U.S. Entry into World War I - Making the World Safe for Democracy [1917 to 1919 Entering World War I in response to Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson turned America’s participation into a fervent ideological crusade for democracy that successfully stirred the public to a great voluntary war effort, but at some cost to traditional civil liberties.
Q? How does the Unites States drift from declared neutrality in 1914 to active intervention in 1917?
Point #1 The Allied power represents the forces of civilization vs. the forces of darkness. The US declares neutrality at the outbreak of (Remember Washington’s warning - S.A.F.E)
Point #2 Our neutrality had been challenged from beginning because of our innate sympathy toward the allied side – Britain and France (Remember 1776)
Wilson appeals to Americans to be neutral or “impartial in thought as well as in action.” Are subsequent actions by Wilson “impartial… in action?”
Blood Money? Sept.Wilson agrees to loans to belligerents. By 1917, United States investors had purchased $2.3 billion in bonds from the Allies and $40 million in German bonds.
“ War is evil and the U.S. should set an example of peace in the world.”
William Jennings Bryan (remember Bryan from the election of 1896?) (Secretary of State) resigns WHY? He senses a tilt towards war and the false policy of neutrality – if you are really neutral you can ask Germans to stop shooting ships, you halt trade and travel
April 2, 1917 “the world must be made safe for democracy” and idealistic quest not motivated by self-interest? Forces of democracy and civilization vs. evil
Mobilization and Propaganda
Propaganda is employed as the US begins to drift away from isolation and neutrality.
1915 Germans sink the Lusitania 1,200 dead (128 Americans) – causes more outrage in the US; Wilson negotiates agreement not to sink US vessels. Sub Warfare
“ War is evil and the U.S. should set an example of peace in the world.”
William Jennings Bryan (remember Bryan from the election of 1896?) (Secretary of State) resigns WHY? He senses a tilt towards war and the false policy of neutrality – if you are really neutral you can ask Germans to stop shooting ships, you halt trade and travel
THE ELECTION of 1916
Wilson runs and wins a second term and wins on a “He kept us out of the war!” Peace platform
The Zimmerman Note intercepted by Britain January of 1917
Zimmerman Note/telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, and intercepted diplomatic communication intercepted by Britain January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram
WHAT DID IT SAY? German offers Mexico land lost in 1845 (California, New Mexico, Arizona).
The American press published news of the telegram on March 1, 1917
Reactions to Zimmerman note
Mexico – outraged: Wilson has been sending US troops across the border intervening in a Civil War in Mexico. Mexican raiders have been crossing the border in retaliation Wilson’s troops movement.
Poncho Villa is principally remembered for his 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico, that provoked the Punitive Expedition commanded by General John J. Pershing, although the raid itself was a fairly minor event in Villa's military campaign history.
“ War is evil and the U.S. should set an example of peace in the world.”
William Jennings Bryan (remember Bryan from the election of 1896?) (Secretary of State) resigns WHY? He senses a tilt towards war and the false policy of neutrality – if you are really neutral you can ask Germans to stop shooting ships, you halt trade and travel
THE ELECTION of 1916
Wilson runs and wins a second term and wins on a “He kept us out of the war!” Peace platform
April 2, 1917 “the world must be made safe for democracy” and idealistic quest not motivated by self-interest? Forces of democracy and civilization vs. evil
Born to Robert L. Ingram and his wife Naomi Elizabeth Lea in Oneonta, Alabama, Ingram entered the Navy November 24, 1903. His ship, USS Cassin, was attacked by the GermansubmarineU-61 off Ireland on October 15, 1917. Gunner's Mate First Class Ingram spotted the approaching torpedo, realized it would strike close by the ship's depth charges, thus dooming the ship, and rushed to jettison the ammunition. He was blown overboard when the torpedo struck, thus becoming the United States' Navy's first enlisted man killed in action in World War I[1] as he attempted to save his ship and shipmates. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on that day.
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