More Chapter 11 NotesMore Chapter 11 Notes

Yes, Catalin and Jimmy would proudly claim that joke AND think it’s

hilarious (note to you two: it’s not) The title is what it is because the U.S. was caught unready for global

war despite the fact the war had been happening for 2 ½ years when they entered

Wilson, the alleged pacifist (so says the American Pageant—though not other historical texts), had created a civilian Council of National Defense to study problems of economic mobilization

The army had been moderately increased (100K more soldiers), but ranked only 15th largest in the world

The lack of a cohesive plan hurt the U.S. mobilization cause as well, as no one knew how much steel or explosive powder we could produce

Fears of big government slowed efforts from the national government to orchestrate the economy (the old laissez-faire system was at work again)

The War Industries Board was launched in March, 1918 but its powers were severely limited and it was disbanded within days of the armistice

What’s the Opposite of Mobilization? The

U.S.!

Future president Herbert Hoover (SPOILER ALERT!…too late) relied on the voluntary actions of the country to support the war

Nothing was mandated but meatless Tuesdays and wheatless Wednesdays were encouraged to allow more foodstuffs to be sent overseas

A propaganda campaign was stirred up through posters, billboards, newspapers, pulpits, and movies

Foodstuffs were severely restricted for alcoholic beverages by Congress

Prohibition ultimately stems from reformers’ wishes and a wartime edict…the 18th Amendment was passed in 1919

Hoover’s ideas worked: farm production increased by 25% and food exports tripled in volume

The Fuel Administration called for “heatless Mondays,” “lightless nights,” and “gasless Sundays”

The Treasury Department called for parades with slogans like “Halt the Hun” (Hun was a derogatory term for German aggressors) to promote four great Liberty Loan drives

This netted $21 billion or two-thirds of the war’s cost

So What Did We Do?

The American Pageant’s authors REALLY love

America Somehow, The American Pageant gives America

credit for winning WWI despite being engaged in the war for less than two years

While other countries likely had more to do with Allied success, the U.S. did provide renewed energy and troops to a side struggling with the lingering Russian question as Germany was threatening to break through to Paris

“Work or fight” became the rule of the War Department in 1918, threatening any unemployed male with immediate drafting, thus discouraging strikes

It’s Not the Size of the Dog in the Fight…

There were many debates over what should happen to

Germany at the end of the war Some Americans were still angry over Germany’s violation of

the Sussex Pledge (remember, the Sussex Pledge was a last warning to Germany to stop shooting down U.S. ships of any kind; when Germany violated the pledge because the U.S. supported Britain’s blockade of foodstuffs to Germans, the U.S. entered the war)

But the European Allies blamed Germany for the war and were not interested in peace

France and Britain thought the same as this guy…Make ‘em Pay

The End of the War

Woodrow Wilson thought otherwise though President Wilson proposed his 14 points to end the war and restore the

world to peace, including an international peacekeeping body called the League of Nations…he didn’t get his way overall, but does get the League

In general, reparations were quite harsh for Germany, as they had to pay $32 billion in reparation payments to the Allies, had a de-militarized zone in the Rhineland and were not allowed to have a standing army

Wilson defends treaty because provides a League committed to preserving peace

However, some senators, especially Republicans, were angry that there were no Republicans in the U.S. Peace delegation at Versailles

Led by Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, the Senate rejected U.S. entry into the League of Nations even though it was approved at Versailles

Wilson sees his dream of the League of Nations go forward without him

After the War

The National War Labor Board headed off labor disputes that might hurt the war effort They argued for higher wages and an 8 hour day They did not guarantee the right of labor to organize in unions though

The AF of L supported the war After the war, they saw their membership rise to 3 million and real

wages rise to more than 20% over prewar levels The IWW (so creatively mocked as the “I Won’t Works”) did not

They did have some of the worst working conditions in the country When they protested, many were beaten, arrested, or run out of town

Prices more than doubled between 1914 and 1920, leading to roughly 6,000 strikes during the war years

The greatest strike in U.S. history occurred in 1919 in the steel industry Over 250,000 steelworkers walked off their jobs in an attempt to force

employers to recognize their right to organize and collectively bargain The steel companies refused to negotiate with union reps and brought

in 30,000 African American strikebreakers to keep the mills running Confrontations left more than a dozen workers dead, the steel strike

collapsed, and the union movement was set back for over a decade

Labor

The northward movement of African

Americans was not limited to strike-breakers, as blacks moved into areas previously only occupied by whites, sparking racial tension

In July 1917, 9 whites and 40 African Americans died in an East St. Louis race riot

In July 1919, a race riot erupted as blacks found jobs as strikebreakers in meatpacking plants with striking white laborers Black and white gangs roamed Chicago’s

streets, killing 15 whites and 23 blacks

Don’t Fight