1. Intro to Wilson, The Great War, and Foreign Policy

2. A bromance gone wrong

4. Roosevelt: Big Stick Diplomacy
Gunboat Diplomacy: The Great White Fleet
Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
U.S. as the policing agent of the Western Hemisphere
Panama Canal
Panama (then Columbia) then the site of desired canal
Columbian gov’t won’t deal with US
TR (with help) – architects Panamanian rebellion, recognizes independence
Canal construction begins with new Panamanian blessing

5. Taft: Dollar Diplomacy
Economic policies to increase influence
Especially in Latin America
Encourage banks to lend in developing countries
Expand U.S. foreign trade markets
Low Interest Loans to new/struggling L.A. Regimes
Gives U.S. economic leverage, can affect policy

6. Wilson: Moral Diplomacy
Wilson: Ideologue (he’s an academic by trade…president of Princeton)
Believes in a democratic world order
Foreign policy guided by principle, not cash or power
Intervenes in Mexican affairs with U.S. military, supports overthrow of Mexican dictator
Revolutionary effort fails

7. War Breaks Out In Europe
Nationalism, Militarization, and a network of alliances lead to war
Britain, France, & Russia vs Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Italy

8. The United States and Neutrality
Wilson’s position
Remain “impartial in thought as well as deed.”
Most Americans lean toward one side or the other, but very few support U.S. military involvement

9. Neutrality Fades
Although neutral, U.S. trade becomes unequal after British blockade of the North Sea
Trade continues with Allied powers, nearly ceases with central powers

10. Neutrality Fades 1914-1917 Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Germans pioneered U-boats
Began sinking enemy ships (merchant ships included) without warning
Lusitania – 1915
British Passenger ship, 128 Americans killed (1,198 total)
Also carried munitions from the U.S.
Sparked public outrage in U.S.
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Sussex – 1916
French passenger ship, Americans on board
Anti-German sentiment escalates
Sussex Pledge – Germans promise not to fire without warning

11. Wilson’s re-election of 1916
Wilson’s dilemma: Make war preparations or not?
Anti-German sentiment was mounting
Economic situation had established allied connections
Many still opposed intervention
Military build-up might provoke action from Germany
1915 – Wilson approves military expansion
Peace faction still held important political power
Wilson’s re-election slogan: “He kept us out of war
Wilson Barely wins reelection in 1916

12. The End of Neutrality The Zimmerman Telegram: February 25, 1917
Telegram from Germany to Mexico intercepted by British, turned over to U.S.
Promised Mexico the return of TX, NM, AZ if they aligned w/ Germany and attacked the U.S.
Widely publicized by British, American Journalists
Increased anti-German sentiments
Russian Revolution – March 1917
Czar overthrown
U.S. doesn’t have to worry about aligning with “despotic monarchy”
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare resumes – March 1917
3 unarmed U.S. merchant ships sunk

13. Wilson’s War Message War Declared: April 6, 1917
Wilson’s Idealism: “Make the world safe for Democracy”
“The war to end all wars”

14. Cornering Public Opinion
Anti-German Propaganda
Espionage Act 1917
Criminalized any obstruction of the war effort – including the Draft
Upheld against 1st Amendment in Schenck v. United States
Sedition Act 1918
Outlawed criticism of the war or government
Targeted Socialists, German- Americans, Irish Americans, Jews, Immigrants

15. Espionage and Sedition Acts
Remember me, I ran for president form the socialist party in 1912…and I look like Mr. Alsin
Espionage and Sedition Acts
Enforced largely by A. Mitchell Palmer, the United States attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson, the Espionage Act essentially made it a crime for any person to convey information intended to interfere with the U.S. armed forces prosecution of the war effort or to promote the success of the country’s enemies. Anyone found guilty of such acts would be subject to a fine of $10,000 and a prison sentence of 20 years.
The Espionage Act was reinforced by the Sedition Act of the following year, which imposed similarly harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts. Both pieces of legislation were aimed at socialists, pacifists and other anti-war activists during World War I and were used to punishing effect in the years immediately following the war, during a period characterized by the fear of communist influence and communist infiltration into American society that became known as the first Red Scare (a second would occur later, during the 1940s and 1950s, associated largely with Senator Joseph McCarthy). Palmer–a former pacifist whose views on civil rights radically changed once he assumed the attorney general’s office during the Red Scare–and his right-hand man, J. Edgar Hoover, liberally employed the Espionage and Sedition Acts to persecute left-wing political figures.
One of the most famous activists arrested during this period, labor leader Eugene V. Debs, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a speech he made in 1918 in Canton, Ohio, criticizing the Espionage Act. Debs appealed the decision, and the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the court upheld his conviction. Though Debs’ sentence was commuted in when the Sedition Act was repealed by Congress, major portions of the Espionage Act remain part of United States law to the present day.
History.com

16. Financing the War 2-Tiered Approach Bonds – loans from citizenry Taxes
Graduated rates increased
Inheritance tax ~70%
“Excess Profits”
$10B

17. Military Draft The Selective Service
In 1917 the administration decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower for WWI.
In 1917 and 1918 some 24 million men were registered and nearly 3 million inducted into the military services, with little resistance.
By summer 1918 the US was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day

18. Turning the Tide of War Summer of 1918 General Pershing
Summer of 1918
American Expeditionary Force Arrives in Europe
Fresh troops enter a tired war
General Pershing
Generally speaking, this group was sent to France to fight alongside British and French forces against Germans
Most common fighting tactic was trench warfare
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
7-week battle that pushes Germans back to their western border

19. This street is named “Pershing Avenue”

20. Navigating Peace Armistice – November 11, 1918 Wilson’s Dilemma
Wilson has ideological plan for postwar order (14 points)
European allies hesitant to support Wilson
US Never formally becomes an “ally” or integrates Army
Allies had been fighting much longer
Higher casualties = Bitter feelings
Resented Wilson’s moral tone

21. 14 points Fourteen Points January 1918
Plan for world order; what we’re fighting for
Self-determination for subjugated people
No secret treaties
Free trade
Disarmament
League of Nations to regulate

22. Paris Peace Conference
The “Big Four”
Vittorio Orland: Italy; wants land
David Lloyd George: Britain; wants to punish Germany
Georges Clemenceau: France; Wants land, money from Germany
Woodrow Wilson: US; 14 Points
Treaty of Versailles: The terms of peace
Germany must accept full blame for the war
Germany must issue war reparations to Britain and France ($55B), surrender territory
Germany must disarm
Creation of the League of Nations

23. Battle for Ratification
Treaty of Versailles meets opposition in congress
Republicans – alienated by Wilson in midterms, begin to oppose all of his policies – and they control both houses
Irreconcilables: Senators on both sides of the aisle who fought the treaty
Henry Cabot Lodge
League of Nations hugely unpopular in congress – legislators don’t want to answer to higher organization
League of Nations might have war-making power
Wilson embarks on a speaking tour to rally support
Suffers massive stroke that leaves him mostly incapacitated
Treaty of Versailles is defeated in congress (twice)
League of Nations created WITHOUT the U.S.

24. Post War Policies
Washington Naval Conference ( ) – disarmament conference in DC attended by 9 nations – also addressed how to deal with tensions in the middle east
Dawes Plan (1924) – dealt with Germany’s reparation payments post war; overseen by Americans and British
Kellogg Briand Pact (1928) – this pact literally outlawed wars as a tool of international policy, signed by France and US
Hawley Smoot Tariff (1930) – raised import taxes to protect American businesses and farmers (ends up becoming a potential cause of the Great Depression)