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. • A senator from Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge supported American expansion as a way to increase national pride, spread civilization, and thereby gain world power.

3. Acquiring Hawaii • From 1795 to 1893 a dynasty started by chief Kamehameha ruled the Hawaiian islands. • In 1875 Hawaii and the US established a treaty giving the US territory and privileges in exchange for no tariffs on Hawaiian sugar. • In 1893 US lead forces overthrew the Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani and established a new Hawaiian government. • In 1898 the US annexed Hawaii despite opposition from most of their population.

4. Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule.Kamehameha's full Hawaiian name is KalaniPai’eaWohi o KaleikiniKeali’ikui Kamehameha o ‘IolaniiKaiwikapukaui Ka LiholihoKūnuiākea

5. 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. • American newspaper writers lead by William Hearst began a public cry for an American War with Spain. • After an American ship the USS Maine was destroyed in Cuba—possibly by the Spanish—the United States declared war on Spain. • 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

6. 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.

7. US Relations with China and Japan • Throughout the early 1800’s the US and China traded goods freely. • In 1895 after an attack from Japan, China weakened and many Chinese territories fell to European and Japanese influence. • The US tried to negotiate an Open Door policy- stated that all nations would have equal trading rights in China. (an effort to protect U.S. trade with China) • In 1900, some 200 missionaries and traders were killed by Chinese in the Boxer rebellion- Chinese uprising against foreign influences.

8. 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.

9. Causes of World War I • In the Early 1900’s extreme nationalism and tensions rose in Europe between Britain, France, Germany and Russia. • Britain felt threatened by Germany’s developing factories and growing navy - Germany was beginning to outshine England. • 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.

10. 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 formed the Central Powers and had over 7 million soldiers in their standing army in 1914. • Great Britain, France and Russia were the Allies and countered with some 10 million soldiers by 1914. • President Wilson urged Americans, especially European immigrants to remain neutral

11. WWI Begins • Germany followed the plan of General Alfred von Schlieffen, who advised a massive strike against France from the north through Belgium • On the night of August 3, 1914 German troops invaded Belgium but were surprised when the small Belgian army put up a strong resistance. • Britain joined France and met the German forces at the Marne river, there the two sides would stalemate for nearly four years in a style of battle known as ‘trench’ warfare.

12. 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

13. The Road to American Involvement • The first conflict between the United States and warring European countries came as US ships attempted to trade with neutral countries • British ships stopped and inspected American cargo and German U-boats threatened to sink any ship entering their “war zone” • On May 7th, 1915 a U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania a British passenger ship which carried 128 Americans.

14. New Technology in War • WWI was the first war to include rapid fire machine guns, this new “invisible enemy” allowed waves of soldiers to be cut down. • Artillery allowed troops to shell the enemy from up to 10 miles away. • Poisonious gas (used by both sides), became one of the most dreaded new weapons. • Tanks and aircraft were introduced in WWI but did not give decisive advantages to either the allies or the central powers.

15. 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.

16. America Declares War • In 1917 Germany broke the Sussex Pledge in which they had promised not to sink non-military ships, and U-boat torpedoes sank five American ships. • In March of 1917 American newspapers uncovered a German plan to aide Mexico against the USA in return for Mexican support in the War (Zimmerman Note). • In April of 1917 the US Senate and House declared war against the Central powers

17. 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.

18. 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 to help fund the War. Posters, parades and rallies encouraged citizens to purchase the bonds.

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.