February+Journals

World War I and the Emergence of Modern America, //The American Journey//, Chapters 23-24, and //America's Great War: WWI and the American Experience,// February Journal Entries: = = =Barry Johnson, Mt. Olive Elementary School=

The American Journey Chapter 23 & 24 To the American public of 1914, the outbreak of war in Europe came as a shock. At first the encounter seemed remote, but its economic and political effects were swift and deep. By 1915 U.S. industry, which had been mildly depressed, was prospering again with munitions orders from the Western Allies. Both sides used propaganda to arouse the public passions of Americans -- a third of whom were foreign-born or had one or two foreign-born parents. Moreover, Britain and Germany both acted against U.S. shipping on the high seas, bringing sharp protests from President Woodrow Wilson. But the disputes between the United States and Germany grew increasingly ominous. In February 1915, German military leaders announced that they would attack all merchant shipping on the waters around the British Isles. President Wilson warned that the United States would not forsake its traditional right, as a neutral, to trade on the high seas -- a view of neutral rights not shared by Germany or Great Britain. Wilson declared that the nation would hold Germany to "strict accountability" for the loss of American vessels or lives. Soon afterward, in the spring of 1915, when the British liner //Lusitania// was sunk with nearly 1,200 people aboard, 128 of them Americans, indignation reached a fever pitch. Anxious to avoid a possible declaration of war by the United States, Germany issued orders to its submarine commanders to give warning to ocean-going vessels -- even if they flew the enemy flag -- before firing on them. But on August 19, these orders were ignored and the British steamer //Arabic// was sunk without warning. In March 1916, the Germans torpedoed the French ship //Sussex//, injuring several Americans. President Wilson issued an ultimatum stating that unless Germany abandoned its present methods of submarine warfare, the United States would sever relations. Germany agreed. As a result, Wilson was able to win reelection that year, partly on the strength of his party's slogan: "He kept us out of war." As late as January 1917, in a speech before the Senate, Wilson called for a "peace without victory," which, he said, was the only kind of peace that could last. On January 22, 1917, the German government gave notice that unrestricted submarine warfare would be resumed. When five U.S. vessels had been sunk by April, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. Immediately, the government set about mobilizing its military resources, industry, labor and agriculture. By October 1918, on the eve of Allied victory, a U.S. army of over 1,750,000 soldiers had been deployed in France. The U.S. Navy was crucial in helping the British break the submarine blockade, and in the summer of 1918, during a long-awaited German offensive, fresh American troops, under the command of General John J. Pershing, played a decisive role on land. In November, for example, American forces took an important part in the vast Meuse-Argonne offensive, which cracked Germany's vaunted Hindenburg Line. President Wilson contributed greatly to an early end to the war by defining the war aims of the Allies, and by insisting that the struggle was being waged not against the German people but against their autocratic government. His famous Fourteen Points, submitted to the Senate in January 1918 as the basis for a just peace, called for abandonment of secret international agreements, a guarantee of freedom of the seas, the removal of tariff barriers between nations, reductions in national armaments, and an adjustment of colonial claims with due regard to the interests of the inhabitants affected. Other points sought to ensure self-rule and unhampered economic development for European nationalities. The Fourteenth Point constituted the keystone of Wilson's arch of peace -- the formation of an association of nations to afford "mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike." By the summer of 1918, when Germany's armies were being beaten back, the German government appealed to Wilson to negotiate on the basis of the Fourteen Points. The president conferred with the Allies, who acceded to the German proposal. An armistice was concluded on November 11. It was Wilson's hope that the final treaty would have the character of a negotiated peace, but he feared that the passions aroused by the war would cause the Allies to make severe demands. In this he was right. The concept of self-determination proved impossible to implement. Persuaded that his greatest hope for peace, the League of Nations, would never be realized unless he made concessions to the Allies, Wilson compromised on the issues of self-determination, open diplomacy and other specific points during the peace negotiations in Paris. However, he resisted the demands of the French premier, Georges Clemenceau, to detach the entire Rhineland from Germany, prevented France from annexing the Saar Basin, and frustrated a proposal to charge Germany with the whole cost of the war -- although the Versailles Peace Treaty did levy a heavy burden of reparations upon Germany. In the end, there was little left of Wilson's proposals for a generous and lasting peace but the League itself -- and the president had to endure the final irony of seeing his own country spurn League membership. Partly due to his own poor judgment at the time, Wilson made the political mistake of failing to take a leading member of the opposition Republican Party to Paris on his Peace Commission. When he returned to appeal for American adherence to the League, he refused to make even the moderate concessions necessary to win ratification from a predominately Republican Senate. Having lost in Washington, Wilson carried his case to the people on a tour throughout the country. On September 25, 1919, physically ravaged by the rigors of peacemaking and the pressures of the wartime presidency, he suffered a crippling stroke at Pueblo, Colorado, from which he never fully recovered. In March 1920, the Senate rejected both the Versailles Treaty and the League Covenant. As a result, the League of Nations, without the presence of the United States or Russia, remained a weak organization. Wilson's belief in a moral and legal basis for war and peace had inspired the nation. However, when events didn't live up to this optimistic standard, “Wilsonian Idealism” gave way to disillusion, and the nation withdrew into isolationism. The transition from war to peace was, for many, tumultuous. A massive influenza epidemic, which had spread rapidly throughout Europe in 1917, broke out in the United States in the spring of 1918. Before it vanished a year later, as mysteriously as it had begun, it claimed the lives of more than half-a-million Americans. The immediate economic boom right after the war led to high expectations that were quickly sunk once the postwar economy returned to normal. In turn, labor became dissatisfied with the rising costs of living, long hours and unsympathetic management. In 1919 alone, over 4 million workers went on strike. During that summer, moreover, race riots broke out in both the North and South. Yet the event that triggered the greatest national outcry and concern had occurred two years earlier outside the United States: the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in Russia. With morale low, Americans became fearful that, just as a small faction had seized power in Russia, so could a similar group take over the United States. This fear crystallized when, in April 1919, the postal service intercepted nearly 40 bombs addressed to prominent citizens. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up a new office of general intelligence within the Justice Department, and appointed J. Edgar Hoover as its head. Hoover began collecting files on known radicals, and raids on various organizations led to deportations of scores of people. Although Palmer's dire warnings continued to fuel what became known as the "Red Scare," the threats never materialized; and by the summer of 1920, the American people realized that the United States was safe from anarchy.

In the presidential election of 1920, the overwhelming victory of the Republican nominee, Warren G. Harding, was final evidence of the general repudiation of Wilson's internationalism and idealism. As journalist William Allen White explained, the American people were "tired of issues, sick at heart of ideals, and weary of being noble." The 1920 election was also the first in which women throughout the nation voted for a presidential candidate. In 1919 Congress had submitted to the states the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in time to permit women to vote the following year. In keeping with the prevailing prosperity (at least in the urban areas of the country), governmental policy during the 1920s was eminently conservative. It was based upon the belief that if government did what it could to foster private business, prosperity would eventually encompass most of the rest of the population. Accordingly, Republican policies were intended to create the most favorable conditions for U.S. industry. The tariff acts of 1922 and 1930 brought tariff barriers to new heights, guaranteeing U.S. manufacturers in one field after another a monopoly of the domestic market. The second of these tariffs, the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, embodied rates so high that more than 1,000 economists petitioned President Herbert Hoover to veto it: subsequent events bore out their predictions of costly retaliation by other nations. At the same time, the federal government started a program of tax cuts, reflecting Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's belief that high income taxes prevented the rich from investing in new industrial enterprises. Congress, in a series of laws passed between 1921 and 1929, responded favorably to his proposals that wartime taxes on income, excess profit taxes and corporation taxes be repealed outright or drastically reduced. "The chief business of the American people is business," declared Calvin Coolidge, the dour, Vermont-born vice president who succeeded to the presidency in 1923 after Harding's death, and was elected in his own right in 1924. Coolidge hewed to the conservative economic policies of the Republican Party, but he was a much abler administrator than the hapless Harding, whose administration was mired in charges of corruption in the months before his death. Throughout the 1920s, private business received substantial encouragement, including construction loans, profitable mail-carrying contracts and other indirect subsidies. The Transportation Act of 1920, for example, had already restored to private management the nation's railways, which had been under government control during the war. The Merchant Marine, which had been owned and largely operated by the government from 1917 to 1920, was sold to private operators. Republican policies in agriculture, however, were meeting mounting criticism, for farmers shared least in the prosperity of the 1920s. The period from 1900 to 1920 had been one of general farm prosperity and rising farm prices, with the unprecedented wartime demand for U.S. farm products providing a strong stimulus to production. Farmers had opened up poor lands long allowed to remain idle or never before cultivated. As the value of U.S. farms increased, farmers began to buy goods and machinery that they had never before been able to afford. But by the end of 1920, with the abrupt end of wartime demand, the commercial agriculture of staple crops such as wheat and corn fell into sharp decline. Many factors accounted for the depression in American agriculture, but foremost was the loss of foreign markets. U.S. farmers could not easily sell in areas where the United States was not buying goods because of its own import tariff. The doors of the world market were slowly swinging shut. When the general depression struck in the 1930s, it merely shattered agriculture's already fragile state. Restriction of foreign immigration during the 1920s marked a significant change in U.S. policy. Immigration had soared in the late 19th century and peaked in the early 20th century. Between 1900 and 1915, for example, more than 13 million people came to the United States, with the preponderance from Southern and Eastern Europe. Many of these people were Jewish or Catholic, a fact that alarmed many older Americans who were predominately Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. Some resented the newcomers because they competed for low-wage jobs, others because the new immigrants maintained Old World customs, often lived in urban ethnic enclaves, and seemed to resist assimilation into the larger American culture. As a result of this immigrant surge after World War I, nativist appeals intensified. A reorganized Ku Klux Klan emerged calling for "100-percent Americanism." Unlike the Klan of Reconstruction, the new Klan restricted its membership to native-born white Protestants, and campaigned against Catholics, Jews and immigrants as well as African Americans. By redefining its enemies, the Klan broadened its appeal to parts of the North and Midwest, and for a time, its membership swelled. Anti-immigration sentiment was codified in a series of measures, culminating in the Immigration Quota Law of 1924 and a 1929 act. These laws limited the annual number of immigrants to 150,000, to be distributed among peoples of various nationalities in proportion to the number of their compatriots already in the United States in 1920. One result of these restrictions was to reduce the appeal of nativist organizations; the Great Depression of the 1930s also caused a sharp drop in immigration. Some Americans expressed their discontent with the character of modern life in the 1920s by focusing on family and religion, as an increasingly urban, secular society came into conflict with older rural traditions. Fundamentalist preachers such as Billy Sunday, for example, a professional baseball player turned evangelist, provided an outlet for many who yearned for a return to a simpler past. Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of this yearning was the fundamentalist crusade which pitted biblical interpretation against the Darwinian science of biological evolution. In the 1920s, bills to prohibit the teaching of evolution began appearing in Midwestern and Southern state legislatures. Leading this crusade, improbably, was the aging William Jennings Bryan, who skillfully reconciled his anti-evolutionary activism with his earlier radical economic proposals, saying that evolution "by denying the need or possibility of spiritual regeneration, discourages all reforms." The issue came to a climax in 1925 in Tennessee, when the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the nations's first anti-evolution law. A young high school teacher, John Scopes, went on trial for teaching evolution in a biology class. In a case that drew intense publicity, Bryan, representing the state, was subjected to a withering examination by defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Scopes was convicted but released on a technicality, and Bryan died a few days after the trial ended. Another example of a fundamental clash of cultures -- but one with far greater national consequences -- was Prohibition. In 1919, after almost a century of agitation, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted, prohibiting the manufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition, although intended to eliminate the saloon and the drunkard from American society, served to create thousands of illegal drinking places called "speakeasies," and a new and increasingly profitable form of criminal activity -- the transportation of liquor, known as "bootlegging." Prohibition, sometimes referred to as the "noble experiment," was repealed in 1933. The common thread linking such disparate phenomenon as the resurgence of fundamentalist religion and Prohibition was a reaction to the social and intellectual revolution of the time -- variously referred to as the Jazz Age, the era of excess, the Roaring '20s. Many were shocked by the changes in the manners, morals and fashion of American youth, especially on college campuses. Among many intellectuals, H.L. Mencken, a journalist and critic who was unsparing in denouncing sham and venality in American life, became a hero. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the energy, turmoil and disillusion of the decade in his short stories and novels such as //The Great Gatsby//. Fitzgerald was part of a small but influential movement of writers and intellectuals dubbed the "Lost Generation," who were shocked by the carnage of World War I and dissatisfied with what they perceived to be the materialism and spiritual emptiness of life in the United States. Many of them -- such as their most celebrated member, writer Ernest Hemingway -- traveled to Europe and lived as emigrés in Paris. African Americans also engaged this spirit of national self-examination. Between 1910 and 1930, a huge black migration from the South to the North took place, peaking in 1915-1916. Most settled in urban areas such as Detroit and Chicago, which held greater opportunities for jobs and personal freedom than the rural South. In 1910 W.E.B. DuBois and other intellectuals founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which helped black Americans gain a national voice that would grow in importance with the passing years. At the same time, an African-American literary and artistic movement, termed the "Harlem Renaissance," emerged. Like the "Lost Generation," these writers, such as Langston Hughes, rejected middle-class values and conventional literary forms, even as they addressed the realities of American life.

America's Great War: World War I and the American Experience The author of this book explores the relatively brief role of the U.S. in WWI. America's role was largely born of what the author portrays as President Woodrow Wilson's singularly idealistic, overtly Christian and arrogant world view that the U.S. with all of its wealth and moral supremacy alone could save Western civilization. Determined to use America's clout without involving American lives in a war that didn't threaten the country directly, Wilson very actively played the role of mediator among the warring parties for the first three years of the conflict. He finally asked Congress to declare war against Germany after German U-boats torpedoed neutral U.S. merchant ships. America's entrance into the war, therefore, set the stage for its future foreign relations policy, which until then had been primarily isolationist, and for the emergence of what the author calls a "national security state," with an active focus on developing the technology and securing and training the manpower necessary to maintain military readiness even during peacetime. The book also focuses on political battles fought on the home front on behalf of progressive causes in three crucial areas, race, labor and the "question of women." Growing unrest between workers and capitalists and the growing disparity between wealth and poverty led to an increase in labor union participation and more than 3,000 strikes, many of them violent. Leaders of the most prominent union, the AFL, pledged loyalty to the Wilson administration in return for the passage of legislation benefiting workers. The author argues that America's stance in WWI was ultimately largely the result of one individual's vision, and that this involvement led to America's emergence as the world leader.

Only a serious reader of history would enjoy this book.

=**Clara N. Billups, Brighton Middle School**=


 * America****’s Great War: WWI and the American Experience**

This book is for historians or educators looking for the political context of WWI. It is filled with information about the Wilsonian politics of non intervention and his arrogant moral & ethical justification of our participation with an ultimate goal of a new world order. There is lengthy discussion of labor strife, discrimination of minorities and propaganda at home. The economics of war in a changing world according to Keynes is also given some attention. Unschooled readers will be interested in reading about the Alien & Sedition Act, and how the U.S. government responded through law enforcement. Here, J. Edgar Hoover is introduced as the director of the precursor of the FBI. The last chapter contains an excellent list of political questions to be answered by historians like who is to blame for the failure of the Treaty of Versailles.

=**Barbara Estates, Bagley Jr. High School**=

World War I was a pivotal event which changed the World and especially the United States. It all changed politically, geographically, economically, and socially. “The War to End all Wars” was actually the beginning of what dictated the future. Women, African Americans, and labor unions acquired more public attention than they had previously received. Some of this attention was advantageous and some it was detrimental. It proved to be just the beginning of what was yet to befall each of them. Businesses were experiencing a boom time. Harding’s scandals and corruption paid off for individuals but ultimately caused his death which lead to the rise of Coolidge as president. Business and government became completely fused. This time gave birth to city expansion and the suburbs. The barrios, Garvism, and the Harlem Renaissance gave rise to pride in culture and fighting against discrimination. The new music of the time caused the next decade after the war to be appropriately called “The Jazz Age. Consumerism rose with the aid of advertising and installment plans. This and prohibition ushered in the liberation of women and the newly found morality fed by the desire for quick and personal fulfillment. Nativism and immigration restrictions along with the new materialistic thinking created expatriates and gave rise to a more broadly accepted racist rationale. The rebuilding of the Ku Klux Klan as a national movement was also brought about by these fueled prejudices. This new way of thinking, the new morality, and prohibition crime probably brought about the most unique and influential changes in what America became and would become.

=**Brenda Hollis, Bagley Jr. High School**=

This is an excellent study of the American home front and society on the brink of the war, and how that war changed America forever. The ideal basis for understanding all the degrees brought about by the war. ……World War I resulted in a unbelievable victory, as the Allied forces gained little for such horrific loss of life. Despite America's relatively short participation in the conflict, the war did bring dramatic transformations in political, economic, social, cultural, and diplomatic spheres in the United States. While not losing sight of America's military role or the senseless destruction of the war, Robert H. Zieger's historical blend successfully describes how World War I directly affected the American experience. The book carefully follows the country as it geared up for a major economic/industrial mobilization, recruited millions of men into service, sold the war with new propaganda methods, and emerged as a leading world power. President Woodrow Wilson's political philosophy, explores key wartime modifications in developing ideas, and shows how the full force of up to date thoughts brought positive and negative changes to the nation, particularly in matters of class, race, and gender. W When having open discussion with students in my classroom, this is a prime example of an early twentieth-century American society. This helps tie our history together and lay foundations for student’s progressive learning.

=**Sylvea Hollis, Birmingham Civil Rights Institution**=

__The American Journey (Ch.23-24) & American Great War: WWI and the American Experience__

__Chapter Summary__

During the period of the Great War attempts were made to roll back war-time gains for labor workers. They were extremely difficult to maintain. Many reformers stayed strong, however. The League of Women Voters was formed to help reform women’s rights.

The Great Migration was a huge exodus of African Americans from the south to the north. Many originations were established under his period to help sustain and preserve/advocate for African American’s continued rights. The Universal Negro Improvement Association is one such group and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is another. As a result of the organization, there was a lot a sharing of culture’s music, and prose. The Harlem Renaissance is perhaps the best known contribution product of both the migration and the establishment of African American institutions.

__Book Summary/Analysis__

The American Great War came about during an era which the nation was prospering on the heels of industrializing.

__Classroom Implementation (Civil Rights Outreach Programming)__ -Photograph of policemen on horseback with protestors on page 603 of T//he American Journey// (TAJ) Nonviolence, Protesting, “Civil Rights” -Great Migration Photograph on page 630 of TAJ Race, Quest for Freedom, Urbanization -Indiana Klanswomen, page 645 of TAJ Gender, Race, Equality

=**Jerme Kirk, Hillview Elementary School**=

//America////’s Great War: WW I and the American Experience// In this brilliant and original analysis, distinguished historian Robert H. Zieger poignantly illustrates how, for better or worse, modern America was created out of the ashes of World War I, and why this conflict of astonishing brutality and bloodshed will forever remain the defining event for the United States in the twentieth century. While recent bestsellers have generated tremendous popular interest in World War I by focusing primarily on military strategy and the war's impact on its European participants, //America's Great War// is the first book to offer an interpretation of the war from a frequently neglected perspective -- that of American involvement. //According to Zieger: America's Great War// provides vivid descriptions of the famous battles, personalities, and diplomatic maneuverings. The book successfully destroys numerous popular myths about America's role in the war. Unlike any historian before him, Zieger details how the war forever altered American politics, culture, and society. He also and he chronicles America's rise to prominence within the postwar world. Zieger describes how the war was directly responsible for creating the National Security State, generating powerful new instruments of social control, for bringing about innovative labor and social welfare program. Zieger also provides a clear explanation of how effects of the war expanded the powers of the executive office, redefined civil liberties and race relations. Finally, Zieger persuasively argues that World War I created the current global balance of power and established the continuing primacy of globalism in American foreign policy. //America's Great War// is certain to become the definitive history source that outline significance, implications, and enduring legacies of America's participation in World War I -- a war in which more than four million Americans mobilized to fight and over 100,000 were killed.

Jeremy Campbell January 12, 2008

//The American Journey// Chapters 23-24

Shortly after the assassination of the Austrian heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Europe was waging “The Great War.” The United States, at least theoretically, proclaimed its neutrality in the bloody conflict. Most Americans felt strongly about remaining on their side of the Atlantic. However, due to its close ties with Great Britain, its disgust for German atrocities, and its thirst for economic gain, the United States involved itself (against the wishes of most of its citizens) in Europe’s most destructive war. Although most Americans did not wish to join the fight, Germany’s refusal to subside with unrestricted submarine warfare and the discovery of the Zimmerman note push the United States on the side of the Allies. Although the Allied victory was due largely to America’s involvement, the peace plan had little to do with the United States. President Wilson hoped for a peace treaty that would usher in a new era in international politics, an era in which a league of countries would band together in order to prevent future wars. Wilson’s idealistic views clashed with those of the European superpowers whose intentions were based on revenge. In fact, many American politicians disagreed with Wilson’s proposal, refusing to allow the United States to join the League of Nations. On the home front, while the war was tearing Europe apart, many Americans were seeing a change in employment possibilities and prosperity they had never witnessed. The endless need for troops in Europe opened up thousands of jobs to women and minorities that had previously been closed to them. However, those possibilities were short-lived. As soldiers returned from Europe, they returned to their jobs, and the prewar status quo resumed. Also on the home front, Americans became hysterical with the looming threat of Communism after the Russian Revolution and the rise of Bolshevism. After the turbulent times that immediately followed World War I, the American economy recovered and soared to new heights, entering a new age of prosperity. Urban areas as well as suburbs flourished and became more populated, new technology increased the standard of living, and Americans spent more money on leisure activities and entertainment, and America shifted from being a debtor nation to a creditor nation. Although generally a time of prosperity, the United States was not without dissent. Many Americans did not share the enthusiasm—the gap between the rich and the poor grew larger, traditionalists longed for previous times, and nativism and racism created social tension.

Staci Ragland __The American Journey__ Chapter 23

Chapter twenty-three is entitled, “America and the Great War 1914-1920”. This chapter explains that very few Americans were prepared for the magnitude of the war that began in Europe in 1914. Although America had no vital interest in the war, and was originally neutral, it quickly became involved using both its military power and diplomatic power. President Woodrow Wilson sought a more stable world order. With the involvement in the war, America experienced many changes. Some of these changes were seen as progressive; however, the negative changes came along also. There was much repression, suppression, and exploitation. One of the most obvious changes was within America’s economy. Women and minorities joined the work force, and many citizens purchased Liberty Bonds to raise funds for the war. In November of 1918, the war ended. By 1920, Warren Harding was elected as President of the United States. He won the election because Americans were ready for a return to “normalcy”. Staci Ragland __The American Journey__ Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four is entitled, “Toward a modern America, The 1920’s”. In this chapter, there is a large concentration of how America’s economy changed. There were new ways of production and many advances in technology that improved the labor market. Along those same lines, there were government policies that aided business. Machinery brought about much more production in companies and factories, but this positive also brought about a negative. Many people lost their jobs to the machines. As the economy received a boost, that brought about many social changes in general. Millions of people moved to a more urban lifestyle, thus bringing about more materialism, consumerism, and more leisure based around the automobile, radio, movies, and advertising. While millions moved toward the cities, the rural Americans saw more isolation because most had little access to electricity. Ethnic minorities also experienced more isolation within the ghettos and barrios in which they lived. As the standard of living rose for many, it fell well below the poverty level for many also. Herbert Hoover was elected as president in 1928. Many felt this would be the “final triumph over poverty”. However, in 1929, the Great Depression would begin. April Lufkin Miller, Ed. D. Teaching American History Grant Program Jefferson County Schools January 12, 2008

//American Journey://

//America and the Great War, Chapter 23//
There is an eerie familiarity found within the opening selection of Chapter 23 and this is not an unusual statement given that the chapter deals with events that occurred nearly 100 years ago. Unfortunately, the feeling of déjà vu springs from much more recent happenings, those of the past six years. //The attitude of the people is wholly different from what it was at the opening of our Spanish War in 1898. There are no heroic slogans, no boastfulness, no excitement, no glamour of war. There is still a great deal of haziness about the real issues and a great deal of doubt about how far America should go beyond mere defensive measures...people everywhere are taking the war as a grim necessity, feeling that they have been forced into it by events beyond their control...//

It seems that this could be describing popular sentiment to the war in Iraq as well as the Great War. By substituting the war in Afghanistan for the Spanish War, I believe that you can easily draw parallels. Immediately following the Maine explosion (albeit at its own hands) the US patriotically declared war against Spain; shortly after the terrorist attacks in 2001, America responded again with renewed patriotic vigor. Both of these hostilities were taken against those who we believed had directly attacked us and the nation’s mostly unified response was swift and successful. The later fighting in Europe in the early part of the 20th century and in Iraq in the early part of the 21st century, however, met with less general support and came after a less direct threat to the country. I don’t want to be political with this entry. Ignoring threats doesn’t cause them to end. I really hadn’t compared these armed episodes until now, but I do find it interesting.

Sommer Brown Chapter 23 WWI The United States joined WWI three years after it began.. At the beginning of the war President Wilson issued a proclamation of neutrality for the U.S. But with the continual use of submarine warfare by the Germans, in particular the sinking of the, //Lusitania,// the US entered the “War to end all wars” in 1917 on the side of the Allies. On November 11, 1918 the war was over with Germany in defeat. American casualties were over 320,000, with over 112,000 killed. The total number of deaths due to the war was over nine million. The Germans signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 leaving their country, “disarmed, dishonored, and defenseless”. This planted the seeds for resentment that helped fuel Hitler’s rise to power. Chapter 24 The 1920s America’s industrial production doubled between the years 1913 to 1929. Many workers moved from agricultural to manufacturing jobs. Investors speculated on Wall Street and made fortunes. The divide between rich and poor was wide. The richest 1% of U.S. households owned 34% of the wealth. More homes had electricity, thus creating a consumer market for household appliances. New forms of entertainment arose with people having more access to electricity. These options included radios and motion pictures. Other social changes were also coming. In 1920 the 18th amendment was ratified prohibiting the manufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Between 1910 and 1929 one million African Americans fled the south to move to the north. Of these, 200,000 arrived in Harlem, New York. Harlem became the cultural center for black entertainers. This growth in the arts is known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Ryan Posey

The American Journey Chapters 23-24

TAHG

January 12, 2008

Chapters 23 and 24 of “The American Journey” textbook cover some of the most important events in United States History. This time period from 1914 through the 1920’s is a period of time when America experiences everything from war to the major changes in society as a whole. The topics discussed in these chapters are essential in defining modern day America. Teachers should also cover these topics in great depth due to their direct relevance to our world today. It is important for students to understand that each generation has had different challenges and has faced them in a unique way, just as they will have to do during their lifetimes.

Chapter 23 discusses the United States involvement in the World War I. This is a war that is raging many years before the United States finally dedicates to entering it. The text does an excellent job of illustrating the many reasons that this country was somewhat unwilling to jump into a foreign war. The book describes in great detail the strong isolationist sentiment in the United States and outlines the series of events that would eventually make our involvement inevitable. The chapter also discusses how the nation changed once it entered the war. This includes the ways that the war was funded and how the American economy was boosted as manufacturing went into overdrive. The text somewhat briefly describes actual military involvement, but does do an excellent job of describing Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points and the League of Nations. This chapter comes to an end by describing the unrest in the United States at the end of the war due to the Red Scare and labor issues and describes how Americans wanted a return to normalcy.

The next chapter describes the social phenomenon that was the roaring twenties and the drastic changes that this era brought to American Society. With its jazz music, lavish free willed lifestyles, scantily clad women with shortened hair and new dance styles, the twenties marked a period of social upheaval by the youth of America. The text describes how this was a period of great prosperity in America. This includes the introduction of buying installment plans and mass investment in stock on Wall Street. This was also the era of prohibition and despite the ban on the consumption and sell of alcohol, more Americans than ever were drinking in underground clubs and bars called speakeasies. Because of this major social shift there was a clash between these modern values and the more traditional beliefs. Nowhere was this more clear that in the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. In this trial over the teaching of evolution the two sides came into direct conflict. The text also discusses the leaders of the time Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Both of these men set out to ease tensions in the United States and took a very hands off approach to government. The text does point out that all was not well during this era. There was a major resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan as well as other hate groups and lynchings were common throughout the south. However in the north African American’s were thriving in certain areas. The Harlem Renaissance helped to expose the talents of many brilliant African American musicians, writers and poets. Among the most famous of these being Langston Hughes. The chapter ends by discussing the election Herbert Hoover and by foreshadowing the tragic time just ahead.

The text book does an excellent job of discussing and thoroughly covering these two chapters. The illustrations, timelines, and stories help create a vivid picture of this era in which Americas current identity was being forged. As a History teacher it is important to show the balance between the lives of famous and powerful men alongside the common people. These two chapters deal with military and governmental history as well as social history. I will be able to use this text book to enrich the quality of my discussions and lesson plans on these topics. The material provided will help to present a more complete and in-depth understanding of the significance and importance of this era.

Robert Adams

Chapter 23 and 24 Review. America and the Great War (1914-1920) and Toward a Modern America (The 1920s). The American Journey.

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Serbian Gavril Princip on June 28, 1914 it opened a Pandora’s Box of secret agreements and alliances that would thrust Europe, and eventually the world in to major conflict. Secret alliances and partnerships along ethnic lines ultimately led to a worldwide conflict. Although Germany had hoped for a quick, decisive war, what soon developed was a two front war; fighting Russia in the East and France and Great Britain in the east. The quick war so coveted by the Germans was soon shattered as a series of defensive, parallel trenches stretched from the English Channel all the way to Switzerland.

Thanks to its geographic juxtaposition, the United States was afforded the opportunity to view the hostilities from a distance and pick and choose when and how to become involved. Most Americans at this time still held to the general belief of official American neutrality while unofficially supporting the allied cause. President Woodrow Wilson had a grand vision that America took take advantage of the situation in Europe and benefit economically as well as position itself in an advantageous position to assume a more forceful role in world politics following the war. Even through the //Lusitania// incident and several tense diplomatic showdowns with Germany, the U.S. was able to postpone its entry into World War Two for nearly three crucial years. As it became evident the U.S. would not enjoy the luxury of remaining completely neutral, the battle of preparedness became a major point of consternation in America. Even as Wilson campaigned for re-election in 1916 with his slogan being, “He kept us out of war”, war was eminent.

The declaration of war by the United States in April, 1917, fundamentally altered the course of the war and each aspect of life in America. The federal government immediately set in place bureaucratic agencies and committees to handled the increased demands; the mobilization aided American industry, and in theory opened the door for addressing social change among women and African-Americans. The government also encouraged the purchasing of Liberty Bonds to finance the war and promoted the war in every aspect of American life through the use of propaganda and even went so far as to suppress basic rights, using the conflict to justify these actions. In 1917, there was little encouragement for the Allies in Europe; however the arrival of American troops and there influx into the conflict boosted morale and hope among the Allies. The American troops were not well-trained or well supplied, but the sheer numbers contributed greatly to Germany’s request for an Armistice.

The peace process, however, was a bloodless battle that often pitted the Allies against one another. Wilson’s plan of peace, referred to as the Fourteen Points, was extremely idealistic. The victorious Allies, however, were determined to place blame for the conflict squarely on Germany and seek retribution and concessions from them. In the end, France and Great Britain used Wilson’s desire to create a League of Nations as bargaining tools to obtain what they thought were more grandiose terms. Ironically, the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I and its League of Nations was never ratified by a Republican-dominated Congress in the United States. In addition, the U.S. would experience political as well as economic turmoil and labor unrest in the years after the war. As a sign of a desire to return to “normalcy”, they elected Republican Warren G. Harding president in the election of 1920.

The years immediately following World War I were a time period of adjustment and following a general post-war depression, lasting form 1919 – 1921, the American economy boomed and the 1920’s were mostly prosperous for the United States. Not all industries benefited and the gap between rich and poor widened, but there was a general sense of economic euphoria in the 1920s. Republicans championed themselves as the ‘pro-business” party and encouraged the growth of industry. Post-war America saw an increase in urban dwellers as many people flocked to cities to get jobs. In addition, there was a “Great Migration” of African Americans form the South to the North. This would contribute to increased racial strife, but would also contribute to an increased sense of racial pride as embodied in the Harlem Renaissance.

The nickname the Jazz Age became synonymous with the 1920s. There was an increase in social interaction, movies, music and literature from American authors dominated and began to mold a unique American experience. Morality began to reach the forefront of debate, prohibition, flappers, speakeasies, and dances like the Charleston all pointed to a distinct change in American attitudes. However this social interaction and euphoria was also met by increased cultural and ethnic strife. Crime increased and cultural wars developed along moral and ethical lines.

The America of the 1920s was a direct result of its involvement in World War I and the benefit that United States had of not having any of the major engagements of the war take place on American soil. Its industry that boomed as a result of the demands placed on the country by the war spilled over into the 1920s. In addition, the U.S. had made itself a creditor nation amongst Europeans so wealth seemed endless. This post war jubilation would last a majority of the 1920’s until 1929 when the economy would come crashing down, leading to the Great Depression.

The American Journey Synopsis of Chapters 23-24 Sabrina Porrill January 12, 2008

“Chapter 23 America and The Great War: 1914-1920” looks at the United States from just before our involvement in WWI until the end of that war and the Presidential Election of 1920. When WWI first started in 1914, Americans were not the least bit interested in getting involved and tried very hard to remain neutral. However, our ‘entangling foreign alliances’ with England and France as well as the German’s use of U-boats on our ships brought us quickly into the fight by 1917. One positive of our involvement is that it stirred up our economy and allowed women and minorities a chance to work in industries not acceptable beforehand. The American government worked hard to win over American support for the war through propaganda and celebrity endorsements. Dissent to the war effort was quickly suppressed through the Espionage and Sedition Acts. At the conclusion of the war, President Wilson pushed for a League of Nations and his Fourteen Points. Due to a lack of support in the Senate, neither came to fruition in the United States. The U.S. economy suffered when the war was over. High unemployment, inflation, an influenza epidemic, a rebirth in old discriminations against women and minorities, and abuses of the government toward citizens revolving around the Red Scare and J. Edgar Hoover led to a backlash against the Democratic Party and the election of Republican Warren Harding in 1920. “Chapter 24 Toward a Modern America: The 1920’s” looks at the social, economic, and political worlds of the U.S. in the ‘Roaring Twenties’. Henry Ford epitomized the 20’s with his assembly line process and innovative managerial style and helped productivity in America to boom. The Republican government aligned itself with big business during this decade as well. Urbanization grew quickly and suburbs developed for the first time. Mass consumption, buying on credit, and brand consciousness now replaced morality, frugality, and debt avoidance. People had more leisure time so movies, sports, and radio flourished as did jazz and literature. In 1928, Americans, happy overall with the nation’s progress in this decade, elected another Republican president, Herbert Hoover. After WWI, nativism and racism reared its ugly head once more in our nation and America started moving ever nearer to a low point in our nation’s history, the Great Depression.

Sarah Cooley Irondale Community School

Chapter 23: America and the Great War

The assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked a battle that would eventually spiral into a global war—a war that would kill millions. At the beginning of the Great War in Europe, most Americans desired neutrality in the conflict. Economic issues regarding American trade and loans with the allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan) for the war effort eventually convinced Germany (the head of the Central powers) that United States neutrality was “only a formality.” In the early stages of the U.S. declaring neutrality, President Wilson asked countries involved in the conflict to respect the Declaration of London, which gave the U.S. certain rights in remaining neutral. Britain did not respect the Declaration, and was soon searching all ships traveling to Europe for items to aid with the war effort. Britain’s choice to block American ships from the Central Powers caused Germany to begin using submarine warfare, in which many surprise attacks occurred. President Wilson warned Germany that he would blame them for any loss of American life in using subs. It wasn’t soon after his warning that a British passenger ship, the Lusitania, was attacked by German subs—killing over 1,000 people. Of those who died aboard the ship, 128 were Americans. Theodore Roosevelt and politicians around the U.S. felt that a new military policy needed to be in place in order to “expand the armed forces and establish universal training.” They called this policy a plan of “preparedness”. American’s were beginning to realize that they might be drawn into the conflict. January 31st 1917, Germany sent subs into a war zone that threatened U.S. trade with the allies. Wilson began to assemble ships with arms. He ordered Navy ships to fire on the subs—which many knew would be a declaration of war if carried out. After an intercepted note was released to Americans in which Germany proposed that Mexico reclaim lands lost to the U.S., the United States felt further hostility toward Germany. Soon after the release of the note, four American ships were attacked by German subs. The United States entered the Great War April 6, 1917. In Wilson’s speech to declare war, he explained that America was fighting for peace and democracy. The war brought many changes on the home front. New agencies were created to manage prices regarding industry. The Railroad Administration worked together to maximize supply movement. Herbert Hoover created the Food Administration. New jobs were open to minorities and women, and a flood of African Americans moved north looking for employment opportunities. Citizens around the country aided in the war effort by planting victory gardens and by purchasing liberty bonds. Propaganda flooded the country, ensuring that Americans knew their enemies. The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) aided in the Battle of Argonne, in which Germany was ultimately defeated. An armistice ended the Great War, and ally leaders met at the Paris Peace Conference to draw up the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the war. The treaty blamed Germany for the start of the war, and held the country financially responsible. The leaders at the conference also established a League of Nations to “ensure world stability”.

Toward a Modern America Chapter 24

The term Fordism refers a widespread idea in a period following World War One, in which America’s economy boomed. It was also a time in which Henry Ford was a household name. With new ideas to increase productivity in manufacturing, Ford introduced the assembly line. His invention made it possible for Ford to mass-produce cars for American consumers. Although cars were influential in helping the economy, other industries during the 1920s were successful as well. Big businesses and corporations dominated smaller companies. “Sick industries” such as textile manufacturing and coal mining were not drawing profits during this time. These industries were known for employing underage workers for insufficient wages. Many had unsafe working conditions. Labor unions were highly discouraged among many businesses, and some even hired spies to prevent union formations. Many Americans were flocking toward cities, and as a result, the development of urban areas encouraged builders to construct skyscrapers. The Empire State Building was just one of hundreds of skyscrapers built at the time. Major cities like Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Houston experienced a boom in population. Many African Americans migrated north to fill open positions. This migration caused a shortage in housing, and racial tensions followed. The people of the United States were in an age of change. New technology such as the automobile had not only increased populations in cities, but in areas around the cities. Americans were consumers, and businesses responded to that fact. Advertising bombarded society, convincing women and middle class workers that they needed new items for the home to care for their families. People began to view owning new products as symbols of social status. Credit became a popular way to purchase new goods, but debt soon followed. The 1920s in commonly referred to as the Jazz Age, because the music was so influential in society at the time. Movies, radio, phonograph, and sports were all sources of entertainment for Americans. With this age, many people’s values changed. Drinking, smoking, and freedom from parental control surrounded the “flapper” image.

Jessica Powell- Erwin Elementary

Chapter 23- America and the Great War 1914-1920

As hard as the United States tried, they were unsuccessful remaining neutral during the Great War. Americans were encouraged to remain neutral in action as well as in thought. Americans couldn’t remain neutral due to the close economic ties with Britain and the Allies. America’s neutrality would be tested with the continued use of German submarine warfare. Liberty bonds were pushed on the American public and those who chose not to purchase the bond were deemed unpatriotic. Americans were encouraged to spy on one another and numerous civil rights were violated. Propaganda was wide spread and anyone who spoke out or didn’t agree with anti-Germany suggestions was treated as an enemy. Chapter 24 – Toward a Modern America The 1920s The 1920s saw the boom of industry with the ability of businesses to mechanize. Mass production increased sales of various products and other new industries developed. The 1920s also showed more Americans living in urban areas rather than rural areas. Throughout the Jazz Age fast food, brand name goods, mass consumption, and buying on credit had left its mark on Americans. The use of credit had lead many families to great financial debt. Traditional values were being lost on the new generation. The Great War and the Jazz Age left its mark on Americans and the relationship the United States held with other nations. Americans were living in a progressive lifestyle where many living standards were raised, but much of the population fell below the poverty level. The United States would soon face yet another crisis.