Running head: WWI Socialits

Socialists During World War I

Isabel Salazar
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

Since we were little we were taught what was in our history books. We were shown that
our country brought freedom and opportunity to others and that this country is rich and
beautiful because we were the founders of this new land. But, this not the whole truth;
yes, our country created all these ideas but it did not come without a price. In our history
books we do not learn of the bad things that occur; however, there have been people
who talk about the views the other side has. In school, we learned about World War I
and how it was a victory for the United States, but it does not talk about the how some
citizens did not believe that entering the war was the best option. These citizens were
called socialists. They opposed entering the war and any effort to help the war cause.
The purpose of this literature review is to shed light on the story of the Socialists and
how they perceived the war and the journey they went through during WWI.
Keywords: World War I, Socialists, Point of view

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Socialists During World War I

World War I also know as the Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1917. It started with
the assignation of an Australian, who was part of the Austria-Hungary empire. Germany
decided to join the war to stand on the side of Australia, the French chose to respect
their treaty to Russia, and on 1914 the British declared war on Germany because they
were afraid of the Kaisers troops. World War I had a trickled down effect as one nation
decided to join, another decided joined and so on and so forth. It was war of choice and
as each nation chose to enter, the war the bloodier it got. As all this unraveled, the
United States of America sat on the sideline waiting to either intervene in the war or act
as mediator for peace. And this is where the issue began within America and its political
leaders as well as its citizens.
The choice to join the war was not the first decision taken by US government. At
first, they wanted to try and settle the war with peace, but they soon changed their
minds and decided to intervene in the war. President Wilson was convinced that only if
the United States helped win the conflict could it help to make a just and long lasting
peace (Kazin,2014). Many felt that the United States had no other option than to
intervene in the war and when the US acted on it they supported the war efforts. Others,
in spite of this, felt it couldve been avoided and resolved through peace. These people
where known as socialist, a group of people who were against the idea of going to war.
They were against Americas involvement in World War I for many reasons. The
socialists saw the war in a different light but struggled to show it to the rest of the nation.
The war not only caused death and destruction but it also affected the citizens at home
in America. We will explore the following questions to try to understand why they were

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against it and the struggles they went through to warn the American citizens against the
war.:
1. What made Socialist oppose the war and what strategizes did they take to voice
their opinions?
2. What barriers did they face while trying to advocate against the war?
3. What impact did World War I have on the United States and the citizens?
These questions help narrow the purpose for this paper by showing the reason
behind the antiwar movement, the methods and challenges the socialists faced
during WWI, and the impact the war had on not only the nation but as well as the
citizens.
What made socialist oppose the war and what were their strategies?
In order understand the notions of the socialist towards the war, we must first see
what caused them to feel that the choice to intervene in the war was a mistake. One
aspect was that of the president Woodrow Wilson. At the beginning of the war, Wilson
urged the United States to stay neutral within the war but later changed his mind to
intervene and became allies with Russia, Britain, And France (Kazin, 2014). In the
article America and the Great War, the author Michael Kazin, explains that Wilson made
the involvement of the United States inevitable. One reason Wilson chose to engage in
World War I was because of the Zimmerman Telegraph. The telegraph proposed that
Germany would return territory lost to the United states of America during the civil war
back to Mexico (Brewer, 2007). Another other reason that war was inevitable is that
there had been loss of American lives through the U-boat attacks as stated in my

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interview with Jennifer Villa who is a social studies teacher. Wilson then urged congress
to vote for war.
This choice did not sit well with the many Americans, at first he intended to be
the honest broker mediating the final peace settlement but when he chose to go to war,
he wanted Americas military contributions to provide the strength needed to break
German resistance (Brewer, 2007).
It was not only this reason but also that many socialists believed that this was
just a way for the rich to get even richer. It angered socialist such as Eugene debs who
in a speech said that the master class has always waged the wars; the subject class
has always fought them (Zin, 2004). The help America offered to keep the war effort
going made money for many companies who either helped with food or steal. The
socialist also opposed the war because the government used propaganda to force
many young men to be drafted into the military. With these events occurring came
distress. As the president made choices, millions of other Americans viewed them with
alarm (Kazin, 2014 p. 77).
Therefore, a minority chose to come together and organize the largest, most
diverse, and most sophisticated antiwar movement to that point in U.S history (Kazin,
2014). Socialist voiced their opinion from parades to speeches to flyers, any method
they could find was used to help communicate to the public. Different organization
existed such has the Womens Peace Party, The American Union Against Militarism and
the Socialists Party, who opposed the war and these were just a few.
The Womens Peace Party was inspired by women who wanted to establish a
peace committee. Although WPP was not officially founded during the womens peace

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parade, those who participated in the silent protest were the roots of the organization. In
August 1914, women took to a silent protest in Manhattan with fifteen hundred women
walking against the war in Europe; they dressed in either black or white to express
mourning (Kazin,2014).
The American Union Against Militarism (AUAM) met regularly to publicize the
evils of war and to persuade the president and congress to remain neutral (Kazin, 2014
p. 78). They were against preparedness and they were not alone, as explained by the
Peace program of socialist party: it will be preparedness. which were created for the
good of the people and have accomplished the very reversed (Bennett, 2014 p. 63).
The preparedness movement was created to encourage the military and navy to
become larger by obtaining draftees and that also meant military drills in school for
children.
These antiwar activist fought to stop this because they knew that this was not a
case toward peace but a cause toward other wars. Since America was calling for more
men to sign up for the war this meant that workers must also join; however, this would
only hurt the small worker and their business. The Socialist Party recommended the
workers to pledge to 7 different course of actions one being they would continue an
active and public opposition to the war through demonstrations, mass petitions and all
other means within their power (Bennett, 2014 p. 80).
The socialist did just that. They viewed the war as evil, it violated many
Americans by forcing them to join the war, it made the American people doubt the
government and their reasons to join, and it caused the rich to stay rich and the class

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that struggled to fight a war without a just cause. They viewed going to war would not
result in peace but in more violence and destruction.
What barriers did they face while trying to advocate against the war?
As the Socialist continued their antiwar movement the government began to
become unhappy. The government thought that their persistence in speaking up against
the war would interfered with troops being drafted. The president and congress
responded with their own propaganda. The government took considerable efforts to
devote the selling of the war to Americans, via the Committee on Public Information that
reinforced the long standing British propaganda campaign in the country (brewer, 2007).

(Trokan, 2015).
This is an example of the type of propaganda used to persuade men to enlist in
the army and fight in WWI. In this piece here the brute is referring to the German
military. There is also seen a club that has the word culture and the statue of liberty
being held by the brute. It shows that the Germans were a threat to the American liberty
and rights and for this reason it had to be destroyed. This image depicts the Germans
as evil and contributes to the hatred crated toward the Germans.

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It caught the attention of many citizens and the war gained support, however,
despite the efforts of the government with their enormous propaganda campaign and
the obedience of the press, there was still resistance from the citizens (Zinn,2004). The
government took it as a form of sabotage toward the efforts for the war, so Wilson, with
the help of Lawmakers and courts, chose to prosecute those who disagreed with the
war (Kazin, 2014). Consequently on june15th 1917, the US Congress passed the
Espionage Act of 1917 (Brewer, 2007 p. 49). The Act was signed prevented the socialist
from interfering with the war efforts, the government felt that they had to keep the
socialist from doing so. If the socialists did not abide by the act they would have to be
punished for their opposition to The First World War. In the interview I conducted with
Villa she also brought up the sedition act of 1918. Villa stated that the Sedition Act made
it illegal to even criticize the government and the war effort or interfere with the
promotion and sale of war bonds, and that this act suppresses anyone that the
government felt was acting, speaking, or responding in a negative way to the war.
Wilson delivered a speech on Flag Day in 1916, where he spoke how he felt
toward the antiwar movement. He went on to say There is disloyalty active in the
United States and it must be absolutely crushed (Brewer, 2007 p. 54). And the
Espionage Act did just that; his act was a huge barrier for socialists. It became difficult
for many of the socialist to continue with their organizations as well as their fight against
the war. Many socialists, if caught, would either pay a fine or be imprisoned which
halted many of their marches, petitions, and propaganda. Publications featuring anti-war
articles were slowed down in distribution or even banned from mail. The American

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Union Against Militarism split after the declaration of the war, with some giving their
support (Brewer, 2007).
Although the propaganda used by the government and the Espionage Act posed
as barriers, many socialists continued with the antiwar movement nonetheless they still
suffered consequences. For example, Charles T. Schenck, who was a part of the
Socialist Party, was directed to make anti-draftee leaflet addressed to men who had
been drafted. (Levinson, 2009). These letter were meant to make the draftees oppose
going to war by saying that the draft was a violation of the constitution. Schenck
however was caught and many did not receive them however those who did were not
affected to take any action and when Schenck went to trial they were there to testify
against him. In the trial The government charged him with conspiring and violating that
act because his anti-draft leaflet was an attempt to obstruct recruiting (Levinson, 2009
p.2). The government was hard on implementing the Espionage act. They did not let up
on trying to stop the socialist. Even though they persisted in trying to advocate against
the war efforts, the government was still a challenge. However, that did not mean that
their voices were not heard.
What impact did World War I have on the United States and the citizens?
Socialist had a huge impact on America and its citizens. According to research
more than three million men never bothered to register at all; about three hundred fifty
thousand registrants either did not report as required or deserted from their training
camp (kazin,2014 p. 83). African Americans under Jim crow laws opposed to risk their
lives for a war declared by a president who supported segregation. White farmers did
not want to take part in a rich mans war and a poor mans fight (Kazin, 2014 p. 83). A

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great number of men refrained from war efforts and the draft during the Great War.
Socialists and the war as a whole had an impact.
The choice to enter World War I had heart-rending consequences. The Great war
shaped American publics attitude toward war. Many believe that this war gave way to
the next global war because of President Wilsons failure to build political consensus on
the war and the basis of the peace. For these reasons the Versailles Treaty was
rejected by the senate (Connelly, 2015). According to the article America and the Great
War, the Treaty of Versailles mocked Wilsons promise that the nation would wage a
final war for human liberty. This, however, reinforced the anti-war movement. The
Second World War was effected by this. The constrain that the public had made it that
much more difficult for President Roosevelt to implement his plans for foreign and
defense policies, and industrial mobilization. This war also shocked many of the soldiers
(Connelly, 2015), many opposed to join another war. American men chose to resist
conscription during the Vietnam war half a century later (Kazin, 2014).
The war also affect how Germans were treated. The German Americans were
treated as enemies, the German language was eliminated inn some schools curriculum
and at least one German -American was lynched (brewer, 2007). In the decade
following the war, America encountered the depression. America, during the war,
generated a lot of money, however it was only a few people who obtained the money
which caused an imbalance (Toulouse, 2000). The World war affected America in many
aspects from citizens to the economy as a whole. And this is what the socialists feared
would happen with joining the war.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, this literature review gives out a lot of information the how
socialists played a part in during World War I. What made Socialist oppose the war and
what strategizes did they take to voice their opinions? And What barriers did they face
while trying to advocate against the war? What impact did World War I have on the
United States and the citizens? Although the questions asked were answered, this
literature review does not say that either socialist or the government were right about
the war. This paper simply focuses on the part of the socialist and the views they had
toward the war. Since the side of the socialist has not been brought to light it is crucial to
take this information and use it to better understand World War I and its importance.

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Reference
Bennett, S. H. (2014). Antiwar Dissent and Peace Activism in World War I America.
Socialists, Anarchists, and Wobblies, 60-94.
Brewer, P. (2007). THE JOURNEY TO WAR: WOODROW WILSON AND
AMERICAN PACIFISM. History Today, 57(9), 49-55.
Connelly, D. B. (2015). The United States in the First World War.
Kazin M. (2014). America and the Great War. Raritan, 34(1), 75-85.
Levinson, M. R. (2009). Clear and Present Danger During World
Toulouse, M. G. (2000). Socializing capitalism: The CENTURY during the
Great Depression. Christian Century, 117(12), 415.
Trokan, M. (Director). (2015). Opposition to WWI [Motion Picture].
Villa, Jennifer. Personal interview. 14 Oct. 2016.
Zinn, H. (2004). Opposing the War Party. Progressive, 68(5), 16-18.nal