■ They are stuck between the attacking Germans and Paris.
■ They are able to hold the Germans off. Until this point, the Germans had actually been
doing quite well.
 BELLEAU WOOD
■ One of the bloodiest battles the Americans were involved in, this battle involved,
obviously, the Germans and the United States. The Germans would be mercilessly
defeated and this was the beginning of the end for them.
1918 – SUCCESS

 Finally, during the late summer and fall of 1918, the Germans began to back down. They were
in utter ruins and they knew that they simply didn't have anything left to beat back the scores of
Americans now entering Europe under General John Pershing's commands.
11:00 AM (Paris Time), November 11th, 1918 – ARMISTICE DAY
 Germans surrender on this date, which would later become known as Veteran's Day in the
United States. The guns fell silent, and the war was over.

>CASUALTIES

 The total death toll of civilian and military casualties was well over thirty million.
 Well over one hundred thousand Americans were killed.
World War I Chapter XXI

THE WAR AT HOME

GUNS n' BUTTER

 Military and civilian production must be balanced.

WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD

 Founded by BERNARD BARUCH.

 The W.I.B had the job of controlling and managing war purchases.
 Companies were encouraged to use processes involving mass production in order to make the
output of war supplies quicker and more efficient.

NATIONAL WAR LABOR BOARD

 Founded by WILLIAM TAFT (For. Pres.).

 The N.W.L.B had the job of preventing and controlling workers' strikes.
 “Keep the workers happy.”

FOOD ADMINISTRATION

 Founded by HERBERT HOOVER (Fut. Pres.)

He would later become President of the United States of America.
He was already an American hero for his creation of the Food Administration.
 The goal was to produce enough food for the Americans, the English, the French, and the
Belgians.

1917 – SELECTIVE SERVICE ACT

 Say hello to The Draft.

 “If you're twenty-one or older, you are eligible for the draft.”
 You must apply to the draft BY LAW; even today.
 Some two million Americans were shipped off to France during the war.

LIBERAL LOAN PROGRAM

 About forty four million dollars was spent everyday on the war by America.
 Through this program, the Government sold bonds to raise the necessary funds for the war.
“You loan the Government money out your own pocket. At some later date, the
Government will pay you back in full plus any accumulated interest.”

PROPAGANDA

 This movement was led and started, mainly, by GEORGE CREEL.

 Propaganda was meant to get everyday Americans on board with the war and its efforts.
1920 - 19th AMENDMENT COMES INTO EFFECT

 Women played a very important role during World War I.

 Two hundred thousand women volunteered during World War I.
 This amendment was a “thank-you” gift of sorts. It gave women the right to vote in any United
States election on any level.

LOYALTY ACTS

 These were passed by Congress during World War I.

ESPIONAGE ACT
“It is absolutely illegal to do anything to benefit the enemy. In this case, that enemy is
the Central Powers.”
TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT
“It is absolutely illegal to have any economic contact with the enemy.”
SEDITION ACT
“You may not, under any circumstances, badmouth the war efforts.”
 The Government encouraged people to: “Be a snitch; rat out any infidels or violators of these
acts.”

1919 – SCHENCK v UNITED STATES

 Charles Schenck was arrested under accusations of discouraging men from enlisting in the
legally mandatory draft.
 This was a violation of the Sedition Act.
 He appealed to the Supreme Court.
 The Supreme Court refuses to overturn the decision. They call Mr. Schenck a “clear and
present danger”.

1969 – BRADENBERG v OHIO (FLASHFORWARD)

 Fifty years later, Clarence Brandenberg, a member of the Klu Klux Klan, was arrested along
with his cronies during a rally in which racial slurs were shouted and crosses were burned into
lawns.
 He appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the arrest.
 This time, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
 They deemed his arrest unconstitutional and a violation of the first amendment.
 They later stated that the only time that one may be prosecuted in free speech is if that speech
incites imminent lawless actions.

> Ergo, you may not run into a crowded theater and yell: “FIRE!”. This presents a danger and could
potentially harm or kill others.
World War I Chapter XXI

AFTER THE WAR

January-June 1919 – VERSAILLES CONFERENCE/TREATY

 Held in Versailles, France at King Louis' Palace

 The Big Four were in attendance:
Wilson – United States
Wilson brought with him the Fourteen Points, which were introduced in January of
1918.
• These points detailed the perfect post-war world.
• No. 14, which established the father of the United Nations, the League of Nations,
was intended to be a place where nations could talk things out peacefully.
• Wilson hoped that this would prevent ALL future wars.
• The future would not agree with Wilson.
Also, Wilson went to the conference alone. He did not bring a single republican with
him, which led to great resentment from the Republicans back in the states. Wilson was
an “arrogant, smartass know-it-all”. It would later come back to bite Wilson, as the
Senate must be the ones to radify a treaty.
Clemenceau – France
Lloyd George – England
Orlando – Italy
 Wilson wanted to let Germany off with a mere slap on the wrist. But not France and Germany...
 They wanted REVENGE and they wished to see Germany pay for its actions.
 Italy remained on the sidelines and just grabbed land where it could.
 On June 28th, 1919, Wilson signs the treaty. The treaty was not as peaceful as he had hoped.
Germany is to be blamed for everything.
Germany loses all of its colonies.
Germany must pay approximately thirty three billion dollars in reparations.
This puts Germany into the poorhouse and sets the stage for the rise of Adolf Hitler.
 So, Wilson brings the treaty back to the United States. He forgot one thing on his trip to
France...
 In order for a treaty to be radified, the Senate must approve.
 The Head of the Senate is HENRY CABOT LODGE. Also present was WILLIAM BORAH,
the Senator of Idaho.
 Both absolutely loathe Mr. Wilson.
 From Lodge to Wilson on signing the treaty: “NO WAY, WILSON.”
 One article, in particular, riles up the Senate.
ARTICLE 10 – COLLECTIVE SECURITY
1. Created an alliance between the United States, England, and France.
2. The United States would be obligated to be involved in any future European war and
provide assistance thereof.
 The treaty is pretty much unaccepted by anybody in the Senate.
 The only reason Wilson wanted the treaty to be accepted was because of the possible
preventative measures it could enforce to keep another war from breaking out in Europe. That
is, Germany would probably not cause any more trouble if they knew that America was on-call
and ready to settle things.
  But the Senate refuses to sign it.
 So, Wilson tries to sell the treaty to the people. He goes all over, campaigning and trying to
persuade people to support it.

TRUTH SQUAD

 However, this group of nefarious characters (made up mostly of republican senators) follows
Wilson wherever he goes.
 They denounce his messages, calling him a “babbling idiot”.

SEPTEMBER 25th, 1919 – WILSON HAS A STROKE

 The stress of being undermined and constantly persecuted by the Truth Squad finally gets to
Wilson.
 He has a stroke while campaigning the treaty in Denver, Colorado.
 For a while, only Wilson's doctors, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, Wilson's wife, and
Wilson himself know anything about the extent of his condition.
 Wilson loses motor function as a result.
 His wife, EDITH GAULT WILSON, technically becomes “Madame President” for the time
that her husband is incapacitated, but she denies this through to her dying day.
Mrs. Wilson was a highly revered feminist.
She “served” as Madame President for about six months.
The Vice President, THOMAS R. MARSHALL, could have gone to Senate to request to
take Woodrow Wilson's seat at president while he was incapacitated, but he never did.
Wilson eventually recovers enough to finish his second term.

>SENATE VOTES
 During this time period, Senate voted twice on the treaty Wilson had proposed, and both times,
it was turned down.
The 1920's Chapter XXII

THE SILENT BATTLE OF THE TWENTIES

1920 – PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 The Republican and Democratic candidates of the 1920 Election were:

REPUBLICAN PARTY
(Republican Presidential Candidate) WARREN HARDING – Senator of Ohio
(Republican Vice President Candidate) CALVIN COODLIDGE – American Hero
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
(Democratic Presidential Candidate) JAMES COX – Governor of Ohio
(Democratic Vice President Candidate) FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT (Fut.
Pres.)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt would later become President of the United States of
America and would serve for twelve years, during which time, he would play a huge
role in America's involvement in World War II.
He was the second cousin of our old friend, Theodore Roosevelt (For. Pres.).
 The Republicans would win the 1920 election.

THE TWENTY YEAR CURSE

 Harding was a twenty year man.

In other words, every president who is elected in a year number divisible by twenty is
unable to finish his term as a result of death.
Harding would die of a heart attack on August 2nd, 1923, about a year before the end of his
own term.

RETURN TO NORMALCY

 After the era of progressivism was over, American became staunchly isolationist. Most of the
progressive ideas put into place were stripped off and replaced by new ideas.
 TRADITION v MODERNITY
This was the struggle between the modern and the old.
It mostly involved immigrants and immigration as a whole.

IMMIGRATION – OLD AND NEW

Old – Traditional America New – New America

- Took place mainly before 1880 - Took place mainly post 1880
- Protestant - Catholic/Jew
- Northwestern Europe -Southern or Southeastern Europe
-No Blacks -Blacks were present as were Asians

NATIVIST REACTION

 The Nativist Reaction was the reaction of the traditionalists against new immigration.
They disliked the immigration of Asians, Catholics, Jews, etc.
They considered these groups a threat to the American ideals and purity.
KLU KLUX KLAN

 The KKK was nothing new; it had been created right after the Civil War and the Emancipation
Proclamation was enforced.
 The group wished to preserve the supremacy of whites.
 Technically, they are considered a terrorist group.
 From 1865-1877, the KKK was kept in check by the United States Army. Ulysses Simpson
Grant (For. Pres.) was in charge of keeping it that way.
 But in 1920, they're back...
 The group dislikes anybody in America who is not a white protestant. Its ultimate goal is to
purify the United States and keep the old, white, protestant America a reality.
 They believe that they are the only “Real Americans”.

THE RED SCARE

 Mainly started by attorney general Mitchell Palmer, a staunch opponent of communism,

socialism, and anarchism.
 Americans were taught to fear these government types and anybody who followed by them.
 The real purpose was to limit immigration. The feds actively looked for anybody who believed
in these government types in order to deport them out of the country.

NEW IMMIGRATION POLICIES - “WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE”

 The new policies were very much oriented towards anti-immigration.

 “NO NEW IMMIGRANTS AND TO HELL WITH THEIR FOREIGN WAYS!”
 Mexicans began coming America after 1920.
They basically “do a job you or I don't want to do (ex. Agricultural work in Cali)
This is still a general trend today.
 1920 – EMERGENCY QUOTA ACT
Enforced by the feds, this act was a highly anti-immigrant movement.
Protestant whites ruled the Government. They created this act to make it difficult for people
from Southern and Southeastern Europe to enter the country.
 1924 – IMMIGRATION ACT
Disallowed Asians from immigrating to the United States.

FLASHBACK TO PROHIBITION

 Prohibition, or the 18th Amendment, was created in 1919 and enforced from then until 1934; a
total of about fifteen years.
 1920 – VOLSTEAD ACT
Basically, it just reinforced the ban on the consumption, selling, or production of alcohol in
the United States.
The 1920's CHAPTER XXII

ORGANIZED CRIME

 Prohibition gave rise to organized crime.

 Rackets were formed.
Rackets were illegal businesses; many in the 1920's dealt with the sale of alcohol.
These rackets were based off of three things: booze, gambling and sex.
 The city of Chicago was under fire from organized crime. It was the grounds of a massive turf
war between three main parties.
AL CAPONE and his gang
DION OBANION and his gang
BUGS MORAN and his gang
 During this period of time, the police were often paid off to look the other way while these
organized crime families did their dirty work.
 Also present were speakeasies.
Speakeasies were supposedly underground and secretive locations where alcohol was
served. They were like gambling clubs.
 On Valentine's Day of 1929, Al Capone and his crime family successfully eliminated the other
two crime families. Thus, he had total control over the Windy City.
 As a result of all of the organized crime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was formed.
a.k.a F.B.I.
J. EDGAR HOOVER was the head of the FBI, which, obviously, still operates today.

EDUCATION

 The law of Compulsory to 16 Education came into effect.

Essentially, one had to go to school until he or she was sixteen years of age.
 1925 – THE SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL
The trial was started when a Mr. JOHN SCOPES was arrested for teaching the theory of
evolution in a public school.
While the trial was merely to decide whether or not he would be fined one hundred dollars,
it turned into a media circus.
It became a tussle between fundamentalists (old) and modernists (new). It was heralded as
evolutionists vs. creationists, but, in fact, all of that had very little to do with the actual fine
that John Scopes was supposed to pay.
Mr. Scopes was represented by the reknowned CLARENCE DARROWS, who had just
finished working in the now infamous Leopold and Loeb trial (see below).
The prosecution was represented by W.J. BRYAN, an equally as reknowned lawyer.
In the end, very little was said regarding the actual fine John Scopes was to pay, and the
judge ordered him to pay it. This decision was later overturned due to a mistrial.
 1924 – LEOPOLD AND LOEB TRIAL
NATHAN LEOPOLD and RICHARD LOEB, college students at the University of
Chicago, were being tried for the brutal murder of fourteen year old BOBBY FRANKS one
day after offering Franks a ride. They murdered him via blunt force trauma through a chisel
and dumped his body in a marshy area just outside of Chicago.
The aforementioned Clarence Darrows represented them, and he was able to save them from
the death penalty. They were given life sentences.
It was the first true sensational murder trial or trial of any kind in United States history.