1. The Legacy of World War I- 23.4

2. One young soldier from Harrisburg, PA, served as a bugler in the Army
One young soldier from Harrisburg, PA, served as a bugler in the Army. He was wounded and gassed in an attack on the last day of the war. He spent several months in Europe and two days in a hospital in New York City before he returned home. He eventually died from the effects of the gassing. “March 24, 1919 Entered NY Harbor. Mayor Committee of Welcome came to meet us and band began to play “Home Sweet Home.” Crowd began to cheer. As we steamed up the Bay, we all crowded to one side of the boat, almost upsetting the boat… passed the Statue of Liberty and such whooping and cheering one never heard.” Bugler Wayne DeSilvey, 112th Infantry Regiment, AEF, personal diary

3. Paris Peace Conference
On January 18, 1919, diplomats from more than two dozen countries gathered in Paris for a conference to discuss how to end the war permanently.
The conference leaders also discussed a more difficult problem. What could they do to prevent another war involving so many countries?
The conference lasted a little more than a year. The discussions produced treaties (formal agreements) with Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria.

4. President Wilson’s Plans for Peace
President Wilson hoped to prevent a conflict like World War 1 from happening again
January 1918, ten months before the war actually ended, Wilson told Congress about his radical new plan for peace
This became known as the Fourteen Points.

5. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Plan called for
Smaller military forces
End to secret treaties
Freedom of the seas
Free trade
Changes in national boundaries- mostly giving independence to people from Austria-Hungary from the Ottoman empire

6. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
For Wilson, the final (14th) point was the most important
He called for a new association of nations called the League of Nations
Purpose would be to peacefully settle disputes
Believed that acceptance of the fourteen points by the warring parties would bring about “peace without victory”
Hand out

7. League of Nations
This was the 14th point of President Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech.
The League of Nations was formed to settle future disputes peacefully, but it did not prevent WWII.
The United States did not join the League of Nations because Congress would not pass it due to conflicts with President Wilson.

8. Treaty of Versailles
On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.
The Treaty of Versailles imposed very rigid restrictions against Germany
Taking their colonies
Military limited to 100,000
Pay reparations of $33 Billion

9. Treaty of Versailles
They also divided up the empires of Austria-Hungry and the Ottoman Empire. Created Czechoslovakia and recognized Poland’s independence.
The United States Congress did not sign the treaty, however, because it objected to the creation of the League of Nations. Congress and President Wilson could not come to an agreement about the League of Nations.
The treaty of Versailles failed to make Europe “safe for democracy”. In the next decades, Germany’s economic burdens and resentment of the treaty would grow- and lead to WWII!
Hand out

10. The War and Social Changes
The massive mobilization of soldiers and civilians led to sweeping changes in American life, both during the war and after it ended, which caused years of social conflict.
African Americans left the South to escape poverty and racial violence. African Americans moved to northern cities where they found jobs in factories, almost 500,000 between
Factories were willing to hire African Americans because most white men had left to fight in the war; men were needed to produce war materials.
Became known as the Great Migration

11. Women take on “Men’s Work”
As with the Civil War, new jobs opened for women during WWI when millions of men were serving in the military, women were needed to take men's place at work
Steel mills
Ammunition factories
Assembly lines
Streetcar conductors
Elevator operators
After the war, many women were laid off to create positions for the returning veterans
Many women found that they enjoyed working and continued doing so after the war

12. Strikes
Labor conflicts divided Americans after the war when the nation had a number of worker strikes.
Federal regulators had kept workers’ wages low during the war but workers expected a wage increase after the war, but did not get one.
February 1919, more than 50,000 workers in Seattle, WA, held a peaceful general strike to demand better wages.
The shutdown paralyzed the city

13. Red Scare
An American reaction to the strikes was that the U.S. was being threatened by a communist revolution like what Russia was encountering.
This became known as the Red Scare
Fear was heightened by the discovery of mail bombs sent to the government offices.
Many believed it was anarchists radicals who do not believe in any type of government.

14. Red Scare and Palmer Raids
The Red Scare was not only anti-radical but also anti-foreign
Two Italian born anarchists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested for killing two men in an armed robbery
Despite claiming innocence, (and a lack of evidence) they were found guilty and executed.

15. Palmer Raids
January 1920, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer order a raid of the homes and headquarters of suspected radicals.
“Palmer Agents” arrested at least 6,000 people without search warrants
Became known as the Palmer Raids

16. Racial Conflict
Racial tensions increased after the war and the Great Migration
White vigilantes lynched African Americans before mobs
In most cases, the victims had been arrested on false evidence
In the North, white and black people competed for factory jobs
Simmering resentments over house, jobs, and segregation exploded during the summer of 1919
Over 20 race riots flared in cities around the country