Ch 14

 

Wilson- against imperialism, should promote democracy

 

Mexico- revolution, gov’t overthrown

-         Wilson blocks weapons from reaching Mexico

-         Raiders into US (Pancho Villa) attempt to bait Wilson into Mexico to overthrow new gov’t for not controlling its people

-         Wilson sends troops into Mex to find Villa (fails)

o       Wilson looks as bad as TR to rest of the world (bully)

 

Long term causes of WWI-

1.      Fear of German power

a.       Countries ally against strong germany

b.      Triple Entante (Fr, GB, Russia)

c.       Triple Alliance (Germ, AH, Italy)

2.      Militarism

a.       Arms race to build up navies, armies

b.      Creates tensions, suspicions, want to play with toys

3.      Imperialism

a.       Rivalries over the same territories overseas

4.      Nationalism

a.       Feeling of intense pride in homeland, feel yours is the best (flag waving)

b.      Nationalists that don’t have their own country want one of their own (self-determination) i.e. Slavs (serbs, croats, boznians) in then Aust-Hun

 

Steps

 

  1. Franz Ferdinand of A-H shot by a Serb
  2. AH declares war on Serbia
  3. Russia backs Serbs
  4. Germany backs AH
  5. France backs Russia
  6. Germany invades France through Belgium (neutral)
  7. England in b/c Belgium got picked on

 

Sides

Allies- Eng, France, Russia, Italy

Central Powers- Germany, AH, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

 

Weapons-

-         machine guns

-         poison gas

-         tanks

-         airplanes- 1st for observation, later bombing

-         submarines

 

Combination of old tactics and new weapons = stalemate (neither side can move)

-         causes trenches- defensive ditches for troops to hide in

 

Trenches and problems-

-         6 feet deep, areas in front protected w/ barbed wire

-         area between trenches = no man’s land

-         mud- people could drown it, cold, wet all of the time

-         trenchfoot- feet rot, b/c wet all of the time

-         rats- grew to be huge, eating off the dead bodies

-         smell of death- bodies lay in no man’s land for long times, sometimes were put on top of trenches to make taller, bottom of trenches to keep feet dry

-         people could die w/o doing something heroic

 

United States- officially neutral

-         many German-Ams and Irish support Germany

-         most people support England

 

US entry

Propaganda- info used to sway public opinion

-         only war news came from England, painted Germany in negative light (atrocities exaggerated)

-         caused anti-German sentiment in the US

 

Trade-  US tries to trade w/ both sides, makes tons of $

            - Most US merchants favor England, so most US supplies go to England

            - Germans use submarines to sink ships with material headed to England, including US ships (try to starve out British)

            - Lusitania passenger liner, sunk by U-Boat, 200 americans die

            - Sussex Pledge- Germans agree to stop sinking unarmed ships w/o warning for a while

 

Zimmerman Note- German note to Mexico, asks Mexico to invade US if US declares war on Germany

-         Says Mex. Can have TX, AZ, NM back after US beaten

 

Germany- decides to start sinking unarmed ships w/o warning again

 

US declares war 1917

Armistice (cease fire) 11/11/1918

 

Treaty of Versailles- 1919

-         Fr, Eng, US, Italy to decide what happens to Germany

-         Wilson- wants to prevent future wars

o       14 points

1.      self determination- let groups have own country, end colonization

2.      League of Nations- group of countries to settle disputes between others

-         Fr, Eng- want to punish Germany, make them too weak to be a threat

Treaty-

-         Germany

o       Loses land

o       Small army

o       No subs

o       No air force

o       Pay $33 billion

o       No troops in the Rhineland

-         Austria Hungary

o       Broken up into various countries

-         League of Nations created

 

US approval- treaties in US must be approved by the Senate

-         shot down b/c of L of N, afraid it could bring the US into more wars

o       Senate wants conditions allowing the US to act independantly

 

Main result of WWI on the US- US is now a major world power, on par with England/France/others

 

Impact of WWI on US-

-         Inflation- cost of living goes up

o       Workers want higher wages to keep up = strikes

-         Racism- tensions rise as blacks more north for jobs

o       Riots in Chicago and elsewhere

-         Red Scare- fear of communism- stems from Russian Revolution (wants to spread communism to other countries)

o       Bombs sent to prominent officials

o       Palmer Raids- deported many suspects