Woodrow Wilson Elected/War Begins

Roosevelts successor, Howard Taft, was

largely unpopular during his four years in
office, 1909-1913
Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was the
next president elected in 1912, and would
be faced with a number of challenges
during his presidency
World War 1 had started in Europe in
1914, but America remained out of the
conflict, following a policy of isolationism,
a policy of not promising to help other
countries if they go to war
In fact, the United States hoped to trade
with the Allies and the Central Powers,
both of the sides involved in the war
Reasons Why the United States Entered the War
1. Germans began to practice unrestricted
submarine warfare, meaning that U-boats
would sink any ship in the war zone
around Great Britain without warning
2. In 1915, a German U-boat sank the
British passenger ship Lusitania, 128
Americans on board were killed
3. The United States was further provoked
by an intercepted message from Germany
to Mexico, called the Zimmerman Note, or
the Zimmerman telegram, which said that
if the United States entered the war and
Mexico fought against them, Germany
would restore the SW U.S. and Texas to
Mexico when the U.S. was defeated
In 1917, Woodrow Wilson stood before
Congress and asked for a declaration of
war against Germany
U.S. Enters the War
In 1917, the Selective Service
Act was passed
This act required that all men
between the ages of 21 and 30
register for the draft (system for
selecting men for military
service), the age range was later
adjusted to 18 to 45
2.8 million men were drafted,
and another 2 million men and
women volunteered; the women
were used in non-combat roles
African-American men did serve
in the war, but did so in
segregated units
 Supplying the War
While the war was being fought overseas, the
rest of the country was busy aiding the war effort
Most industries were placed under the direction
of government agencies
War Industries Board- a government agency
used to organize manufacturing in the U.S.
during WWI
To have more food for the war effort, the U.S.
Food Administration, a government agency that
regulated the production and distribution of food,
encouraged voluntary conservation of food
resources
The Food Administration encouraged Americans
to eat less and grow their own vegetables in
victory gardens
To pay for the war, the government sold liberty
bonds, loans from the people to the government
Propaganda
The Committee on Public
Information (CPI) influenced
public opinion to support the
war effort through news
releases, posters, pictures,
pamphlets, and motion pictures
Propaganda- information used
to influence public opinion
George Creel was the head of
this agency
The CPI was only used during
WWI, but the concept of
propaganda lives on
 First Amendment Issues
Wilson during WWI passed a few acts that were
similar to those of John Adams (during a time of
conflict with France)
The Espionage Act of 1917 placed heavy penalties
on spying, sabotage, or obstructing the draft
The Sedition Act of 1918 addressed any opposition
to the war, including writing or speaking against the
government or hindering production for the war
Schenck v. U.S. (1919)- Supreme Court case
involving a man named Charles Schenck who had
been arrested for passing out flyers protesting the
draft (convicted under the Espionage Act)
The Supreme Court ruled that the government
could infringe on free speech in times of war if the
speech presented a clear and present danger
Great Migration
Although the South denied the
rights of African Americans when
possible, they found new
opportunities during the war
Job opportunities and higher
wages caused many Af. Am. to
leave the farms in the South for
factory jobs in the North and
Midwest
This mass movement of Af Am
continued even after the war and
became known as the Great
Migration
By 1950 more than a million Af Am
had left the South to find a better
place in the North or Midwest
 End of the War
With American help, the Allies
successfully defeated the Central
Powers
Treaty of Versailles- ended World War
1
Fourteen Points- President Wilsons
suggestions for world peace
One of his 14 points was the creation
of a League of Nations, an
organization designed to promote
world peace
Ironically, the United States did not join
the League of Nations (Wilsons idea),
as the majority of the American
government did not want to join a
peacekeeping group that required the
United States to help other nations
even if that meant war
Howard Zinn (#1) questions
1. How did Congress limit immigration during the 1920s?
(Cite a few specific statistics)
2. What ideas did Marcus Garvey promote?
3. What were some positives of the Roaring 20s?
(Cite specific examples)
4. What was an example of the unhappiness of the era?
5. How did Congressman La Guardia respond to the
Secretary of Agriculture?
6. What did La Guardia see in New York that a
photojournalist had exposed with his 1890 book? Who
was this photojournalist? What was his book?
Effects of the War
As part of the Treaty of Versailles,
Germany had to pay back the Allies for
the cost of war
Reparations are payments for war
expenses and damages
These reparations angered Germans
and would indirectly lead to WW2
Back in America, thousands of American
soldiers returned to the U.S. to find
competition for jobs (competition with
women, African Americans, and
immigrants who had taken their places
during the war)
This competition, combined with inflation
and a fear of communism, led to social
unrest immediately after the war
Red Scare
After the Communist Party took control of Russia
in 1918, communism became very popular among
the poor and needy of Europe
In the communist system, workers own the
factorieseveryone has a job regardless of job
performance, and everyone gets paid what they
need to livethere is no incentive for work
excellence
Many Americans suspected a link between labor
unrest and political radicals, thinking that
communists might try to take over the United
States
Communists were called red because their flag
was red
The Red Scare was the fear that a communist
revolution would come to America (this fear was
repeated again after WW2)
Roaring 20s
The decade after World
War 1 has been called the
Roaring Twenties or the
Jazz Age
This time period was
marked by a desire for
personal pleasure and
entertainment, as well as
a continuation of nativism
(anti-immigrant feelings)
America again returned to
the policy of isolationism-
the policy of avoiding
foreign entanglements
Henry Fords Assembly Line & Other Advancements
Henry Ford did not invent the automobile,
but he did have a huge impact on the
industry
By the 1920s, he had perfected the idea of
the assembly line, where workers put one
part on an unfinished car as it moved past
their work station
Ford also used the idea of mass
production, making large quantities of the
same product (his Model T began to be
mass produced)
The automobile revolutionized America
Electric appliances also revolutionized
America (electric stoves, vacuum cleaners,
washing machines)
Charles Lindbergh
In 1927, interest in airplanes
really took flight
A young pilot named Charles
Lindbergh flew his airplane,
the Spirit of St. Louis, across
the Atlantic to Paris
His flight captured the
imagination of the world, and
he became a celebrity
20s get wild
Flappers were young women of the
1920s who rebelled against the
customs and morals of their generation
Flappers smoked, drank, danced to
sounds of jazz (considered wild by
many), and openly talked about sexual
freedom
Traditionalists versus Modernists
became a cultural clash
Traditionalists- people who have a
deep respect for established cultural
and religious values
Modernists- people who accept new
ideas, styles, and social trends
This clash also pitted rural against
urban
 Science vs Religion
Another major issue of the era was science vs
religion, largely due to the new teachings of
Charles Darwin about evolution
Fundamentalists favored the core teachings of
religion, specifically Christianity
Modernists, on the other hand, tended to not
accept these core teachings
Through the efforts of religious leaders, the state
of Tennessee passed a law making it illegal to
teach evolution in public schools
A young biology teacher named John Scopes in
Dayton, TN, broke the law and was arrested in
1925
The Scopes Trial, also nicknamed the Monkey
Trial, resulted in Scopes being found guilty and
fined $100, but little else was settled
Concept Map- World War 1
Great Migration War Industries Board
Woodrow Wilson George Creel
U.S. Food Administration liberty bonds
Propaganda victory gardens
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Isolationism clear and present danger
Treaty of Versailles Lusitania
League of Nations Zimmerman Note
Reparations unrestricted submarine warfare
Fourteen PointsSelective Service Act
Espionage Act of 1917 draft
Sedition Act of 1918Central Powers
Allied Powers Germany
Great Britain France
Writers of the 20s
During the 1920s many
famous authors burst onto the
scene
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The
Great Gatsby, a novel that
pictured the emptiness and
despair of the wealthy during
the Roaring 20s
Ernest Hemingway- another
writer of the 20s who wrote
about the hopelessness of the
era brought on by the First
World War
Jazz Age
The Roaring 20s has also been
called the Jazz Age because jazz
music was so popular during this
time
Musicians like Louis Armstrong
became popular
Harlem Renaissance- a revival of
African American culture by black
artists, writers, and musicians
centered in the Harlem
neighborhood of NYC
Langston Hughes- African
American writer famous for his
realistic portrayal of black culture
and heritage
 Racism during the 20s
The KKK began during the Reconstruction Era
but became more powerful during the early
1900s
This new Klan picked up where the old one
had left off, but added foreigners, Catholics, and
Jews to their list of despised people
Race riots and lynching occurred during the
early 1900s
Marcus Garvey- Jamaican immigrant who
encouraged African Americans to segregate
from white society, including a return to Africa
due to the racism of the time
Sacco and Vanzetti- two immigrant anarchists
convicted of murder, many believe they were
found guilty because they were foreigners and
anarchists