Causes
of World War I:
(1)
Nationalism—self-determination
(2)
Imperialism—control
of Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East
(3)
Militarism—Prussia
(Germany) vs. England—naval power
(4)
Entangling
Alliances—most of them secret, creates a domino effect in the event of conflict
CENTRAL POWERS:
Prussian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire
Vs.
TRIPLE ENTENTE:
Great Britain, France, Russia (later includes the U.S.)
Spark for War:
(June 28, 1914) Assassination of Austro-Hungarian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Serb nationalists
The “armed camps” mobilize and by August 1914,
everyone and his grandma in Europe are at war.
A war of nineteenth-century ideals fought with
twentieth-century arsenals--BRUTAL
Advanced military technology, including:
*mustard gas *flamethrowers *U-boats (subs)
*tanks *hand
grenades *airplanes
*water-cooled machine guns *telegraphs
The result?
Incredible carnage, never before seen in the annals of warfare.
Frontal assaults + Massive casualties = virtual
immobility à Trench warfare
EX: Battle
of the Marne (September 5, 1914)—
500,000 casualties PER SIDE, all for less than fifty
yards of territory
This is just the beginning…
U.S. Response:
*Shock and disgust – “those barbarian Europeans”
*Wilson is preoccupied with Mexico
àrevolution and Pancho Villa
*England and France are our cultural allies
*Tremendous mistrust of the Germans
*European war divides Americans
*Isolationism rules—“Europe isn’t our business”
(August 5, 1914) Wilson officially declares American
neutrality “in thought as well as in deed” but privately hopes for a
British/French victory.
*The USA
remains officially neutral for 2 ½ years,
until April of 1917
*Secretary of State W.J.
Bryan is the only true neutral
in the Wilson administration
*Neutrality was good for
American trade
(1)
Violation
of doctrine of “freedom of the seas”
British institute a blockade of Europe, stopping all
vessels and confiscating their cargoes, including neutral American ships
(2)
Unrestricted
submarine warfare by German U-boats
Germans start sinking all ocean liners in the North
Atlantic, North Sea, and Mediterranean, a clear violation of “International
Rules of Naval Warfare”
*Big Event:
The Lusitania Crisis (May 7, 1915)
British passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat off
the southern coast of Ireland
à1198 deaths (mostly women and children)
à128 Americans among the dead
àShip sunk without warning
Wilson is “outraged,” and decides to send letters of
protest
*Secretary of State Bryan resigns on June 7,
replaced by Robert Lansing
*Wilson sends notes of protest on July 9 and July 21
à moralistic tone
*Wilson initiates a “preparedness campaign”
à “preparing for war…hoping for peace”
*Isolationists, especially in the west, disagree
with Wilson’s plan
Pressure worked, as the Germans agreed to cease the
use of unrestricted submarine warfare
*Arabic Pledge (August 1915)—no more sinking
of passenger liners
*Sussex Pledge (May 1916)—no more sinking of
merchant liners
This looks like a victory for Wilsonian diplomacy. It will not last.
Wilson defeats Republican Charles Evans Hughes, but
just barely
à Wilson campaign slogan—“he
kept us out of war”
Not the best slogan in the world, as the coming
months will show.
(1)
Germans
resume use of unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917
(2)
Zimmerman
Note/Telegram (February 24, 1917)—sort of like DeLome Letter, Part II
(3)
U.S.
not evenhanded in its neutrality, favoring the British side all along
(4)
Russian
Revolution (March 1917)—a republic is established in Russia, giving Wilson a
“missionary” cause for the war—“make the world safe for democracy.”
(This will go sour in
November 1917 with the
Bolshevik Revolution under
Lenin and Trotsky)
(5)
Violations
of neutral rights…by both sides
“It is better to side with thieves than with
murderers.”
*General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing named
commander
*First American troops arrive in Europe (June 24,
1917)—the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
àWar of maneuver is replacing
trench warfare
àArrival of American troops
is a big boost for the Triple Entente, both in manpower and in morale
àRussia will leave the war in
January 1918
U.S.-Russian relations bad from that point on, as we
shall see…
(1)
Espionage
Act (May 1917)
(2)
Sedition
Act (June 1918)
(3)
George
Creel’s “Committee on Public Information”
Sell the war through creative arts (artists, poets,
writers, songwriters, etc.)
“Support the war if you are a true patriot…or else”
à100,000,000 pamphlets
à75,000 member speakers
bureau AKA “Minutemen”
Anything and everything “foreign” was a target,
especially any and all things German
*brewers *food *language
“When paranoia reigns, goofiness abounds”
(1)
Armistice
ends the fighting on 11-11-18 at 11 AM
(2)
Versailles
Peace Conference in Paris (January-June, 1919)
*The Big 3 (or Big 4): Wilson (USA), Lloyd-George (Great Britain), Clemenceau (France),
Orlando (Italy)
(3)
Wilson
tried to dictate the peace using his “14 Points Address” from January 1918 as
the model, calling for a “peace without victory”
*England, France and Italy are not in a forgiving
mood
*Only the League of Nations (the 14th
point) becomes a reality, and not a very good one at that.
(4)
Bad
health and political infighting doom Wilson and the treaty back home
àWilson has a series of
strokes—no one knows how ill he really is
àU.S. Senate never ratifies
the Versailles Treaty
àU.S. never joins the League
of Nations
à “Sole Guilt Clause” and
reparations doom the losing nations, setting the stage for another war in the
future, as we shall see!
Wilson won the war…but lost the peace.
