[TYPING] [MUSIC] Welcome
back to another Jocs Productions video.
Today, we're gonna be taking
a look at World War I.
We're gonna try to help you score
a five on that APUSH exam in May.
And if you're reading any APUSH textbook,
and you're studying World War I,
this video is gonna help you out.
And one important point to keep in mind is
remember, U.S. entry
into World War I was a slow process.
In the beginning of the war,
we are neutral,
but continued violations of U.S.
neutrality is gonna put Woodrow Wilson
in a difficult position.
Remember, we had learned about events such
as the sinking of the British ship the
Lusitania, the French ship the Sussex.
And Germany does apologize for the sinking
of some of those ships,
and there is a temporary pause
in German sinking of ships.
After the Sussex,
they issued the Sussex Pledge,
where they promised not to sink
any more ships without warning.
However, Germany proceeds to commit other
acts which angers many people in America.
There is the Zimmermann Note you should
know about, where the British intercept
a German proposal to Mexico
calling for a joint alliance.
And basically, in the Zimmermann Note,
Germany's asking Mexico
to attack the United States,
to form an alliance,
and they would be allowed to recover
the lost territory,
that territory in the light green.
This obviously causes a lot
of anger in the United States.
And in spring of 1917, Germany returns
to unrestricted submarine warfare.
They just start sinking ships.
And they knew that this would cause
the U.S. to enter into World War I,
but they were hoping they would win
the war before U.S. troops
could get to Europe.
Well, enough was enough,
and in April of 1917, Congress
declares war against Germany.
The United States enters World War I.
In fact, when Wilson asks Congress
to declare war,
he says one of the things that he was
hoping for was to make
the world safe for democracy.
Wilson really believed that this
would be the war to end all wars.
But make sure you know that the key
factors for our involvement
in World War I, one,
German attacks on American shipping;
two, the Zimmermann telegram
proposing an alliance with Mexico.
But don't forget that Wilson has a desire
to be involved in the post-war settlement.
Now, when the war starts, the United States
is completely unprepared for war.
We have a lack of fighting men,
factories are not prepared for war
production, and the country
has to mobilize for war.
In fact, one of the first things they do
is they pass the Selective Service Act,
which basically starts
conscription or a draft.
It organizes a draft
for soldiers to fight in the war.
All men between a certain
age have to register.
And the big fighting force under
General Pershing
will be known as
the American Expeditionary Force,
and they will do a lot of the heavy
fighting over in Europe
near the end of the war.
This is a total war effort,
which basically means all aspects of
the country mobilize for the war effort.
So, not just on the battlefield,
but also on the home front.
In fact, one of the big things that they
needed to do was pay for the war.
And the war will be financed by war bonds,
sometimes referred to as liberty loans,
and income taxes, which were allowed to be
taken by the government as
a result of the 16th Amendment.
An important point you definitely need
to keep in mind is that all these
different agencies where the federal
government and business working together
will be created during World War I.
This is a huge mobilization.
So, for example,
you have the National War Labor Board,
which was intended to help mediate
labor disputes and prevent strikes,
so the federal government working
with organized labor and business
to try to keep the war production going.
Unions had different
opinions about World War I.
The American Federation of Labor supported
the war effort, whereas the IWW oftentimes
opposed the war and called
for strikes during war production.
Another government agency working with
business was the War Industries Board.
They would set production priorities
for the war,
so allocating scarce resources,
centralizing control over raw materials
and prices so that the war could
be won with efficient production.
Another one you should know about is
the U.S. Food Administration headed
by a future president, Herbert Hoover,
which encouraged Americans to conserve
food for the war effort so that there
would be enough meat, sugar,
and other supplies for soldiers
over on the battlefield.
And an interesting thing happens as
a result of this war effort,
is World War I boosted support
for temperance, or rather prohibition.
In fact, support for the 18th Amendment
increases, and the 18th Amendment
prohibited the sale, consumption,
manufacture, or transport of alcohol.
And there's a couple of different
reasons why the war will do this.
One, you wanna conserve resources, which
we need food resources for the war effort.
But also there's a lot of anti-German
sentiment in the United States.
And if you don't know much about beer,
beer is very much a German tradition.
Another aspect of the war that's important
to know about is the effort to silence
dissent, or to stop people
from opposing the war.
And there were organizations
run by the federal government, such as
the Committee of Public Information.
This one was headed by George Creel,
very important guy, who promoted
the US war effort with propaganda.
And their job was to create films
and posters and speeches to get people
to buy liberty loans and war bonds
and to get people to support World War I.
For those people that tried to oppose it,
different laws were put in place.
Espionage Act is one.
In 1917, it prohibited interference
with the draft or the war effort.
You could actually be put in jail.
The Sedition Act was passed in 1918.
This is much more broad
than the Espionage Act.
It banned anybody from
criticizing the government.
So, you could not speak ill of Congress,
the president, the military,
the American flag.
And nearly around 2,000
people are arrested,
many put in jail,
such as Eugene Debs for violating
the Espionage and Sedition Acts.
In fact, one of the things that happens as
a result of the war is a huge
increase in anti-German sentiment.
In fact, nativists, anti-immigrant
individuals attack all things German.
They're referred to as the Huns in popular
posters like the one you see right there.
Now, I know what you're wondering,
what about the First Amendment?
And the Supreme Court of the United States
did hear a case, one of the first cases,
the first case about the First Amendment,
Schenck versus the United States.
And what happens is, there's a guy
named Charles Schenck who was arrested.
He's a socialist.
He's arrested under the Espionage Act
for mailing leaflets, pamphlets,
to men eligible for the draft.
And he basically is telling them,
"Don't go and fight in this war."
He's arrested under the Espionage Act,
and he sues the government on the grounds
that they are violating
his First Amendment rights.
And what happens,
in an unanimous decision,
the Supreme Court supports the argument
that freedom of speech
could be restricted.
And they basically say Congress has
the power to restrain speech,
to ban speech, if it posed
a clear and present danger.
And they use this example that you're not
allowed to go into a crowded theater
and yell fire and claim
First Amendment rights.
And they say freedom
of speech can be restricted.
And it's really important that you
understand there was a very restrictive
atmosphere for civil liberties
in America during World War I.
And this is not the first time we've seen
this delicate balance between security,
being safe, and liberty,
our freedoms in a time of crisis.
So, World War I, we see things like
the Espionage Act, the Sedition Act.
And recall during the French Revolution,
Federalists passed the Alien
and Sedition Acts, basically taking away
rights from people at a
time of alleged crisis.
And once again, during the Civil War,
you see Lincoln using his suspension
of the writ of Habeas Corpus to try
to keep the border states in the union.
And we're gonna see this again and again.
World War I is not the first time.
World War I is going to have
a huge impact on the home front.
A lot of different groups are
gonna be impacted by the war.
And in fact, African-Americans were
already, before the war even started,
kind of roughly in 1910,
large migration of African-Americans
to Northern cities like Chicago.
And this is called the Great Migration,
and you can see that in this
painting right here.
There's a lot of reasons why
African-Americans are moving north.
One, crappy racial relations,
Jim Crow laws in the South,
and so you wanna get out.
But what changes during World War I is
the opening of new economic opportunities,
jobs in Northern factories as white
men were drafted and sent off to war.
During this time, you also see an increase
in Mexican immigration into the US to work
in agriculture,
primarily in the Southwest,
to take over jobs that were
needed during the war effort.
Nearly 400,000 African-Americans
served in the US Armed Forces.
They do unfortunately serve in segregated
units, but civil rights leaders like
W.E.B. Du Bois felt that if
African-Americans fought
for the United States during the war,
that this would lead to greater
equality when they return.
This, unfortunately, was not a reality
as race riots break out in 1919.
There's a lot of racial tension as
a result of these demographic changes,
such as the Great Migration,
and you have race riots break
out in cities, such as Chicago.
Women will play a key role in the war as
well and will experience their
own set of social changes.
Women are gonna take over jobs
in factories as men leave.
Jobs that were normally not open to women
suddenly become available
because the country needs them.
In fact, because of the sacrifices
of women on the home front during
World War I,
you will see finally the two-thirds needed
majority in Congress finally supporting
the 19th Amendment, which grants
women suffrage, the right to vote.
And great image right there of women
protesting in front of the White House
demanding for the basic
rights, such as voting.
As the war is winding down,
Wilson has a vision for the post-war
world, which is known
as the 14 Points.
This is his proposal, and in it,
he really wants to prevent
another world war from happening.
He wants to address the causes
of the First World War and try to make
sure that those things never take place.
There are 14 points in this document,
but we're only gonna break down
some of the important ones.
So, how's Wilson thinking
he's gonna accomplish this?
Well, he's gonna address some of those
causes of the First World War.
He wants to guarantee freedom of the seas,
eliminate economic trade barriers,
military reductions,
no huge arms races taking place.
He wants to get rid of colonies, in fact,
allow self-determination for nations
to have self-government,
no more colonization.
He wants no more secret treaties.
And the big thing he really wants
is he calls for the formation of a league
of nations to help prevent another war.
The problem for Wilson is he does not get
to dictate the terms
of the post-war settlement.
He has to work with the Big Four.
It includes Wilson over
there on the right.
You have England,
Italy, and France.
And these allies are not really
idealistic as Wilson was.
Here he is in the political cartoon kind
of asking for everlasting peace,
but for nations such as France
and England, they want to punish Germany,
gain territory, and use the war as
an opportunity to benefit their country.
So, while Wilson wants peace without
victory, the other allies are not really
interested in his idealistic ideas.
So, the Treaty of Versailles very much
reflects this rejection
of much of Wilson's 14 points.
They're rejected by the other allied
powers, and you can see in the political
cartoon kind of some
of the things that they want.
Wilson does get the League
of Nations included.
He really kind of is hopeful that this
will be a worldwide organization that will
prevent future wars,
but he has to get it approved
by the Republican-controlled Congress.
And many Republicans in Congress hated
the idea of the U.S. joining
the League of Nations.
And one of the big opponents
of the treaty was Henry Cabot Lodge.
And he belonged to a group called
the reservationists, and he believed
that he would accept the League
of Nations, he would accept the treaty
if certain changes were made.
And Wilson was reluctant to compromise.
There was another group of Republicans
known as the irreconcilables, and they were
against the treaty no matter
what Wilson was willing to do.
And there's substantial debate over
the League of Nations between
Wilson and the Senate.
And it comes down to a couple of things.
One, there's a tradition
of isolationist policies.
We try to avoid European affairs.
If you recall, George Washington had
warned about the dangers
of permanent foreign alliances.
Another problem with the League of Nations
amongst Republicans was
the opposition over Article 10.
And under Article 10,
it said that member nations of the League
of Nations would have to help other
nations out in the event
of external aggression.
And there was a fear,
as you can see in the political cartoon,
that the league would force the U.S.
to deal with foreign issues around Europe,
that we'd get dragged
into Europeans' mess.
And there also was the fear that Europe
would meddle in the Western hemisphere,
which under the Monroe Doctrine,
we did not want them to do.
Another kind of factor amongst Republicans
and others was the desire amongst many
to be isolationists following World War I.
We fought this brutal,
horrible war, and there was a feeling
we just kind of wanted to focus on us.
And ultimately,
Congress rejects the treaty.
The League of Nations is formed
and without the United States.
A super important point to keep in mind—
there's an old World War I tank—
many marked the U.S. rejection
of the League of Nations as a withdrawal
of the U.S. from international
affairs in the 1920s.
And as we're gonna see in the next video,
this is a little bit more
complicated than that.
But until next time, thank you for
watching another Jocs Productions video.
If you haven't done so, subscribe.
Help me spread the word all over
the internets and tell your classmates.
If the video helped you out, click like,
and if you have any questions,
post a comment.
And until next time, peace.