History LC 22
By the time the United States entered World War I in 1917, the conflict in Europe had
turned into a stalemate (no progress to be made). After three years of fighting, the European armies had settled into a stalemate. Soldiers were pinned down in miles of trenches across France, separated from the enemy by a few hundred yards of land. When ordered into battle, troops ran toward the enemy's trenches, only to face barbed wire, poison gas, and machine-gun fire. It took years for commanders on both sides to realize the futility of their strategy.
Characterize the American Red scare of 1919 and 1920.
A reaction to U.S. labor unrest, Russian bolshevism, and a flurry of terrorist attacks. The Red scare of 1919 and 1920 developed as a result of the postwar recession and labor unrest, terrorist acts, and the difficulties of reintegrating millions of returning veterans into the American culture and economy. It also stemmed from the Russian revolution and the Bolsehviks' creation of the Comintern in 1919. The combination of these events led to a national effort to rid the country of alien radicals and to crush troublesome citizens. Ultimately this antiradical campaign spread to public institutions including libraries, which removed dissenting books, and schools, which fired unorthodox teachers.
What was the impact of the labor shortage that resulted from the mobilization of U.S. troops in 1917?
Expanded employment opportunities for women. The mobilization of millions of American men into the armed forces in 1917 created a labor shortage that expanded employment opportunities for American women. Tens of thousands of women found work in defense plants as welders, metalworkers, railroad workers, and heavy machine operators—all jobs that had previously been reserved for men. Black women who had been confined to domestic work before the war had expanded opportunities to move into the industrial workforce, where they made considerably higher wages. The number of women clerks doubled between 1910 and 1920.
What development resulted from the U.S. labor situation in 1919?
Four million workers organized more than 3,600 strikes. In response to the labor situation in the United States in 1919, which included inflation, attacks on unions, and attacks on the eight-hour day, workers organized nearly 3,600 strikes involving over 4 million participants. There was a general strike in Seattle, which was the largest work stoppage in American history. Police in Boston struck to protest their poor wages. Steel workers also organized a major strike. These strikes were repressed, however, and the fortunes of the labor movement declined precipitously in 1920.
Why did Germany decide to resume unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917?
Germany thought it could win the war before the United States could bring its army to Europe. The Germans suspected that the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare would probably bring the United States into the war, but it could no longer allow neutral shipping to enter Britain while the British blockade starved Germany. The Germans decided that using submarines to strangle the British economy would allow them to defeat France before the U.S. Army could get to Europe.
What happened to industrial wages during World War I?
Industrial wages increased during World War I. Industrial wages increased quickly during World War I due to increased demand for goods and a labor shortage resulting from troop mobilization.
How did public institutions respond the Red Scare in the wake of World War I?
Libraries purged their shelves, and schools fired unorthodox teachers. Public institutions joined the attack on civil liberties. Local libraries removed dissenting books, and schools fired unorthodox teachers. Police shut down radical newspapers, and state legislatures refused to seat representatives with socialist ideas.
Why did Woodrow Wilson select General John Pershing to command the American army on the battlefields of France?
Pershing was known for the kind of level-headed efficiency many progressives believed was needed in modern warfare. Wilson selected John Pershing because he thought Pershing was the ideal candidate. Pershing was morally upright and militarily uncompromising. He was described as "lean, clean, and keen" and gave progressives, like Wilson, perfect confidence in his abilities.
Why was Woodrow Wilson's decision to head the U.S. delegation in Versailles a risky political decision?
Republicans held the majority in Congress at the time of his departure. It was a risky decision to leave the country at a time when his political opponents were in the majority in Congress. What made it worse was his stubborn refusal to include any prominent Republicans in his delegation.
Why did the Allies carve up the Ottoman Empire into small "mandates" after World War I?
The Allies did not consider the population of the Ottoman Empire sufficiently civilized. The Allies introduced the mandate system for regions that it considered insufficiently "civilized" to have full independence. And so, the Ottoman Empire was carved up into small mandates run by local leaders but under the control of France and Great Britain.
What caused Russia to negotiate a separate peace with Germany in 1917?
The Bolshevik revolution had thrown the nation into turmoil and weakened the war effort. The Bolshevik revolution had thrown the nation into turmoil, and Russians were eager to seek an early peace to avoid further costs for the struggling country.
Patriotic fervor that grew in the U.S. during World War I
The German language disappeared from public school curricula. German had been the most widely taught foreign language in American schools in 1914 but, by 1918, it had essentially disappeared from public school curricula. A firestorm of anti-German passion erupted across the nation, which led to the renaming of German toast as French toast and of sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage."
How did the growth of nationalism and imperialism affect the likelihood of war between European powers?
The growth of powerful nation-states competing for colonial possessions increased the likelihood that European nations would come into outright conflict. As states like Germany, Italy, and Russia consolidated, their imperial ambitions increased the likelihood that they would come into armed conflict with other European powers in the global race for territory and power.
Which political ideals did Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points contain?
The basic liberal ideals of free trade and arms reduction. The first five points of Wilson's Fourteen Point blueprint dealt with the freedom of the seas, free trade, arms reduction, and recognition of the rights of colonized peoples.
For what reason did the United States insist on a broad definition of neutrality after World War I broke out in 1914?
The nation benefited financially from such an expansive interpretation. The United States had traditionally taken a broad view of the rights of neutrals during wartime, arguing that neutral nations should be able to trade freely with belligerents, send ships safely through the seas, and expect their citizens to be safe on belligerents' merchant and passenger ships. Maintaining America's European trade was particularly important in 1914 because the United States had slid into an economic recession during the previous year.
Why did some established Mexican Americans respond to the growing number of new arrivals with calls for immigration quotas in the late 1910s and 1920s?
They feared that more recent arrivals would drive down wages and incite white prejudice against all ethnic Mexicans. Established Mexican Americans called for immigration quotas because the recent arrivals drove down wages and incited white prejudice that affected all ethnic Mexicans.
What did President Wilson and his secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, believe was the purpose of foreign policy?
To encourage democracy and protect American investments in the Western Hemisphere. Wilson and Bryan agreed on the importance of pursuing a moral foreign policy; Bryan, a pacifist, made agreements with thirty nations for the peaceful settlement of disputes. However, both Wilson and Bryan believed that the Monroe Doctrine gave the United States special responsibilities in the Western Hemisphere, and the Wilson administration repeatedly used troops to control political activities in Latin America and the Caribbean that threatened American investments in those regions.
How did Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare affect the United States?
Unrestricted submarine warfare led to American casualties and drew the United States into war. Because American ships were providing large amounts of war materiel to the British, the resumption of unrestrained submarine warfare led to dozens of American casualties. These attacks finally led the president to ask Congress for a declaration of war.
What was the impact of World War I on partisan politics in the 1918 elections in the United States?
Wilson's rivals used the war to achieve a Republican majority in the House and Senate. Wilson had hoped that the war would quiet partisan politics, but Republicans used the war as a weapon against the Democrats. They refrained from criticizing the war itself, instead criticizing Wilson's conduct of the war. They called progressive wartime organizations like the War Industries Board "tyrannical" and a threat to free enterprise. As the war progressed, the Republicans gained power against the Democrats and, by 1918, gained a narrow majority in both the House and the Senate.