American Pageant Chapter 29 APUSH Review (APUSH Period 7 World War I

[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.