U.S. Expansionary Policy [1850-1914]
[1853] Commodore Matthew Perry sails into Japan and opens them up to trade
[1859] U.S. acquires Midway Island
[1867] Secretary of State William Seward buys Alaska for $7.2 million from Russia
-“Seward’s Folly” “Seward’s Icebox”
[1889] U.S., Great Britain, Germany form a joint protectorate on Samoa
[1890] Alfred Thayer Mahan’s “The Influence of Sea Power upon History”
[1895] Venezuelan boundary dispute
-Britain claim the right to more land in Venezuela
-U.S. enforces the Monroe Doctrine
-almost wars with Britain
[1898] Spanish-American War
Causes:
De Lome letter – insults McKinley
Yellow press – Pulitzer and Hearst – sensationalist papers
Sinking of the Maine
Acquisitions:
Puerto Rico
Guam
Philippines
Annex Hawaii
Gained control over Cuba (Teller Amendment)
Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino Insurrection
[1900] Boxer Rebellion (Righteous Fists of Harmony)
[1903] Panamanian Revolution begun by Teddy Roosevelt
[1904] Roosevelt Corollary adds teeth to Monroe Doctrine
[1914] World War I begins
Teddy Roosevelt
Energetic and athletic
Vice President under McKinley
Police commissioner in NYC
Governor of NY
Harvard graduate
Outdoorsman
Rough Rider
Assistant secretary of the Navy
Youngest person to become President – 42 years old
Big Stick Policy – Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy
Increase the size of the navy – 5 to 25 battleships
Keep the balance of power in the Far East
-Ends the Russo-Japanese War with the Portsmouth Treaty
-wins the Nobel Peace Prize for this
Built a canal to connect Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
-TR incites a revolution in Panama against Columbia
-becomes first president to leave country during the presidency
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
-gives permission to the U.S. to build a canal
[1904] work begins
[1906] work re-starts (after an outbreak of yellow fever)
-strengthens the Monroe Doctrine
– gives U.S. police powers in the Americas
-U.S. and Japan agree to keep unskilled workers out of California
Great White Fleet
-16 battleships sent around the world
-especially to scare the Japanese
Root-Takahira Agreement
-an agreement to respect each other’s territorial possessions
Successor to Roosevelt? Roosevelt picks his successor – Taft
William Howard Taft [1908]
Secretary of War
Civil Governor of Philippines (calls them “my little brown brothers”)
Lawyer
Judge (goes on to become Chief Justice)
Dollar Diplomacy – Taft’s Foreign Policy
Encouraged U.S. businesses to invest in foreign nations that were of strategic concern for the U.S.
The U.S. would then back those investments by using the military
“Where the money’s going, the U.S. Marines are to follow”
China – U.S. attempted to open a railway in Manchuria but doesn’t back it up with the military – failed
Examples of “Dollar Diplomacy” nations:
Honduras
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic
Cuba
Haiti
Election of 1912
Republicans – Taft ~3.4 million votes
Progressives (Bull Moose Party) – Teddy Roosevelt ~4.1 million votes
Democrats – Woodrow Wilson ~6.2 million votes
Socialists – Eugene V. Debs ~900 000 votes
Woodrow Wilson wins!
Woodrow Wilson (28th president)
Sickly child, learned alphabet at 9 years, learned to read at 11 years
From Virginia – extremely racist
Graduates from Princeton, becomes a professor, then President
Governor of NJ
His secretary of state is William Jennings Bryan
Wilson rejects Big Stick and Dollar Diplomacy – anti-Imperialist
Part I: Wilson: The Anti-Imperialist
Repeals the Panama Canal Tolls Act
-U.S. would have had free shippage through the canal
Jones Act [1916]
-grants partial independence to the Philippines
After one week in office, Wilson claims that the U.S. military will no longer be used to back investments in foreign nations – investors pull out of six nations loans to China
Part II: Wilson: The Imperialist/Semi-Imperialist
Haiti [1915]
-Wilson sends U.S. Marines to protect investments and lives when a civil war breaks out
Sounds like Dollar Diplomacy…
Haiti [1916]
-U.S. creates a treaty, giving U.S. supervision over finances and police
Sounds like the Roosevelt Corollary…
Dominican Republic [1916]
-U.S. sends Marines to put down riots and protect U.S. investments
-the Marines stay there for eight years
Sounds like both Dollar Diplomacy and Big Stick
Buys Virgin Islands from Denmark [1917]
Sounds like Big Stick
Part III: Wilson: Moral Diplomacy in Mexico
[1913] Civil War in Mexico – General Huerta takes over
-leads to the migration of thousands of Mexicans to the U.S.
[1914] Huerta collapses under pressure from the U.S.
Tampico Incident
-Mexico refuses the 21-gun apology to jailing U.S. citizens
-almost had war
[1914] Carranza takes over – supported by the U.S.
[1915] Pancho Villa begins attacking Carranza supporters and U.S. workers
-kills U.S. workers in Mexico
-kills U.S. workers on American soil in New Mexico
[1916] Wilson sends John J. Pershing “Blackjack”
-led U.S. troops on a chase of Villa throughout Mexico
[1917] Pershing is recalled (needed for WWI)
[1923] Villa is assassinated by his own people in Mexico
European Entrance in WWI
Imperialism – European nations competing for the same land around the world
Rabid Nationalism –extreme pride in one’s own country
Militarism [1890-1914]
-every European country increases per capita expenditure on the military
-mandatory conscription in every country (except Great Britain)
Alliances
Triple Alliance [1882]
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Italy
Triple Entènte [1907]
Great Britain
France
Russia
The Spark
[June 28, 1914] Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated
(From Austria-Hungary) in Bosnia by Gaurilo Princip
[July 28, 1914] Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
Russia comes to Serbia’s aid – war on Austria-Hungary
Germany enters the war – declares war on Russia and France
(Germany gets into a problem – a two-front war)
After Germany invades neutral Belgium, Great Britain jumps into the war
The Great War has begun
Allies
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Central Powers
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Great Britain
Russia
France
[1915] Italy
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Germany
Austria-Hungary
Turkey (Ottoman Empire)
Bulgaria
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Germany has a plan to win the war in 39 days: Schlieffen Plan [1905]
-calls for Germany to invade neutral Belgium
-Germany pushes through Belgium easily and into France
-get to within eight miles of Paris before they are halted
Problems:
-ammunition is not readily available
-uniforms are decaying
-shoes start wearing out
[1914] Battle of the Marne
Successful in pushing the Germans back about 50 miles
[By the end of 1914] the war is at a stalemate
[Beginning of 1915] War turned into trench warfare
*World War I terminology*
SIW – Self-Inflicted Wound (to get out of fighting, soldiers shot themselves in the foot)
“Over-the-top” – a charge at an opposing trench
New Technology
Poison gas
Machine guns
Submarines (U-Boats)
Airplanes (invented in 1903 by the Wright brothers)
Tanks
[February 1916] Battle of Verdun
-German offensive-fails miserably
[July 1916] Battle of Somme “Great F***-Up”
-Britain offensive – within the first hour, there are 60 000 British casualties
-Total one million casualties in the battle
[1915] Italy enters the war
[by 1916] 600 000 Italian soldiers throw down their weapons and return home
[1916] Russia is being badly defeated on the Eastern Front
-at least they are occupying Germany
-but within one year, they are out of the war (Bolshevik Revolution)
U.S. Entrance into WWI
[1914] Wilson declares the U.S. to be neutral “in both thought and deed”
Reasons Why the U.S. enters the War for the Allies:
Economic reasons
-as the war continues, the U.S. increases trade with the Allies
-meanwhile, the U.S. decreases trade with the Central Powers
-Great Britain blockade German ports
-U.S. bankers lend money to the Allies
-$2.3 billion to the Allies
-$10 billion altogether
Culture
-historical ties with Great Britain (also a shared language-English)
Political ties – much of U.S. laws tie to English common laws
Propaganda
-Great Britain controls almost all the transatlantic cables
-they keep bad information away from the U.S.
Freedom of the Seas
-both Great Britain and Germany violate U.S. shipping rights
Britain is forcing U.S. ships into their ports
Germany is sinking U.S. ships and killing civilians with U-boats
-the lesser of the two evils is Great Britain
Steps toward War
[February 1915] Germany announces a sub-war zone around the British Isles
[May 1915] German U-boat sinks the Lusitania (a British passenger ship)
-kills 1198 people, including 128 Americans
Wilson issues the Lusitania Notes
-William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State, resigns (threat to neutrality)
[August 1915] the Arabic is sunk (another British passenger ship)
-kills two Americans
-Germany apologizes – agrees to stop sinking unarmed ships without warning
[March 1916] the Sussex (a French ship) is sunk
-this time, Wilson is infuriated – The Sussex Pledge
-Germany pledges to stop sinking ships…if Britain stops their blockade
-Wilson only heeds the first part
Election of 1916
Democrats – Woodrow Wilson – “He kept us out of war” ~277 electoral votes
Republicans – Charles Evans Hughes – flip-flops on issues ~254 electoral votes
Woodrow Wilson is re-elected
-Secretary of Treasury William McAdoo warns Wilson that the Allies were running out of money
-advises Wilson that the U.S. should start loaning money to the Allies
[Jan. 22, 1917] Wilson attempts to end the war with his “Peace without Victory” speech
-both sides reject the speech; subsequently, it fails.
[Jan. 31, 1917] Germany announces that they will resume unrestricted submarine warfare
[Feb. 3, 1917] Wilson cuts off diplomatic ties with Germany
[Feb. 24, 1917] Great Britain intercepts a telegram
The Zimmermann Note
The German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, proposes an alliance between Mexico and Germany
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas territories will be returned to Mexico after the Central Powers win
Would keep U.S. occupied with Mexico
The U.S. is outraged
[March 1917] Czar Nicholas II of Russia is forced to abdicate the throne
-Russia is out of the war
[March 1917] Five U.S. merchant ships are sunk
[April 2, 1917] Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war
“the World must be made safe for democracy”
[April 6, 1917] Congress declares war on Germany
When the U.S. declares war in April of 1917, the U.S. is woefully unprepared for war
only 120 000 U.S. soldiers in the Army
the officer corps was old and antiquated
Bureaucracy of Government – Money going to the wrong places
Industry is competing against each other instead of working together
Mobilization
Raising an army
Selective Service Act [November 1917]
Ages 18-45
No substitutes (cannot pay for one)
Few exemptions (i.e. working in a key industry)
24 million register
3 million are drafted
women are included – 11 000 in the Navy, 269 in the Marines
African-Americans
-served in segregated units
-served in construction jobs and unloading ammunition (dangerous)
4.3 million people serve in the U.S. Army in WWI
Training was supposed to last for six months
-but many are rushed through training
-I.Q. Test is used (culturally and racially biased)
Economy
War Industries Board (WIB) [1917]
[1918] taken over by Bernard Baruch
Allocates raw materials
Introduces efficiencies
Establishes production priorities
Coordinate and consolidate businesses
Lever Food and Fuel Control Act [1917]
Food Administration (headed by Herbert Hoover)
Organizes food
Gets people to conserve (uses propaganda)
Play on nationalism – “Meatless Mondays” “Wheatless Wednesdays” “Victory Gardens”
Fuel Administration (headed by Henry Garfield)
Regulate fuel prices
Control coal output
Promote conservation
Daylight Savings Time (idea by Benjamin Franklin, but actually instituted in WWI)
[1918] Overman Act
-gives government control over railroads
War cost of U.S. - $35.5 billion
$21 billion in Liberty Bonds
$14.5 billion comes from taxes (federal income taxes)
Workers
[1918] “Work of Fight” Rule
National War Labor Board (NWLB)
-AF of L (American Federation of Labor) remains loyal to the war cause
-However, IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) is not
Women – one million work in industrial jobs during the war
African-Americans
-due to the job opportunities in the North, “The Great Migration”
-500 000 move to the North – leads to race problems (esp. St. Louis, Missouri)
Spirit of the Nation
George Creel is the head of propaganda – Committee of Public Information
-Movies (“To Hell with the Kaiser,” “Beast of Berlin”)
-Songs (“Over There” by George C. Cohan)
-Posters (“Hang the Hun” portrayed Germans as brutal barbarians)
-German words are changed (ex. Sauerkraut – Liberty Cabbage, Dachshund – Liberty Pup)
Creel, however, oversells the war – this will hurt Wilson after WWI
The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe
-led by John J. Pershing
2 million Americans will serve in Europe during the war
-the soldiers are very excited, thought traveling was a “grand adventure”
Biggest Problem for U.S. soldiers when they arrive at Europe?
-Sexually transmitted diseases (French custom to offer allies prostitutes)
Fighting
-the first U.S. soldiers were used as replacements for French and British armies
[Spring 1918] German offensive
-the American army helps to halt the German offensive at Chatteau-Thierrey
[July 1918] Second Battle of the Marne
-push Germans back to Germany
[August 1918] Pershing finally gets his own army
[September 1918] Meuse-Argonne Offensive
-last offense of the War
[November 1918] Germany gives up
-on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
WWI Death Toll
Russia -1.7 million
France -1.35 million
Britain -908 000
U.S. -50 000 in battle (an additional 120 000 from the flu)
World War I and the Progressive Era
Progressives – want reform and to kill the ills of society
Clayton Antitrust Act – adds to Sherman Antitrust Act - NWLB
Federal Reserve Act – reforms banking
Federal Farm Loan Act
Adamson Act – 8 hour work day for federal workers
Hepburn Act – railroads
Federal Trade Commission – oversees trade
Meat Inspection Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
16th (income tax), 17th (direct election of senators), 18th (prohibition – also $4 million is spent on prostitution prevention), 19th (women’s suffrage) Amendments
Negatives to Progressivism
-not a positive for progressivism
-encourages monopolies
-regulate prices (instead of allowing markets to do so)
-regulates businesses
16th Amendment (federal income tax)
-the government increases taxes during the war (as much as 70%)
18th Amendment (prohibition)
-mob activity grows, leads to more illegal activity
-after the war, women are forced back into the homes
Hepburn Act – replaced with the Overman Act
-direct control of railroads
Civil Liberties are severely restricted during the war (especially freedom of speech)
[1917] Espionage Act
$10 000 fine or 20 years in jail for various anti-war activities
[1918] Sedition Act
creates strict penalties for criticizing the American war effort (or U.S. in general)
1500 pacifists, socialists and others are convicted
Eugene V. Debs also arrested
Supreme Court upholds these convictions in Shenck vs. U.S. due to the presence of “clear and present danger”
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points
[Jan. 8, 1918] in a speech to Congress
Three Purposes:
Aimed at Russia (keeping Russia in the war)
Outline the moral purposes for U.S. involvement
Aimed at demoralizing the enemy
A
Underlying causes of the war
bolish secret treaties and alliances
Freedom of the seas
Removal of economic barriers
Reduce arms
Adjustment of colonial claims
Evacuation of Russian territory
Restore Belgium
Evacuate France and give Alsace-Lorraine back
Adjustment of Italian borders
Self-determination of the people of Austria-Hungary
Restore the Balkan states and give Serbia access to the sea
Self-determination for the people of former Ottoman Empire
Independent Poland
League of Nations – deals with collective security – avoid future wars
Self-determination
The Treaty of Versailles
[Jan. 18, 1919] in Palace of Versailles in France
The Big Four
U.S.
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Woodrow Wilson
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Wants a peaceful world
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Great Britain
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David Lloyd George
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Want the revenge, punishment, humiliation, and the destroying of Germany
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France
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Georges Clemenceau
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Italy
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Vittorio Orlando
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Wilson’s Mistakes before the Treaty
He does not bring a Republican in his Peace Delegation
He does not include a Senator in his Peace Delegation
Republicans take control over Congress in the 1918 elections
The Treaty
Czechoslovakia is created
Yugoslavia is created
Poland is created
France gets Alsace-Lorraine back
Disarm the Rhineland
Allies take over the Saar region (has coal)
Germany is split into one large piece and East Prussia
The Middle East is divided to France and Great Britain
Independence for Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Germany is forced to pay $66 billion in reparations
Germany loses 12% of its pre-war land
-loses 75% of its iron ore deposits
-loses 15% of farmland
League of Nations is created
Mistakes of the Treaty
Germany is surrounded by new, unstable countries
Making Germany pay reparations (economic turmoil ensues)
Taking land away from Russia
-Allies are more interested in embarrassing Germany
Wilson takes the blame for all the failures.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Hiram Johnson, William Borah
-lead the Republican Senate against ratification of the treaty
-worried that the U.S. might be pulled into a war with the League of Nations
[October 1919] Woodrow Wilson has a stroke
-stuck in bed for the next 7 ½ months
-Edith Gault (Wilson’s second wife) has complete control over Wilson
Henry Cabot Lodge adds 14 reservations to the treaty – the treaty fails to pass in the Senate and also fails the second vote
-the U.S. never ratifies the Treaty of Versailles and never joins the League of Nations
Post-WWI in the U.S.
130 174 total deaths
2 million serve in the war
[1921] Congress officially declares an end to the war
U.S. returns to the isolationist policy – begins to demobilize
[1920]
War Industries Board ended
Railroads return to private management
3 600+ strikes occur
18th Amendment (Prohibition)
19th Amendment (Women’s Suffrage)
[1921] Veteran’s Bureau – pensions, veterans’ benefits
[1919] American Legion in Paris – group of veterans, drinking
Race riots in the north (esp. St. Louis, the east side) – due to the Great Migration
Women are forced out of jobs and return home
Fueling of Xenophobia
Xenophobia – fear of strangers/foreigners
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