America on The World Stage Unit 4

1. America on The World StageUnit 4

2. Expansion and Imperialism • Between 1876 and 1915 Spain, Germany, England and the US began to seize control of areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America • This imperialism (seizing other nations) was driven by a need for raw materials to support new industry and a desire for national superiority and recognition. • Supporters of expansion claimed that the US had a duty to spread its political systems and Christian religion throughout the world.

3. Alfred Thayer Mahan andHenry Cabot Lodge • Alfred Thayer Mahan was an admiral and naval historian whose theories on the relationship of sea power and world commerce were published in The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890). • Henry Cabot Lodge supported American expansion as a way to increase national pride, spread civilization, and thereby gain world power. • Drawing upon the theories of Mahan, Cabot Lodge favored an American-controlled canal through Central America and a strong navy to protect American ships.

4. Spanish-American War -1898 • For hundreds of years Spainhad controlledthe island of Cubaand many Americans compared Cuba’s struggle to the American colonists against the British. • After an American ship the USS Maine was destroyed in Cuba—possibly by the Spanish—the United States declared war on Spain. (258 sailors were killed) • After difficult fighting in Cuba, American Rough Riders (led by Teddy Roosevelt) and naval ships defeated the Spanish forces, gaining control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines • The Spanish American War marked the end of Spain’s colonial empire and the emergence of the US as a world power

5. Yellow Journalism The events in Cuba raised humanitarian concerns in the United States. They were reported by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Newspapers sensationalized the new, depicting Spaniards as murderous brutes in order to sell more newspapers. This technique became known as “yellow journalism” This gave American inaccurate pictures of the events in Cuba

6. Hawaii • American settlers built sugar and pineapple plantations on Hawaii • Missionaries were sent to “convert” natives • In the 1890s, Queen Liliuokalani tried but failed to overtake the Islands • Sandford B. Dole led the provisional government and tried to work out plans to annex the islands • Dole served as president and governor of Hawaii (1900-1903) and eventually developed the pineapple company

7. The Panama Canal • Growing US interest in the Caribbean fueled a need to link the Caribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean by digging a canal through Panama. • In 1901 The US aided Panama in a revolution against Columbia and in 1904 the US began to build the canal. • Harsh working conditions and an outbreak of yellow fever slowed work. • On August 15, 1914 the SS Ancon completed the first passage through the Panama Canal • The two main purposes of the canal werea shorter route for our cargo ships andquicker access for our naval ships.

8. Notes #2

9. America and China • China had participated in active trade with the U.S. for years, but Secretary of State John Hay wanted more business and investors there. • In 1899, Hay announced the “Open Door” Policy, giving equal trading rights to all foreign nations in China. • In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion threatened foreign lives, U.S. participated in crushing the rebellion and began a military partnership with China

10. America and Japan • U.S. opened a secluded Japan to Western trade in 1853 with Commodore Matthew Perry • Japanese imperialism defeated China in 1894 and Russia in 1905 (Russo-Japanese War) • President Roosevelt negotiated peace between Japan and Russia with the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) – he won the Nobel Peace Prize

11. America in the Caribbean • The Monroe Doctrine (1823) prevented Europeans from establishing new colonies in the Western Hemisphere • Roosevelt acted as a police officer and it became known as the Roosevelt Corollary or “Big Stick Policy” • Taft encouraged investment abroad with “dollar diplomacy” • Wilson developed a policy of “watchful waiting” especially in Mexico with Pancho Villa. John J. Pershing was sent to apprehend him, but the U.S. would pull out at the start of WWI

12. Use Notes #1 over Imperialism and the information you know about America and East Asia to complete the “ledger” below listing the arguments for and against annexing overseas colonies. Pgs. 137-144 in the B.B.

13. Europe at the start of WWI

14. Causes of World War I • Nationalism led to rivalries between France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia • Economic Rivalries and Imperialism; Britain felt threatened by German factories and growing navy • The Alliance System; two alliances in Europe; Germany and Austria against Russia, Frank, and Great Britain • Powerful Militarism and Military Planning dominated European life

15. Central Powers vs. Allied Powers • As tensions rose and war seemed likely, European countries began to take side through a series of treaties and alliances. • Germany and Austria Hungary, and Ottoman Empire (Turkey) formed the Central Powers and had over 7 million soldiers in their standing army in 1914. • Great Britain, France and Russia were the Allies (Triple Entente) and countered with some 10 million soldiers by 1914. • President Wilson urged Americans, especially European immigrants to remain neutral “The European war, he said is one “with which we have nothing to do, whose cause cannot touch us.”

16. Causes of World War I • The event that sparked WWI came with the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and Germany backing Austria-Hungary in a war against Serbia.

17. A New Kind of War • New and improved weapons made it easier to defend positions rather than to attack (machine gun, poison gas, submarines, and airplanes) • Trenches extended hundreds of miles along eastern France and Germany’s “Western Front” • Soldiers faced attacks with poison gas, tanks, airplanes, and submarines (U-boats) German U-boats were used to attack large merchant vessels

18. Trench Warfare • In trench warfare battle were fought over a series of trenches that stretched hundreds of miles but were only a few hundred yards apart. • Attacks took place across the area between the trenches, referred to as “no man’s land”. • Dead soldiers often lay unburied for days and unsanitary conditions bred disease and sickness. • Head lice, trench foot, and rats were common problems • In the trenches. • In trenches near Verdun more than 500,000 soldiers were killed in an eleven month period

19. US Enters the War • Reasons for American involvement include: • Closer ties with the allies – American ancestry is from Britain • German Actions and Allied Propaganda • Zimmerman Telegram: a secret message from German Foreign Minister promising to return US territories to Mexico if they helped Germany • Freedom of the Seas was the main reason for US involvement

20. Freedom of the Seas • The British Blockade prevented food and arms from being shipped to Germany. Germany retaliated by sinking merchant ships. • The Lusitania was a British passenger ship in 1915, killing 1,000 passengers (128 Americans). It was unknown to passengers that it included munitions • Sussex Pledge said that German submarines would not sink anymore ocean liners without prior warning • Germany Announces Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

21. Preparing for War • In 1916 President Wilson began a US military preparedness program. • The number of US Soldiers in the regular army was increased from 90,000 to 175,000. • Congress passed the Selective Service Act and 2.8 million Americans were drafted in WWI. • Massive training camps were constructed and recruits spent most of their days learning military rules, drilling with their equipment, exercising and preparing for inspections.

22. Preparing the Nation for War • Once the US entered the war, President Wilson set up programs to finance the war and to redirect industry toward wartime production • The US government also launched a huge propaganda campaign to increase support for the war effort. • The government sold Liberty Bonds and raised taxes(16th Amend) to help fund the War. Posters, parades and rallies encouraged citizens to purchase the bonds.

23. Organizing the country’s resources • President Wilson chose Herbert Hoover to direct the country’s food supply by increasing production. • Citizens were encouraged to observe ‘meatless’ and ‘wheatless’ days to conserve food and ‘heatless’ days to conserve coal • To aide in the feeding of the soldiers and to help starving citizens in Europe, Americans planted ‘victory gardens’ to grow their own food. • The War Industries Board had the responsibility of allocating industrial material, prioritizing production and setting prices.

24. American Labor • As immigration slowed and hundreds of thousands of men were drafted, American industry was desperately short of labor. • Workers went on strike to demanded higher wages and better conditions and President Wilson established the National War Labor Board to arbitrate labor conflicts. • Support from women was also essential to increasing the supply of American workers. • African Americans and Hispanics moved North to take advantage of increased job opportunities, this was known as the Great Migration

25. Influencing Public Opinion • In 1917 President Wilson established the Committee of Public Information to try to sway Americans who were against the War. • The CPI created posters and pamphlets that often depicted Germans as evil monsters. • German-Americans were often accused of being spies and most reflections of German culture in the US became unpopular. • In response to antiwar groups, the Sedition Act outlawed the printing of anything disloyal to the country or in opposition to the war.

26. American Expeditionary Force • President Wilson ordered American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) to be sent to Europe – led by John J. Pershing • By 1918, the AEF has over a million men • President Wilson refused to allow African-Americans to serve but two served directly under French command

27. Troops Arrive in France • In June of 1917 the American Expeditionary Force reached France and included regular army, National Guardsmen and draftees • US troops were under the command of the Army’s most experienced officer John Pershing, who is credited with preparing the inexperienced army for battle and leading them as a field commander • On July 4, 1917 US troops marched through Paris, as huge crowds cheered for them. • Throughout the remainder of 1917 American soldiers built docks and railroads, strung up telephone lines and constructed camps.

28. Battle or Argonne Forest • 1918, Argonne Forest is in Northeastern France near the Belgian border • “A region forgotten when level ground was being created” • Concrete walls, barbed wire, and deep pits fortified Germany for four years • The AEF (under Pershing) fought for a month and fought with 1.2 million Americans • 3,400 soldiers were distinguished with the Medal of Honor

29. Alvin York (1887-1964) • In the Battle of Argonne Forest, he killed 25 Germans and captured 132 prisoners • Awarded the Medal of Honor • He was also awarded the gift of a farm by his home state (New York) and a film of his life was made in 1940 • He was a Christian pacifist and used the money earned from the movie to fund a Bible school

30. Allied Difficulties in 1917 • In the summer of 1917 the Allies launched a major offensive without US soldiers and were unable to break German lines. • French and British soldiers began to mutiny along the western trenches. • After three long years of war, the Russian monarchy was overthrown in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The new leader V.I. Lenin pulled Russian troops out of the war.

31. Campaign to Victory • In March of 1918 the German army launched a huge offensive that pushed the Allies back 40 miles in 4 months, but the German Army was left tired and weak. • The allies then began an offensive, pushing the Germans out of France and into Belgium. American soldiers met German lines in the Battle of Argonne Forest, where the US soldiers won a bloody victory. • By September, German generals told German Kaiser that the war could not be won. • On November 11th, 1918 the German government signed an armistice, agreeing to end the war.

32. President Wilson’s Fourteen Points • President Wilson met with peace scholars in late 1917 and began to work on a peace treaty. • Wilson’s 14 Points (his peace plan) included the need for people to govern themselves, freedom of the seas and establishing a League of Nations. • Although American citizens and Congress supported Wilson’s plan, Europeans saw it as the US trying to interfere with European affairs. • Wilson joined European leaders for a peace conference in Versailles where he pushed the creation of a League of Nations.

34. Treaty of Versailles • The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war. • German leaders were forced to take full blame for the war and incur cost totaling over $30,000,000,000 (billion). • The treaty also limited the size of the German military and stripped Germany of it’s colonies. • The treaty was never approved by the US Congress, slowing American participation in the League of Nations. • Dissatisfaction over the Treaty of Versailles is seen as a major cause of WWII.

35. League of Nations • Despite President Wilson’s grand vision, the United States Senate and American people didn’t want to join the League of Nations • By 1919, most Americans wants to avoid European entanglements and retreated to isolationism (separating themselves from other countries’ affairs) • America raised tariffs and restricted European immigration

36. Costs of the War – In Human Life • More than 8,500,000 people died in WWI, including 51,000 Americans. Over 20,000,000 were wounded. • In 1918, famine and a flu pandemic killed more than 20 million people worldwide. • Influenza (flu) remains a health threat even today and has proven it can be a killer! • The governments of Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman empire had collapsed and revolutionaries tried to seize power in these countries.