The War to End War
I. War By Germany’s Actions
a. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
i. January 1917 – Failed crops, as well as a British naval blockade, caused severe
food shortages in Germany
ii. Desperate to strike back, Germany decided to establish its own naval blockade
around Britain. They decided to sink any ship in the waters around Britain
without warning, called unrestricted submarine warfare
iii. Germany hoped to defeat Britain before America could mobilize their army
b. Zimmerman Note
i. February 1917 – The British intercepted a telegram (Zimmerman note) from
Germany’s foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German ambassador in
Mexico. The message said that Germany would help Mexico “reconquer” the
land it had lost to the United States if Mexico would ally itself with Germany
(Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona)
ii. The British decoded the message and gave it to the U.S. government. The
American public called for war
c. Sinking of More American Vessels
i. Four unarmed American merchant vessels were sunk in the first two weeks of
March
ii. At this time, Russia had to deal with a revolution and backed out of the war. If
America entered the war now, they wouldn’t have to be on the side of the
Russians
d. Declaration of War
i. April 1917 – The U.S. entered the war on the side of the Allies
ii. British harassment of American ships was endurable; Germans sunk and killed
many American ships with innocent civilians on them
II. Wilsonian Idealism Enthroned
a. Isolationists
i. America had a tradition of being isolationist
ii. 60 Senators and 50 representatives voted against the war resolution
iii. The Midwest was unconcerned about the war because they didn’t care about
submarine warfare
b. Glorifying the U.S.’s War Aims
i. To unify the country, Wilson declared that the war was being fought “to make the
world safe for democracy” – without the fear of autocrats or militants
ii. He contrasted the selfish war aims of the other belligerents with America’s goals
and ideals. America didn’t fight for money or territory
c. Wilson’s Beliefs
i. He truly believed in the principles mentioned above and his appeal worked
ii. He also thought that the modern world could not afford to have a huge destructive
war that advanced industrial States were not capable of waging
iii. Americans, it seemed, could be either isolationists or crusaders, but nothing in
between
III. Wilson’s 14 Points
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a. The First 5 Points
i. A proposal to abolish secret treaties (wanted open peace treaties)
ii. Freedom of the seas (appealed to the Germans, as well as to Americans who
distrusted British sea power)
iii. A removal of economic barriers
iv. Reduction of arms (burden to taxpayers in all countries)
v. An adjustment of colonial claims (in the interests of both native people and the
colonizers)
b. Other Points
i. Held out the hope of independence (“self-determination”) to oppressed minority
groups, such as the Poles (many of whom were under the control of Germany and
Austria-Hungary)
th
c. 14 Point
i. Foreshadowed the League of Nations
ii. Called for an international organization that would provide a system of collective
security
d. Reaction to 14 Points
i. Wilson was seen as the moral leader of the Allied cause
ii. It inspired the Allies to make better efforts and demoralized the enemy because of
alluring promises to dissatisfied minorities
iii. The 5th point helped open the road for eventual national independence for millions
of colonial areas
iv. Some Allied nations had notions of territorial gains after the war, so they didn’t
like the 14 Points
IV. Creel Manipulates Minds
a. Committee On Public Information
i. Headed by journalist George Creel
ii. His job was to sell America on the war and sell the world on Wilson’s war aims
(was jingoistic – advocating an aggressive, nationalistic foreign policy)
iii. The organization employed 150,000 workers at home and overseas. They:
1. Sent out thousands of people to make short speeches containing patriotic
talk
2. Created many propaganda posters
3. Printed many pamphlets
4. Filmed several movies, such as The Beast of Berlin and To Hell With the
Kaiser
5. Composed patriotic songs
a. Over There
6. Urged all citizens to spy on neighbors with foreign names
iv. He oversold Wilson. He led the world to expect too much from him, which
resulted in disillusionment both at home and abroad
V. Enforcing Loyalty and Stifling Dissent
a. German Americans
i. Numbered 8 million (including those with one parent who was born in that
country) out of a population of 100 million
ii. They were loyal to the U.S.
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iii. Rumors persisted of German spies, so some German Americans were beaten and
tarred/feathered
b. American Protective League
i. Volunteer organization that claimed approval of the Justice Department for
pressuring support of war
ii. Humiliated those accused of not buying war bonds
iii. Persecuted those of German descent
iv. Encouraged the banning of German culture in everything from product names to
consumption, including “pretzels” and “German Measles”
c. Result of German Hysteria
i. Orchestras found it unsafe to play German-composed music (like Beethoven)
ii. German books were removed from libraries
iii. German classes were cancelled
iv. Sauerkraut became “liberty cabbage”
v. Hamburgers became “liberty steak”
vi. Beer became suspect
d. Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918
i. Reflected current fears about Germans and antiwar Americans
ii. The acts would:
1. Impose fines and imprisonment for persons who made false statements
which aided the enemy, hindered the draft, or incited military rebellion
2. Forbade criticism of the government, flag, or uniform
e. Results of the Acts
i. Antiwar Socialists and Workers of the World (IWW) members were arrested,
including Socialist Party leader Eugene V. Debs and IWW leader William
Haywood
ii. 1,900 people were prosecuted. Most were pardoned after the war, but a few
weren’t released until the 1930s
f. Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
i. Schenck was a member of the (U.S.) Socialist Party. He sent out pamphlets to
men who had been drafted, urging them to resist during WWI
ii. The Espionage Act was upheld in the Supreme Court. The court ruled against
Schenck because his words established a “clear and present danger” to the U.S.
(one cannot yell “fire” in a crowded theater)
VI. The Nation’s Factories Go To War
a. Preparation For War Prior To 1917
i. Wilson had only backed some mild preparedness measures beginning in 1915:
1. Council of National Defense to study problems of economic mobilization
2. Launched a shipbuilding program
3. Increased the army to 100,000 (15th in the world)
b. Problems With Mobilization
i. No one knew how much steel, gun powder, or other supplies the nation could
truly produce
ii. Traditional fears of big government stopped efforts to mobilize the economy by
the national government. States’ rights Democrats and businesspeople didn’t like
federal economic controls
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iii. War Industries Board – It wasn’t until March 1918 that Wilson tried to stop the
economic confusion by appointing Bernard Baruch to head this Board. However,
even this board was disbanded days after the armistice
iv. Wilson ended up controlling (to ensure supplies for the war):
1. Raw materials
2. Production
3. Prices
4. Labor relations
5. Fuel
6. Railroads
7. Maritime shipping
VII. Workers In Wartime
a. Government Treatment of Labor
i. Threatened any unemployed male with being immediately drafted – a powerful
discouragement to go on strike
ii. Resolved some labor disputes through offers of employee benefits
iii. National War Labor Board –
1. Chaired by Taft
2. Purpose was to stop labor disputes that might hamper the war effort
3. They demanded high wages and the 8-hour work day
iv. Overall, the government treated labor fairly
b. American Federation of Labor
i. Led by Samuel Gompers
ii. Supported the war
iii. More than doubled its membership to 3 million by the end of the war
iv. In the most heavily unionized sectors – coal mining, manufacturing, and
transportation, wages had risen 20%
c. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
i. Also known as the “Wobblies” or “I Won’t Works” because they didn’t support
the war
ii. Fruit and lumber workers led strikes because they were transient people and
because of it, their working conditions were the poorest
iii. When they protested, many were beaten, arrested, or run out of town
d. Labor During the War
i. Still didn’t have the right to organize
ii. 6,000 strikes occurred during the war
e. Steel Strikes
i. In 1919, ¼ of a million steelworkers walked off their jobs in order to force their
employers to recognize their right to organize and bargain collectively
ii. The steel companies refused to negotiate with union representatives and brought
in 30,000 African American workers to keep the mills running
iii. After confrontations that left more than a dozen workers dead, the steel strike
collapsed
f. African American Migration
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i. Tens of thousands of southern blacks were drawn to the North in wartime by war-
industry employment. This began the migration of African Americans moving
northward
ii. Their sudden appearance in previously all-white areas sometimes sparked race
riots
1. St. Louis, Missouri (July 1917) – left 9 whites and at least 40 blacks dead
2. Chicago, Illinois (July 1919) – black and white gangs roamed the streets
and left 15 whites and 23 blacks dead
VIII. Suffering Until Suffrage
a. National American Woman Suffrage Association
i. Supported Wilson’s war
ii. Urged women to participate in the war effort (served as clerks or in medical units)
iii. Took men’s jobs in the factories
b. National Woman’s Party
i. Some progressive feminists protested the war and women’s involvement in it
ii. This group was led by Alice Paul and demonstrated with marches and hunger
strikes
c. New Momentum For Suffrage
i. The war effort gave new momentum for the suffrage movement
ii. Wilson endorsed women’s suffrage
iii. State legislatures began allowing women to vote
iv. 1920 – the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving all American women the right to
vote
d. Women’s Rights In the Workplace
i. Women’s Bureau in the Department of Labor was created to protect women in the
workplace
ii. However, most women gave up their jobs after the war
iii. Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act of 1921
1. Provided federally financed instruction in maternal and infant health care
2. With the passage of this act, Congress reaffirmed their belief that the
woman’s place was in the home
IX. Forging A War Economy
a. Food Administration
i. Herbert Hoover, a Quaker-humanitarian was chosen to lead this organization
ii. He was already considered a hero because he had successfully led a massive
charitable drive to feed the starving people of war-racked Belgium
iii. He preferred voluntary compliance rather than compulsory demands
1. Refused to issue ration cards, but instead used propaganda posters,
newspapers, and movies
2. People were urged to be patriotic – Victory Gardens
iv. Worked because of the patriotic wartime spirit
v. Farm production increased by ¼ and food exports to the Allies tripled
b. Fuel Administration
i. Saved fuel with:
1. Heatless Mondays
2. Lightless nights
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3. Gasless Sundays
c. Treasury Department
i. Sponsored huge parades and invoked slogans like “Halt the Hun” to promote four
Liberty Loan drives, followed by a Victory Loan campaign in 1919
ii. Together, these efforts netted $21 billion, or 2/3 the cost of the war at that point
(the total cost, including interest and veterans’ benefits was $112 billion). The
remainder was raised by increased taxes
iii. Some people were actually threatened or their houses were vandalized
d. Non-voluntary Compliance
i. Took over the nation’s railroads following bad traffic problems
ii. Seized enemy merchant vessels trapped in America’s harbors
e. Prohibition
i. Congress restricted the use of foodstuffs for alcoholic drinks
ii. This helped speed up a wave of prohibition that was sweeping the country
iii. Many leading brewers were German-descended, and this taint made the drive
against alcohol all the more popular
iv. This all resulted in the passage of the 18th Amendment, prohibiting all alcoholic
drinks
X. Making Plowboys Into Doughboys
a. Need For American Troops
i. America planned on:
1. Using its navy to fight in the seas
2. Ship war materials to the Allies and give them loans (they loaned the
Allies $10 billion)
ii. However, the Allies made the Americans aware that they were running out of
money and manpower. America would have to send troops to the war, or else the
western front would collapse
b. The Conscription Law
i. Wilson disliked the draft, but believed it to be necessary
ii. The bill in Congress met much opposition. Some believed that the people would
rebel
iii. The draft act was passed 6 weeks after war was declared. It required:
1. The registration of all males between the ages of 18-45
2. No one could purchase an exemption (as in the Civil War)
3. The war excluded men working in key industries, such as shipbuilding
c. Results of Conscription
i. Worked well. Registration day was patriotic
ii. 337,000 evaded the draft; 4,000 conscientious objectors were excused
iii. Army grew to over 4 million
iv. Women were admitted to the armed forces (11,000 to the navy and 269 to the
marines)
v. African Americans served the armed forces, but in segregated units usually led by
white officers. Reflecting discrimination, many worked on construction and
unloading ships. 400,000 black men were drafted or enlisted
vi. Recruits were supposed to receive 8 months of training, but most received much
less because they were needed in battle
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XI. Fighting In France
a. Results of Russia’s Collapse
i. Meant that thousands of German soldiers could now concentrate on the western
front
ii. This gave the Germans a superiority in manpower
b. Slow American Mobilization
i. The Germans hoped that they could defeat Britain in 6 months – before the
Americans could mobilize
ii. No effective American fighting force reached France until about a year after
Congress declared war
iii. Shipping shortages stalled troops from coming over to Europe, which Germany
had also counted on
c. First American Deployments
i. First American deployments were used to replace the Allied armies
ii. Small amounts of troops were also deployed in Belgium, Italy, and Russia
iii. America sent thousands of troops to Archangel and Siberia in Russia to prevent
that country from falling into the hands of Germany when the Bolshevik Russians
ended their fighting. The Bolsheviks long resented the American interventions,
which they regarded as efforts to stop their infant communist revolution before it
grew any larger
XII. America Helps the Defeat Germany
a. Spring 1918
i. Germany was moving forward with ½ million troops
ii. French marshal Foch became the Allied supreme commander, unifying the troops.
Up until then, the Allies had been fighting imperfectly coordinated actions
b. May 1918
i. The Germans came to within 40 miles of Paris
ii. 30,000 American troops fought in the Battle of Chateau-Thierry/Belleau Woods.
This was the first significant engagement of American troops in the war
c. July 1918
i. The German drive was over
ii. The Allies began the Second Battle of the Marne, which marked the beginning of
the German withdrawal that never reversed
d. September 1918
i. 243,000 American troops (9 divisions) joined 4 French divisions in driving the
Germans back at the Battle of St. Mihiel
e. September-November 1918
i. John J. (“Black Jack”) Pershing was assigned a front of 85 miles (because the
Americans were clamoring for a separate army)
ii. He launched the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which was to cut the German railroad
lines feeding the western front
iii. The battle was the biggest the U.S. had ever fought up until that point. It was 47
days long and engaged 1.2 million American troops
iv. The Americans had 120,000 killed or wounded, most resulting from being
inadequately trained
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v. Alvin C. York, a member of an antiwar religious sect, became a hero when he
single-handedly killed 20 Germans and captured 132 more
f. Victory In Sight
i. American armies were using their supplies so quickly that they were in danger of
running short
ii. However, the:
1. Central Powers were deserting the Germans
2. British blockade was causing food shortages
3. The Allies were killing many German soldiers
4. Propaganda leaflets dropped at the German front lines were seducing
German soldiers into giving up
XIII. Germany Surrenders
a. Peace Begins
i. October 1914 – Wilson makes it clear that the Kaiser must be thrown out before
an armistice could be made
ii. The German military generals took his advice and forced Wilhelm to flee to
Holland, where he lived out the rest of his life
b. November 11, 1918
i. The Germans surrendered
ii. There was around the clock parties, and the streets were jammed with
celebrations, laughing, and dancing
c. U.S.’s Main Contributions
i. Foodstuffs, munitions, money, oil, and manpower
ii. They fought only two major battles, at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, both in
the last two months of the 4-year war
iii. It was the prospect of endless U.S. troops reserves, rather than America’s actual
military performance, that eventually demoralized the Germans
iv. The U.S.’s European army depended on the allies for:
1. Supplies
a. Only 500 artillery pieces were of American manufacture
b. Nearly all aircraft was provided by the British and French
2. Britain and France transported most American troops
v. The Americans wouldn’t become a huge military force until the next world war
XIV. Wilson Steps Down From On High
a. Wilson’s Popularity
i. Popularity of the president was at a high around the world. Expectations of how
well he’d perform at the peace negotiations were high
ii. At home, the political parties worked together during the war crisis. Wilson
hoped to strengthen himself at the peace talks if his party was a majority in
Congress after the November 1918 elections. However, after the elections, the
Republicans held a narrow majority. Wilson didn’t have a legislative majority
unlike the rest of the leaders at the peace table, so his prestige was diminished
b. Wilson and Problems With the Republicans
i. Wilson’s decision to go in person to Paris to help make the peace infuriated
Republicans. No president had traveled to Europe, and Wilson’s journey looked
to his critics like flamboyant grandstanding
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ii. Wilson further ruffled Republican leaders when he refused to allow a single
member from that party in his peace delegation. Republicans wanted the
chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Henry Cabot Lodge
(MA) to go (he had a PhD). However, both men hated each other
XV. An Idealist Battles the Imperialists In Paris
a. Paris Conference
i. Many nations were there, but the Big Four made the important decisions:
1. Wilson – United States (was popular with the European masses and had
the most bargaining power at the peace conference)
2. Vittorio Orlando – Italy
3. David Lloyd George – Britain
4. Georges Clemenceau – France
ii. Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were not invited
b. Imperialism
i. Wilson’s ultimate goal was a world parliament to be known as the League of
Nations, but he first wanted to stop any vengeful parceling out of the former
colonies of the Central Powers
ii. The victors would not take possession of the conquered territory outright, but
would receive it as trustees of the League of Nations. However, it was basically
the same prewar colonialism
1. Syria was awarded to France
2. Iraq was given to Britain
c. League of Nations
i. Wilson envisioned an assembly with seats for all nations and a council to be
controlled by the great powers
ii. In February 1919, they agreed to make the League of Nations
XVI. Hammering Out the Treaty
a. Criticism of the League of Nations
i. Lodge and others didn’t like the League because:
1. It was useless
2. It was an overpowerful “super-state”
ii. About a dozen hard-core isolationists were known as “irreconcilables” or “the
Battalion of Death”
iii. Enough Republican senators to defeat the treaty demanded that it be redrawn
b. Results of the Senate Refusing To Approve the League of Nations
i. Other countries had a stronger bargaining position. Wilson would have to make
concessions if he were to get a modified plan for the League of Nations. He was
sort of blackmailed into giving other countries spoils:
1. France –
a. Rhineland:
i. Had a lot of natural resources
ii. Much industry
iii. It could serve as a buffer between France and Germany to
prevent future invasions
b. Settlement:
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i. The Saar Valley (Rhineland) would be under the control of
the League of Nations for 15 years, then the people living
there could vote on their fate (they chose to be reunited
with Germany)
ii. In exchange for dropping its demands for the Rhineland,
France negotiated Security Treaty, in which both Britain
and America pledged to come to its aid in the in the event
of another German invasion
2. Italy –
a. Fiume:
i. Was a valuable seaport inhabited by both Italians and
Yugoslavs
ii. Wilson wanted the seaport to go to Yugoslavia and
appealed over the heads of Italy’s leaders to the country’s
masses. This infuriated the masses against Wilson
3. Japan –
a. Shandong Peninsula and German Islands in the Pacific:
i. Japanese were given the islands (which they illegally
fortified and used against the U.S. as bases in WWII)
ii. Wilson wanted self-determination, but Japan threatened to
walk out of the meeting. Japan kept Germany’s economic
holdings in Shandong and pledged to return the peninsula
to China at a later date. The Chinese were outraged (30
million of their resident lived there)
XVII. The Peace Treaty That Bred A New War
a. Treaty of Versailles
i. Germans were forced to sign in June 1919
ii. Only 4 of the original 23 Wilsonian points were included. He was forced to
compromise some of the points to save the League of Nations. He hoped that the
League would make up for some of the inequities in the treaty
iii. Vengeance, not reconciliation, was the treaty’s dominant tone. The Allies hated
Germany because:
1. Money spent on war
2. Starting war
3. Deaths (65 million mobilized - 17.5 million allied casualties; 11.5 million
central powers)(9 million deaths, 20 million wounded or MIA, 7 million
permanently disabled)
b. What Did the Treaty Do?
i. Article 231 – “War Guilt Clause” – Germany had to accept everything as their
fault. Germany thought unfair, but had to sign
ii. Reparations – Payments for the cost and damage caused by the war. Germany
had to pay $33 billion dollars, $500 million per year until 1988. War cost the
U.S. $224 million per day in 1918. It cost $337 billion total for the U.S. The
U.S. loaned and was owed $11.5 billion in war debts - $2 trillion today
iii. Reduced army and made them be defensive only
iv. Limited navy
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v. No reserves
vi. No tanks
vii. No subs
viii. No long-range artillery
ix. No conscription
x. Can’t train soldiers to be general staff officers
xi. Rhineland to be occupied for 15 years
c. Immediate Results of the Treaty
i. Wilson, who was worshipped in Europe, was now a fallen idol
ii. It liberated millions of minority people, including:
1. Finland
2. Latvia
3. Lithuania
4. Listonia
5. Poland
6. Czechoslovakia
7. Yugoslavia
iii. However, all of these countries:
1. Harbor ill feelings toward each other
2. Not democratic
3. Ultra-nationalistic
4. Little good leadership
d. Separate Treaty With Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire
i. Treaty of St. Germaine – signed September 1919
1. Austria-Hungary
a. Get rid of Austria-Hungary Empire (separate them into 2
countries)
b. Pay reparations
c. Forbid to unite with Germany
d. Small, defensive armies
2. Ottoman Empire
a. Reduced size to today’s Turkey (lost empire)
b. Pay reparations
c. Small, defensive army
d. Gave islands to Greece
e. Dardanelles open under international supervision
XVIII. Domestic Prejudice
a. Critics of the Treaty
i. Isolationists –
1. Didn’t like the League of Nations
ii. Hun-haters –
1. Didn’t think the treaty was harsh enough
iii. Liberals –
1. Thought the treaty was too harsh
iv. German Americans, Italian Americans, and others –
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1. Thought the peace treaty was not sufficiently favorable to their native
lands
v. Irish Americans
1. Thought that the 5 overseas British dominions would give Britain undue
influence in the League which would be used to force the U.S. to crush
any rising for Irish independence
XIX. Wilson’s Tour and Collapse
a. Acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles in America
i. Most people were favorable
ii. Senator Lodge wanted to amend it in such a way as to “Americanize” it so that the
Republicans could then take credits for the changes
iii. He effectively used delay to muddle and divide public opinion
1. Read the entire 264-page treaty aloud
2. Held protracted hearings in which people of various nationalities aired
their grievances
b. Wilson’s Tour
i. Wilson decided to make a tour of the country in September 1919 because the
opinion was changing. Two “irreconcilable” senators followed him in the same
cities a few days later
ii. Midwest –
1. Received Wilson lukewarmly, partly because of strong German American
influence
iii. Pacific Coast –
1. These areas welcomed Wilson
iv. Pueblo, Colorado –
1. Wilson collapsed from physical and nervous exhaustion
2. Several days later a stroke paralyzed one side of his body
XX. Defeat Through Deadlock
a. Senator Lodge
i. Didn’t amend the treaty
ii. Came up with 14 formal reservations to the treaty, which served to safeguard:
1. Monroe Doctrine
2. Constitution
3. American sovereignty
iii. Lodge and others were alarmed by Article X of the League because it morally
bound the U.S. to aid any member victimized by external aggression. Congress
wanted to reserve for itself the constitutional war-declaring power
b. The End of the Treaty of Versailles In America
i. Wilson hated Lodge and didn’t want to except his reservations to get the treaty
passed (although the Democrats had similar reservations)
ii. Wilson sent word to all true Democrats to join with the “irreconcilables” to vote
down the treaty, which is what happened
iii. These factors played a part:
1. Lodge-Wilson feud
2. Traditionalism (the U.S. didn’t get into alliances)
3. Isolationism (the U.S. didn’t want to be drawn into another war)
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4. Disillusionment (shock, disappointment, and dismay at the war, causing
the U.S. to not want to get into another one)
5. Partisanship (political parties voting according to party lines)
XXI. The “Solemn Referendum” of 1920
a. Republican Nomination
i. Roosevelt was dead, so wayward Bull Moose people were back with the
Republicans
ii. They devised a platform that appealed to both pro-League and anti-League
supporters
iii. Nominated Senator Warren G. Harding from Ohio (thought he was affable (warm
and friendly) and malleable (capable of being used)); the vice-president would be
Governor Calvin Coolidge of MA
b. Democratic Nomination
i. Nominated Governor James M. Cox of Ohio, who strongly supported the League.
His running mate was Assistant Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt from NY
c. Campaigning
i. The Democrats tried to make the League a referendum issue, as Wilson had
wanted
ii. The Republicans attracted supporters from both sides because they both thought
Harding would advance their cause (Harding would work for an Association of
Nations – a league, but not the League)
d. Election of 1920
i. Harding won:
1. 16.1 million-9.1 million
2. 404-127
ii. Eugene V. Debs won the most ever votes for the Socialist party while he was in
jail – 919,000
e. Results of the Election of 1920
i. The people wanted a change from the do-good, star-reaching, morally sound, self-
sacrificial president that Wilson was
ii. Harding’s victory was the end of the League
XXII. The Betrayal of Great Expectations
a. Downfall of the League of Nations
i. It was undercut at the start by the refusal of the U.S. to join it
ii. Had this organization been strong enough, it may have prevented WWII
b. Downfall of the Security Treaty
i. The U.S. senate rejected the treaty, which would’ve given American aid to France
if Germany attacked them
ii. As a result, France began a buildup of military force. Germany responded by
doing the same
c. Why Did the U.S. Remain Isolationist?
i. Conduct of its Allies had been disillusioning (had been unreal or unbelievable)
ii. Wanted to remain out of bloody European wars by having no entangling alliances
iii. As a result, they did not assume its war-born responsibilities and embrace the role
of a global leader
d. Results of WWI
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i. America emerged as the political and economic leader of the world
ii. European States went into decline
iii. Germany was devastated and angry
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