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Use the following questions to focus your thoughts and notes about this set of readings. Take notes on the reading, in your own words, preparing a thorough answer to each of these questions.
1. INTRODUCTION -- What expectations, constraints, choices, and outcomes did President Wilson find himself involved in between 1913 and 1918?
2. As you will recall, America had become active in overseas imperialism by the early 1900s, mostly under Republican Presidents like McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, and Taft. What was the Democratic Party stand on imperialism? What actually happened under Democratic President Wilson (1913-1920)? Look for examples of the themes that I have already raised. For example, what role did chauvenistic nationalism play? What role did strategic/economic interests play? What role was played by paternalism? Do you agree or disagree with Wilson's approach to Mexico's Revolution of 1911 and the Mexican civil war that followed it? Why or why not?
3. The United States was a world power by 1914. But it avoided alliances with foreign countries. The world powers of Europe had done the opposite -- as their imperialism increased, so did their angry rivalry with each other. As their rivalry increased, they wove a web of alliances against each other. By 1914, the European powers were thoroughly entangled in alliances. If any two countries went to war, all of their allies would also have to go to war. That was an extremely dangerous situation. Meanwhile, nationalism (I would say "nativism") was growing in Europe, causing conflicts between nations and between ethnic groups within nations. ImperialismWhen Austria-Hungary and Serbia went to war in August, 1914, the rest of Europe went to war as well. The other European countries declared war on each other in order to live up to their alliance obligations, and because they were already spoiling for a fight and eager to "acquire" more land and resources. Germany and Turkey joined Austria-Hungary on one side in the War. They became known as THE CENTRAL POWERS. Serbia, Russia, France, and England were their major opponents, and became known as THE ALLIES. The rising Asian country of Japan also joined the Allies in hopes of getting some new colonies for itself. The war was going to be huge, and modern weapons were going to make it uglier than any previous war in history. Thoughtful people knew this. As the European nations declared war on each other, one by one, Great Britain's Foreign Minister, Sir Edward Grey, commented that "the lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." (August 3. 1914) President Wilson tried to remain neutral at first. What went wrong with his idea?
(NOTE -- Look for signs that the United States was getting "entangled" with the Allies and being biased against Germany and the Central Powers. Let me give you a fact that the textbook leaves out for some odd reason -- the Lusitania was secretly carrying weapons for England, using its civilian passengers as a human shield, and with the full knowledge of the U.S. Government.)
4. In his call for war in April 1917, Wilson said that it would be a war to make the world "safe for democracy." (p. 704) Examine his actions on "the Home Front" between 1917 and 1919. Did the war really achieve that result at home in America?
What was the Great War? Why and how did the United States become involved in it? Which American social groups favored war and which opposed it? Why? Did all pro-war Americans agree on the reasons for war? Explain.
2. How did the President Woodrow Wilson and the Federal government mobilize the nation to fight? Among other things, explain how Wilson used propaganda and supressed dissent. Why did he do it? What were the short term effects of those government policies?
*3. What effect did government policies (and nationalism in general) have on America? For example, what effect did the First World War have on the different Progressive movements, working class movements, and industrial capitalists? What was the lasting impact of the war on the power of the federal government and its role in society?
4. What was the "Red Scare" and what caused it? How did organizations like the new Ku Klux Klan fit into that hysteria? What effect did the Red Scare and the rise of the KKK have on the future of Americans?
5. Wilson said that the Great War would be a "war for democracy." Did the war advance the cause of freedom and democracy at home? Abroad? Why or why not? This is a big question. Pay attention to wartime policies and events, the Versailles Treaty negotiations, and the way the war itself set the stage for a conservative "backlash" at home between 1918 and the early 1920s.
Copyright © 1999 Toren J.F. Hudson