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Chapter 24 |
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In 1915, the British steamship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with 1,200 fatalities, horrifying Americans. The tragedy embroiled the United States more deeply in the European crisis, and despite Wilson’s commitment to peace and neutrality, America went to war in 1917.
A NEW WORLD POWER
After 1901, the United States was becoming much more involved in international issues through its economic expansion. Policymaking was left almost entirely to the president because most Americans paid little attention to foreign affairs. From 1901-1920, American foreign policy was aggressive and nationalistic, intervening in Europe, the Far East, and Latin America, dominating the Caribbean.
“I Took the Canal Zone”
The strong desire for an isthmian canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans led to a major departure in U.S.-Latin American relations. President Roosevelt, convinced that America should achieve a more active international status, moved to consolidate American power in the Caribbean and Central America. He intervened in affairs in Colombia-Panama in order to secure the canal zone, and the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gave the United States control of the canal zone and guaranteed the independence of Panama. Roosevelt’s actions angered many in Latin America.
The Roosevelt Corollary
With American interests entrenched in the Caribbean, the president issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It threatened Latin American nations with American intervention should they fail to keep their finances in order. In particular, Roosevelt was reacting the tendency of Latin American nations to default on their debts to European nations, thereby inviting European intervention in the area—something Roosevelt wanted to prevent.
Ventures in the Far East
American action in the Far East was shaped by the Open Door Policy and possession of the Philippine Islands. After war broke out between Russia and Japan, Roosevelt sought to balance Russian and Japanese power in the Far East by mediating the conflict. The Taft-Katsura Agreement recognized Japanese control of Korea in exchange for a promise not to invade the Philippines. In 1908, after assuaging Japanese resentment over anti-Japanese action in the American West, Roosevelt sent the enlarged naval fleet around the world, with a stop in Tokyo, as a show of strength.
Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
Under President Taft, American business and financial interests were extended abroad through “dollar diplomacy,” replacing European loans with American loans. Taft’s initiatives in the Far East led to intense rivalry and increased tension with Japan.
FOREIGN POLICY UNDER WILSON
Confident of his own abilities and very idealistic, President Wilson foresaw a world freed from the threats of militarism, colonialism, and war. He stressed morality rather than money, advocating a course of diplomacy that would bring about peace and the spread of democracy.
Conducting Moral Diplomacy
President Wilson and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan sought to apply a policy of human rights and national integrity to Latin America, but practical considerations softened Wilson’s idealism, and he fell back on the Roosevelt-Taft policies, intervening in Latin America more than either of his predecessors.
Troubles Across the Border
Revolution and lingering political instability caused Wilson to become embroiled in Mexican political turbulence. When the conservative General Huerta assassinated the reformer Madero, Wilson refused to recognize him, asserting a new policy toward revolutionary regimes that required not only the exercise of power but also the demonstration of a “just government based on law.” Tensions mounted between the United States and Mexico. When revolutionary leader Pancho Villa began attacking Americans, Wilson responded with military intervention further arousing the ire of Mexico. Distracted by affairs in Europe, Wilson withdrew the military from Mexico.
TOWARD WAR
The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand set into motion a chain of events that by August 1914 had brought the major European nations to war. Stunned as he was, Wilson called on the American people to remain impartial.
The Neutrality Policy
At the outset of war, Wilson envisioned the nation’s role as that of a peacemaker and pillar of democracy. Americans were sharply divided in sentiment, but most sympathized with the British and French and considered German aggression largely responsible for the war. Except in Latin America, the United States had a well-established tradition of isolationism, and Americans accepted neutrality as the desirable course. Progressivism also mitigated against involvement as most reformers preferred to focus on domestic problems.
Freedom of the Seas
Maintaining the nation’s neutrality, American firms tried to trade with both the Allies and Germany. For the most part, Britain was careful to disrupt German trade without disrupting Anglo-American relations. Other than U-boats, Germany did little to disrupt American trade with the Allies, and American goods flooded European ports, especially in Britain and France, resulting in great profits at home and increasing commercial ties with the Allies.
The U-Boat Threat
Germany’s use of the dreaded submarines posed a direct threat to American shipping. Until 1917, Germany agreed not to fire on American ships. The issue then became one of American passengers on foreign ships. The sinking of the Lusitania and the Arabic outraged Americans and forced President Wilson to pressure the German government. After the French steamer Sussex was sunk, Wilson threatened to sever relations with Germany, and German Kaiser Wilhelm issued a pledge promising that German submarines would only target enemy naval vessels.
“He Kept Us Out of War”
The “preparedness” advocates led by Theodore Roosevelt called for readiness in case of war and spoke out against pacifist sentiment in the country. Facing pressure from both sides, Wilson advocated preparedness while championing his record of peace. Wilson defeated the Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes in 1916. Winning by a very narrow margin, Wilson continued to pledge his commitment to peace even while he advocated preparedness.
The Final Months of Peace
In January 1917, Wilson called upon the European nations to submit to a “peace without victory” and a peace between equals, but renewed German submarine attacks severely threatened relations with the United States. Public indignation against Germany soared after the exposure of the Zimmermann telegram, which encouraged a Mexican-German alliance and German support in a Mexican war against the United States. Prompted by continued sinking of American ships, Wilson at last demanded military intervention.
OVER THERE
A wave of patriotism swept the country as hundreds of thousands of troops departed for Europe, and antiwar protest at home was crushed.
Mobilization
Wilson selected “Black Jack” Pershing to lead the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Preferring a draft as more efficient and democratic, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, eventually drafting over two million men, including Black men, into the army.
War in the Trenches
A massive German offensive was launched in March 1918 against western Europe, but the American-supported Allied lines held. By autumn German forces were in headlong retreat, and in November, Germany agreed to armistice terms. Within the month, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria also were finished.
OVER HERE
All aspects of the economy and of society were needed to fight the war, and Wilson was able to mobilize the whole country both economically and emotionally.
The Conquest of Convictions
At home, the Committee on Public Information launched a propaganda campaign to evoke hatred for Germany and support for the war. Wilson encouraged the emerging vigilante repression of antiwar sympathizers and enacted and enforced the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act against those who opposed the war effort. Such efforts to smother anti-American dissent also gave rise to a “Red Scare” in 1919. Pleased at first with the Russian revolution, Americans soon became dismayed when the Communists took over. Wilson sent troops, joined in an economic blockade of Russia, and barred Russian participation in the peace conference that ended the war.
A Bureaucratic War
The War Industries Board was established to oversee all aspects of industrial production. Herbert Hoover headed the Food Administration, which fixed prices and encouraged Americans to plant “victory gardens,” while the Fuel Administration rationed coal and oil and introduced daylight savings time. Government involvement in American life had never been greater. Liberty bonds were sold, and taxes on individuals and corporations were boosted.
Labor in the War
The war secured the partnership between labor and government, and union membership swelled to more than four million by 1919. The War Labor Board standardized wages and hours and protected the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain. Women and African Americans found economic opportunities that had never before existed. Companies sent agents into the South to recruit Black labor, setting off a great migration of Blacks to northern industrial areas, and growing competition for jobs and housing led to an increase in racial tensions. The United States emerged from the war as the greatest economic power in the world.
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
Wilson’s plan for peace contained in his Fourteen Points outlined a far-reaching, nonpunitive settlement. Although England and France reluctantly submitted to much of Wilson’s idealistic plans, they were skeptical of its promises for world peace.
A Peace at Paris
In a dramatic break from tradition, Wilson himself attended the peace conference where he unveiled his lofty goals for a lasting peace, including national self-determination in Europe and the creation of a League of Nations. Several of Wilson’s important principles were sacrificed, however, as enormous reparations were heaped upon Germany, its Asian and African colonies were divided up among other European nations, and the doctrine of self-determination was violated in the establishment of Poland and Czechoslovakia. Additionally, there was no mention of disarmament, free trade, or freedom of the seas.
Rejection in the Senate
Because the treaty limited the power of Congress in some respects, senators with strong reservations were committed to opposing it. Wilson’s refusal to budge on a few crucial points and his inability to campaign for it with his usual zest (he suffered a debilitating stroke) led to the treaty’s final rejection. Republican Warren G. Harding’s election in 1920 assured the final demise of the treaty.
Conclusion: Postwar Disillusionment
World War I, feared before it started, popular while it lasted, and hated when it ended, confirmed the nation’s disillusionment with war and international commitment. The war and its aftermath also killed the progressive spirit of reform that had dominated the first two decades of the century.
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