AMH2020 Exam 3 NotesWorld War One: The United StatesThe war and peaceThe European Crisis- power blocks: Triple Alliance- Central Powers- Germany- Austria-Hungary- Allied Powers- France- Russia- Great Britain/England- concerned with building up their power, tensions peakedWoodrow Wilson- US not directly involved, sympathy is present- Public feeling tended to side with the Allies because of the expert British propaganda against German tendencies- Woodrow Wilson is president at the time- “US must remain neutral and thought as well as in the”- Despite this, first 6 months of the war we had little trouble with germany but a lot with Great Britain- More trouble with Britain because they have a great naval power and we want to keep up.- We are the largest neutral shipper: we ship to any country, it was to great britain’s advantage to keep us from shipping to Germany Relationship with Great Britain/England- England redefines everything in contraband (goods that have been imported or exported illegally) so they make exports to germany illegal?- England establishes a blockage to Germany- Meanwhile american ships seized and taken to british ports and held there for weeks- British mined north sea/established a war zone- No neutral dared sailed through without getting directions or permission from the englishBy mining the north see what did they get?- gives them an opportunity to search the ship and retrieve cargo they found- Mining the north sea is a Serious departure from international law: this isn't the way things have been done- Germany Protest US but not officially - Even though we declared neutral there was an indication of how not we were- Loans given to English and none to Germany - US shipping tons of ammunition to british which would be used against germany- Germany protest and nothing is done; they are upsetGermany- Because of the blockade there is partial justification for unrestricted submarine warfare- 1915 germany established a war zone around british isles and would destroy any merchant ships in that zone- Germany use of submarines again; this questions international law just as the British didInternational Law- No belligerent could destroy an unresisted merchant ship without first stopping it and determining its identity and then making provisions for safety of the crew- Stop- Identity- Safety- Did not make sense to Germany because you had to surface and one you did it was very easy to sink it- US protest very vigorously against Germany establishing war zone in british isles; they hadn't protested when British declared North Sea as a war-zone; both sides violated (English and Germany); but US only protest GermanyGerman Submarine Warfare Lusitania - Torpedo off the coast of ireland- Sank by germany -128 americans died- Germany expressed regret that americans have been killed but it declared that it been self defense- Later discovered that were was ammunition on Lusitania but whether germans even knew that is slim Arabic- at least 2 americans aboard** Many companies in the US making war materials and there are attempts to sabotage **Sussex- Unarmed french passenger ship so it was an ALLIED ship- the ship was mistaken for a minelayer and torpedoed by a German U-boat.- Most dangerous diplomatic crisis- 1916* Note to germans from Wilson: unless they stopped the present method of submarine warfare then US would sever diplomatic relations *Sussex Pledge- Germany made in response to Wilson- They would obey laws- No merchant and passenger ships sunk without proper precautions- string attached: Germany thought that since US was obeying the international law that Britain would do so too; - Accepted the pledge but without the string- For the next 9 months, german subs on good behavior- US again has more problems with british now than with Germany- US Protested Britain but not a lot; and it meant very little; Britain knew US could not taken action against herWar Enters New Phase- 1917 - Germany proclaimed submarine warfare once again- Calculated risk that german felt they had to take- Risk that military was forcing on civilian officials- Because the starvation blockage was really working - Without subs they would lose- Had to take a chance; the US would hurt them more as a belligerent than as a neutral- German military officials said they had to; wouldn't do more damage than if US remained neutral- After announcing they would submarine warfare; Wilson got involved in diplomatic relations- March 1 1917: Zimmerman Note publishedZimmerman Note- Arthur Zimmerman- Wilson’s secretary - Telegraphed the minister of Mexico- In the event of war of the US, he should strive for an alliance of Mexico to Germany- Because after germany would defeat allied countries; all the territory it had lost to the US would be returned back to Germany- Would get Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back- Got published and Americans are shocked- 4 unarmed US merchant ship sunk without warning - After, wilson armed merchant ships with orders to fire among german subs- Wilson delivered a war message to congress; senate voted for war 82-6, later house of rep voted 373-50 to go to war- Why did the US go to war?- Both sides violated our rights- Allied did so more persistently than Germany it seemed- Allied infractions violated American property rights, german violations took american lives- Main cause/immediate: German submarine warfare Other factors- German intrigue - Allied propaganda- Fear that germany victory in Europe would threatened the US- Pro Allied bias of a basically Angelo Saxon nation- Money: the economic state of the investors and allied causePresident Election- The slogan for Wilson was “He kept us out of war”- Wilson - 277- Brought us back into war after he was elected- Charles Evan Hughes - 264- Had to convince American people to favor war- War to save democracy- It was the war to end all wars- Some people remained Anti-War George Creel- successful in making Americans become Pro war - Streets of German names renamed, food, language (Iowa made it illegal to speak German in public)- Anti German propaganda War Cabinet- usually weren’t paidBernard Baruch- leads the War Industries Board- Job is plan and manage economyWilliam Howard Taft- In charge of War Labor Board- Work with labor leaders to solve labor abuse and stop strikes William Gibbs McAdoo- Rail and Fuel AdministrationHerbert Hoover- War Food Administration - Tried to increase production, Decrease waste- And most americans
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