CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I

Long term causes (M.A.I.N.)

• Militarism

• New weapons: Maxim Gun, U-Boat, naval war (between Germany and Britain)

• Alliances

• Triple Alliance (1882-1915) (G + A + I)

• Secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy

• Italy switched sides in May 1915

• Became Central Powers

• Triple Entente (1907) (R + B + F)

• Agreement between Russian, Britain and France

• Became Allied Powers

• Imperialism

• Europeans competed over colonies

• Colonists joined war on sides of the colonizing country

• Nationalism

• Serbians wanted to enlarge Serbia

Short term causes

• Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia 1908

• Serbians angry because they wanted to expand Serbia

• June 28, 1914

• A Serbian nationalist killed Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne

• Assassin, Gavrilo Princip

• ​ Member of Black Hand

• A Serbian terrorist organization

• One month later, Austria gave Serbia an ultimatum

• Serbia had to let Austria conduct its own investigation in Serbia

• Serbia had to suppress all anti-Austrian propaganda

• Serbia had to eliminate all terrorist organizations

• Or Austria would declare war.

• Austria asked Germany for aid in the event of a war with Serbia and its ally, Russia

• On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

• Russia deployed troops

• Germany employed the Schlieffen Plan

• Hoping to quickly defeat Russia's ally France by going through Belgium

• Britain, France's ally, entered the war on Aug. 4th after Germany attacked neutral Belgium

NEUTRALITY

• Wilson declared U.S. neutrality.

• Reasons for neutrality

• U.S. businesses wanted to trade with all Europeans (grew rich from selling war supplies)

• By 1914, more than 30% of Americans were immigrants

• Including Germans, Italians, Irish, French, British etc.

• Many Americans still had ties with Britain

• American Pacifists objected to war (see below)

• Challenges to neutrality

• British propaganda

• Britain controlled war news that was cabled daily to U.S. newspapers

• British gave American press stories of German atrocities in Belgium and France

• Economic links

• ​Wealthy Americans (like J.P. Morgan) had loaned money to Britain and France and wanted to protect their investments by helping Allies against Germans

• Belligerent powers tried to stop aid from reaching the enemy.

• ​Britain stopped supplies from reaching Germany through a naval blockade

• Germany stopped supply ships by firing torpedoes from U-boats (submarines)

• American War Hawks wanted war (see below)

SUBMARINE WARFARE

• Lusitania, May 7, 1915

• First challenge to U.S. neutrality

• Germany torpedoed a British passenger ship, the Lusitania

• Which secretly also carried weapons

• 1,198 civilian passengers were killed, including 128 Americans

• Wilson sent strong letter warning Germany not to sink unarmed ships

• Theodore Roosevelt called German attack "piracy"

• But Sec. of State William J. Bryan feared feared letter conflicted with commitment to neutrality - Bryan resigned as a result

• Arabic

• August 1915 another U-boat attack killed 2 Americans

• Sussex Pledge

• March 1916 U-boat torpedoes unarmed merchant ship, the Sussex

• Injured several American passengers

• Wilson threatened to cut off U.S. diplomatic relations with Germany

• Germany backed own and pledged not to sink merchant or passenger ships without giving a warning.

AMERICAN PERCEPTIONS OF WAR

Americans in favor of war

• Irish wanted war with Britain (supported 1916 Irish Easter Rebellion against Britain)

• Some Republicans (including former president Theodore Roosevelt) wanted war

• Some big corporations (like Bethlehem Steel which made armor and DuPont that made gunpowder) saw war as a way to make money as profiteers.

Americans against war

• Socialists and IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)

• Believed war was fought between capitalists who used proletarians (workers) as soldiers

• Karl Marx had called on "workers of the world" to unite against their oppressors.

• William Jennings Bryan

• Wilson's secretary of state

• Resigned after Wilson's note of protest after sinking of Lusitania

• Because he believed the president was laying the foundation for military intervention.

• Jews didn't want U.S. to help the Russian Czar (who had been responsible for pogroms)

• Women's groups (including Jane Addams) were pacifists

• Industrialist Henry Ford personally paid to send a peace ship to Europe to get European powers to negotiate (it didn't work)

• Most Democrats were against the war

• Congressional Democrats voted to cut the military budget in 1915.

Preparedness

• After sinking of Lusitania, Republicans in eastern cities started "preparedness" movement arguing the US needed to build strong navy and land forces for defensive purposes.

• Supported by people like Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Stimson and many prominent bankers and industrialists.

• They called for "universal military service" (mandatory six month training)

• By end of 1915, Wilson "prepared" by expanding U.S. navy and army.

Election 1916

• Woodrow Wilson (D)

• Ran for reelection on slogan "He kept us out of war"

• And "America First"

• Charles Evans Hughes (R)

• Republican party reunited after 1912 split

• Charles Evans Hughes was endorsed by Taft and Roosevelt

• Hughes also campaigned for neutrality but Democrats claimed he would lead the U.S. into war

• Election was close (on 23 electoral votes)

• Wilson won 10 of the 12 states that had adopted women's suffrage.

• If Hughes had won, the U.S. would have had a lame duck president (Wilson) in time of war.

• To avoid this, Wilson decided that if Hughes won, Wilson would make him Sec. of State

• Then Wilson and the VP would resign making Hughes president by succession.

ROAD TO WAR

• Submarine warfare

• After election Germany announced it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare against ships sailing to and from British Islands

• Several American merchant ships were sunk

• Zimmerman Telegram

• Intercepted March 1917 by British spies and made public

• German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman

• Called on Mexico to join war on U.S.

• In exchange

• German would help Mexico recovering territory lost in Mexican-American War (1846-48)

• Wilson asked for declaration of war against Germany

• To make the world "safe for democracy"

• War resolution passed Senate 82 to 6 and House 373-50

• Jeanette Rankin - 1st woman elected to Congress, voted against war

• Russia's February Revolution (February 1917)

• Tsar of Russia was overthrown by Bolsheviks led by Lenin

• Made it easier to join the war without having to ally with an absolutist monarch.

WILSON'S FOURTEEN POINTS

A selection (see document)

• List of reasons why U.S. was fighting:

• No secret treaties - instead, "open covenants of peace"

• Freedom of navigation on the seas/Removal of economic barriers to trade.

• Reduction in national arms to lowest point possible

• Self-Determination

• German evacuation of Russian territories, Belgium, French territories, Italy, Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro.

• An independent Polish state should be recreated

• A "general association of nations must be formed"

• Future League of Nations

WARTIME AGENCIES

• Progressive Agencies

• 100s of temporary wartime agencies and commissions created

• Staffed by experts

• War Industries Board

• Headed by Bernard Baruch

• Presided over all elements of war production

• Distribution of raw materials to the price of manufactured goods.

• Established standardized specifications for everything from car tires to shoe colors (black, brown, white only)

• Food Administration

• Headed by Herbert Hoover

• Encouraged U.S. households to eat less meat and bread so that food could be shipped abroad.

• In two years, US overseas shipment of food tripled.

• Fuel Administration

• Headed by Harry Garfield

• Directed efforts to save coal

• Nonessential factories closed

• Daylight savings time into effect for first time.

• Railroad Administration

• Headed by Treaty Secretary William McAdoo

• Took public control of the railroads to coordinate traffic and promote standardized railroad equipment

• War Labor Board

• Headed by former president William Howard Taft

• Including representatives of government, industry and American Federation of Labor

• Pressed for establishment of minimum wage, 8 -hour workday, right to form unions

• During war, wages rose substantially

• Working conditions improved

• Union membership doubled.

FINANCING THE WAR

• Federal Reserve Board 1914

• Founded the same year as the beginning of WWI

• William McAdoo, Sec. of the Treasury

• Determined there were three ways to pay for the war

• Printed money (rejected because it would cause inflation like Greenbacks during Civil War)

• Raise taxes (used for 1/3 of the money)

• Borrow money (2/3 of funding came from bonds)

• $33 billion was raised in two years through combination of loans and taxes

• Tax

• Corporate and individual income taxes rose enormously.

• By 1918, the wealthiest Americans paying up to 77% of their income over $1 million.

• ​Poor didn't pay taxes.

• Also enacted an excise tax on luxury goods

• "Liberty Bonds"

• Four massive drives conducted

• To convince Americans to put savings into federal government Liberty Bonds.

• And create a sense of nationalism

• Americans were "investing" in the war together.

• Rates of interest on the bonds from 3.5-4.2%

• Lower than interest that could be gained from banks.

• Bonds were sold by armies of volunteers

• Bonds were sold for $50 and above.

• But people could buy a "subscription" paying for the bonds in 25 cent installments

• Stamps were affixed to "War Savings Certificates."

• Tens of millions of Americans bought Liberty bonds.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

• Up until 1917, Americans wanted to stay out of war.

• After Zimmerman Telegram

• The government had to change the minds of constituents.

• Committee on Public Information

• Headed by investigative journalist, George Creel

• Enlisted artists, writers, vaudeville performers, movie stars

• To depict heroism of U.S. soldiers

• And villainy of the German kaiser (king)

• And convince Americans to be patriotic and buy bonds.

• Created posters, pamphlets, films, volunteer speakers

• Americans told to watch out for German spies and "do your bit"for the war.

NATIVISM

• American Protective League

• Mounted "Hate the Hun" campaign

• Attacked all things German

• Forbade people from performing Beethoven

• Sauerkraut = "liberty cabbage"

• Frankfurters (hot dogs) = "liberty sausages"

• Manufactures of war materials could refuse to hire German-Americans

ESPIONAGE AND SEDITION

• Espionage Act 1917

• Imprisoned anyone who tried to incite rebellion in the armed forces or obstructed the draft.

• Sedition Act 1918

• Prohibited anyone from making "disloyal" or "abusive" remarks about the U.S. government

• About 2,000 people prosecuted under these laws

• 1/2 were convicted or jailed.

• Including Socialist leader Eugene V. Debs (10 years in prison)

• Schenck v. United States 1919

• Supreme Court (Oliver Wendell Holmes) upheld constitutionality of Espionage Act

• Schenck was imprisoned for distributing pamphlets against the draft

• Holmes said free speech could be limited when it represented a "clear and present danger" to public safety

ARMED SERVICES

• Selective Service Act May 1917

• Secretary of War, Newton Baker devised "selective service" system to draft (conscript) men into military

• Required all men between 21 and 30 (later 18 to 45) to register for possible draft.

• 24 million men required to register with the draft.

• 2.8 million men called by lottery

• In addition to 2 million who volunteered to serve.

• 1/2 on Western Front

• African-Americans

• Racial segregation applied to the army

• Almost 400,000 African Americans served in WWI in segregated units.

• Only a few were permitted to be officers

• All were barred from Marine Corps

• W.E.B. Du Bois believed this would earn blacks equal rights at home when the war ended.

LABOR AT HOME

• Women

• Took vacated jobs

• Convinced Wilson and Congress to support 19th Amendment (women's suffrage)

• Migrations

• Mexicans

• Thousands of Mexicans went across border to U.S to work in agriculture and mining

• African-Americans

• Great migration of African-Americans to war jobs in the north