American Journey - Chapter 10

10. World War I

Beginning the Journey
Not surprisingly, the greatest single source for material on this unit is "World War I and the Jazz Age."

That module, which actually covers the chronological period from the 1890s through the 1920s, addresses all major aspects of the war--economic, diplomatic, military, social, political--through a wealth of written and visual sources. The Key Topics for that module are a good place to begin searching for information in this unit, as is the "Index," which includes many war-related entries. The "Regions" function allows users to search for information related to specific military campaigns and is very helpful for following the progress of combat.

Additional information for the World War I era may also be found in "The Immigrant Experience," "The African-American Experience," "The Constitution and Supreme Court," and "Women in America." When searching for relevant materials in these modules, using the "Years" function is a good first step, as it provides an outline of crucial events and developments related to the period, as well as links to related documents and images.

Activity 1
When war broke out in Europe during the summer of 1914, many Americans were immediately drawn to support one side or the other. The Wilson administration, though, wished to remain apart from the war and pursued a policy of neutrality. (For more on this issue see the Key Topic "America's Path to Intervention in World War I" within the module "World War I and the Jazz Age.")

Within that module, go to "Wilson's Appeal for Neutrality." (This document may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1914," then click on the title.)

Use this document to answer the following questions.

Wilson's call for neutrality assumes that ordinary people play a large and important role in shaping America's foreign policy. Assess this assumption. Does it seem accurate? Why or why not?
Discuss Wilson's reasoning in calling for neutrality. Why does he recommend this course of action? Are his reasons logical? Does a truly neutral policy seem possible? Why or why not?

Despite Wilson's call for neutrality, the United States became more concerned with protecting its rights as a neutral nation than with pursuing a policy that was truly neutral. As a result, over time the nation became ever more closely aligned with the Allied Powers. Ultimately, of course, the nation did enter the war on the Allied side.

Exploring Wilson's war message helps to place the decision for intervention in the context of the times. It also reveals Wilson's conviction that intervention was necessary to save all of mankind.

Within the same module, go now to "Wilson Asks Congress for War." (You may locate this document by selecting it from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first document.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

What reasons does Wilson detail for the resort to war? In what ways do these reasons amount to violations of the nation's rights as a neutral? Explain.
Assess Wilson's assertion that the United States must become involved in the war on behalf of all mankind. What does this claim say about the nation's self-conception--or at least about the way Wilson viewed the nation? How would this crusading mentality affect the way the nation viewed the war, and later the debate over the peace?
Wilson suggests in his speech that the war might generate some domestic opposition. What does the fact that he mentions this possibility say about his request to Congress? About the mindset of the American public? About Wilson's determination to brook no dissent once war had been declared?

Activity 2
Wilson's prediction that the decision for war would generate opposition was correct--perhaps more correct than he had expected. Opponents of the war emerged on various sides and advanced numerous reasons why entering the war was not really in America's best interest.

Within "World War I and the Jazz Age," go to "Senator LaFollette Speaks Out Against the War" and "Whose War?" by journalist John Reed. (These documents may be located by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "L" or "R," then click on the document titles.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What arguments does each author make against the war? How does each dismiss Wilson's war message? Make specific reference to the documents in answering these questions.
According to these two authors, who will profit from the war? Who will be harmed? Why is the war not in the best interests of the United States?
What domestic consequences do these authors predict the war will have for the United States? Why, in their minds, is involvement likely to destroy American values and traditions?
How would the positions of the authors of these two documents and their intended audiences have affected their tones and arguments? Use specifics from the documents to support your answer here.
Both of these authors are concerned about the international aspects of the war and American involvement in addition to the domestic consequences. What do they say about the international situation? How do they view the nations the United States will be allying with? How does each view the Central Powers? How might their comments on these matters be used to discredit them with the administration?

Activity 3
During the period of official neutrality, the United States had undertaken some preparations toward war. Still, the nation was far from mobilized when war was declared in April 1917.

One of the most pressing tasks facing the nation was raising an army, which was done in large part through conscription, and properly training and equipping that army. (For more on the military aspects of the war see the Key Topic "Over There: The U.S. Military Effort in World War I" within the module "World War I and the Jazz Age.") Another task was carving out a proper role for the American forces vis-à-vis the Allies. In this regard American officials were determined not to lose their autonomy by surrendering control of American troops to others.

Studying these questions illustrates both the practical steps the nation needed to undertake to get ready for war once it had been declared and the psychology involved in ensuring that the United States remained autonomous in relation to the Allied nations. (In this regard it is important to note that the United States was an "Associated" Power during World War I, not an Allied one.)

Within the above module, go to "The State of the U.S. Military in 1917" and "The Amalgamation Controversy." (Both documents may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1917," then click on the titles.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What shortcomings in American military preparedness does General Pershing note in the first document? How serious do these shortcomings seem? Who or what is to blame for them?
What measures were implemented to deal with these shortcomings? How successful does Pershing believe they were?
What does Pershing have to say about the use of technology during the war? Was the role of technology important? Did it signal a change in the way wars were fought? Make specific use of the first document when answering these questions.
What reasons does Pershing advance in the second document for the autonomy and independence of U.S. forces in Europe? What might happen if those forces were subordinated to control by another nation? How might such a development be seen at home in the United States? How might it affect the peace talks that would come after the war?
Both of these documents make clear that waging war is more than simply a military decision. What other factors are involved in raising and equipping an army and in getting that army into combat? How can these other factors take precedence over military considerations? Why does Pershing believe that it is essential that wars not be fought in a military vacuum?

Activity 4
U.S. officials, influenced by developments in the field of psychology and psychological testing, permitted researchers to measure the intelligence of some 1.75 million military recruits during World War I. The results of these exams, when compiled and interpreted by a team of researchers, led to some questionable but predictable conclusions about the mental aptitude of different groups in American society.

Studying these examinations today demonstrates for scholars and students some of the assumptions at play within American society during the World War I period. It also helps to place subsequent immigration policy in a larger context.

Within "The Immigrant Experience," go to "Excerpt of Army Mental Test, Group Examination Alpha" and "Excerpt of Army Mental Test, Group Examination Beta." (These documents may be located by searching for the term "Army Mental Test." They are the only items the search returns.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

After studying these two documents, what conclusions can you draw about the wording of instructions to the examiner (including the parenthetical notes), the way the questions themselves are worded, and the general categories of questions? What assumptions do these elements reveal? Use examples from the documents to answer these questions.
How do these examinations assume a common base of knowledge and a set of common experiences on the part of those taking the tests? Given what you know about American society during the early years of the twentieth century, was it proper to assume that all of those taking the tests had these commonalities? Why or why not?
Does the use of examinations like these have any inherent drawbacks? If so, what? If not, why not? Do you detect a hidden agenda in their use? Explain.
The "results" of these examinations were not surprising to either the examiners or government officials, who saw the tests as confirmation of their own fears about the intellectual fitness of different segments of society. Assess the social consequences of the conclusions of these examinations, taking the broadest possible look at all of the different ways these tests could affect the lives of individuals and groups.
How does the debate over the biases of these examinations parallel the ongoing discussion of the use of standardized tests in general? Are some of the same arguments that were made about the Army Mental Tests in World War I still relevant today? Explain.

Activity 5
Like other Americans, African Americans were deeply affected by the war. More than three hundred thousand black men entered military service. Serving in a segregated military and returning to a largely segregated society, these men came face to face with the contradictions of American democracy and equality.

To explore some of the wartime experiences of African Americans, within "The African-American Experience," go to "Returning Soldiers," "Black Women Open a Club," "Kitchen of the 302d Stevedores," and "U.S. Railway Engineers, Colored." (All of these sources may be located by going to "Index," then "W," then "World War I," then click on the titles.

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

In what ways does W. E. B. Du Bois in the first document express his conviction that African-American service in World War I was bittersweet? How is the land the veterans are returning to unworthy of them and their sacrifice? Make specific reference to the document when answering these questions.
How does Du Bois believe the returning soldiers can influence or change conditions at home? Is the fight at home any less important than the war in Europe? Why or why not?
How do the images reinforce Du Bois's message? What is most striking about them? Most surprising?

In addition to dealing with situations and conditions related directly to the war, many African Americans were adjusting to new lives in the north during the war.

Beginning in 1910 and continuing through the postwar period, black migration from the south to the north was rapid and extensive. Several sources within the American Journey Online address the different reasons that African Americans left the south for what they hoped would be better lives in the north.

Within "World War I and the Jazz Age," go now to "Wartime Migration of Black Workers," "The Great Migration," and "Excerpt from A Shining Thread of Hope." (The first document may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1916," then click on the title. The other two documents may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first document.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What do these documents lay out as the key reasons that African Americans migrated from the south to the north before and during the war? In addition to listing the reasons, try also to explain why each would have been important to people at the time. How do the experiences of blacks on the home front outlined in these documents compare to the sources about black veterans that you examined above?
What differences do you note between the reasons that African-American women moved north as opposed to the reasons that drove men to move? How do these reasons provide insight into the particular problems that African-American women faced in the south? Are they similar to the problems faced by women in general during the war period?

Activity 6
To ensure that the American public was behind the war effort, the federal government engaged in an extensive propaganda campaign designed to generate enlistments in the armed forces, purchases of war bonds, conservation of scarce commodities, and general patriotism. It also accepted help from a corps of private citizens who traversed the country giving brief speeches in support of the war effort and exhorting people to do their part.

Studying the selection of wartime propaganda posters contained in the "World War I and the Jazz Age" module provides a window into the government's views of the war, as well as an idea of what sorts of techniques it believed would have the desired effect on the public.

Within that module, go to:

"Destroy This Mad Brute: Enlist U.S. Army"
"I Want You for U.S. Army"
"Bachelor of Atrocities"
"Come On! Buy More Liberty Bonds"
"Remember Belgium: Buy Bonds"
"That Liberty Shall Not Perish from the Earth"
"Food Is Ammunition--Don't Waste It"
"Will You Have a Part in Victory"
"Four-Minute Men" (with audio component).

These images may be located by going to "Contents," then "Images," then the first letter of each title, then the titles themselves.

Use the images to answer the following questions.

Contrast the first two images, both posters designed to encourage young men to enlist in the armed forces. What emotions does each appeal to? How does each employ a different tone? What techniques does each artist employ to get his message across?
Compare the next four images, all posters in support of Liberty Bond campaigns. What similarities and differences do you note? What emotions do these posters summon up? How do they reveal a sense that the American war was a universal one--the idea Wilson had expressed in his war message to Congress?
Study the next two posters from the list. What methods do they employ to convince people to conserve food? Are they in any way coercive? How effective do you think appeals such as these would have been at the time? Explain.
What persuasive methods does the speech by the four-minute man employ? What reasons does his speech detail for the war against Germany? Why can there be no giving in?
Taken together, what do these propaganda efforts reveal about the different ways the war and its attendant sacrifices were sold to the American people? What was at stake? To what within the American people did the propagandists believe they were appealing? Why did they believe that their appeals would be successful?

Activity 7
Just as Woodrow Wilson's war message had predicted (and as critics of the war such as John Reed had foreseen), repression and forced conformity were facts of American life throughout World War I. Convinced that the entire nation needed to back the war effort, the Wilson administration tried to legislate loyalty and conformity, with consequences that often hardly befitted a democratic nation.

Exploring these developments is best done through work in two modules within the American Journey Online. Within "The Constitution and Supreme Court," go to "The Espionage Act of 1917." (This may be accomplished by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then "E," then click on the title.) Within "World War I and the Jazz Age," go to "Examples of Wartime Repression," "Socialist Leader Criticizes the War," and "Excerpt from Peace and Bread in Time of War." (One way to locate the first two documents is to go to "Index," then "R," then "Repression, Government," then click on the titles. The third may be located by going to "Index," then "A," then "Addams, Jane," then click on the title.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions

Without detailing the specifics of the Espionage and Sedition Acts, what sorts of things did they classify as crimes? What traditional American rights did these acts limit or completely suppress? What particular groups in society did they target?
What is striking about the incidents related in the second document? What unites the examples, if anything? How do they collectively illustrate a drive for conformity in American society during the war? What consequence(s) would such incidents have had, not only for those involved but also for society as a whole?
After reading through the third document (Debs's speech), note whether you find it inflammatory. If so, why? How could Debs be prosecuted under the Sedition Act (the second part of the first document above) for what he said? Should Debs's speech have been protected under the First Amendment? Why or why not?
How does Jane Addams in the last document explain the war's effect on her and other pacifists? Why does the war, and her treatment during it, distress Addams so? How does she see the way she's been treated as a perversion of American tradition?
How do these documents reveal the depths to which the government and the American people were willing to go to suppress dissent during World War I? What do these actions (especially the incident recounted in the second document) suggest about "mob mentality"? About the depth of equal protection of the rights of all citizens throughout the country? About the dangers of being different or thinking differently during wartime?

Activity 8
Women took an active role in all facets of World War I, from commenting on U.S. entry to serving overseas to contributing on the home front. And in part, these contributions helped to lend legitimacy to the campaign for women's suffrage, which was attained in 1920 with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. (An extended examination of the multifaceted role of women during the war may be found in the "Women in America" module under the Key Topic "Women during World War I.")

That module contains many sources on women's participation in World War I. Among the most interesting are several letters from women describing their feelings about the war and their part in it. Exploring these letters provides insights into how the war affected not only individuals but all of society as the women worked to act upon their convictions regarding the war.

Within the above module, go to:

"Letter to Her Mother" (one way to locate this document is to go to "Index," then "P," then "Pacifists and pacifism," then click on the title)
"Woman Pacifist's Letter to Her Mother, 1916" (this document may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first)
"Letter to Her Parents" (you may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then "L," then scroll down to the title)
"Letter from Julia Catherine Stimson to Her Parents, 1917" (you may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "S," then "Stimson, Julia Catherine," then click on the title).

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What insights do the first two letters offer into the motives of women pacifists? Why did women like Lella Secor oppose the war? How did they try to sway the public to their position?
Which societal groups did pacifists like Lella Secor try to enlist as supporters? Why those particular groups? How does the pacifist crusade reveal one side of the women's movement during the war? Why did it appeal to women in the first place?
How do the letters by Julia Catherine Stimson present her experiences as a nursing supervisor during the war? What emotions does she experience? How does she come to view the war and those who waged it, especially the Germans?
Compare Lella Secor's and Julia Catherine Stimson's experiences. What similarities do you note? What opportunities did the war provide for each? What skills did each draw on? How did each see her experiences as important? As life changing?
Taking the experiences of Lella Secor and Julia Catherine Stimson together, explain how they would have complemented the concurrent push for women's suffrage (explored in Activity 10 of the previous unit). Is there anything in either woman's letters to suggest an awareness of that campaign or a declaration of individual support for it?

Activity 9
Woodrow Wilson believed fervently that World War I would be a different kind of war, one fought for noble purposes and international reformism. During the war, Wilson articulated his vision in speeches to the American people. After the war, he tried to implement his vision in the peace treaty that settled the hostilities.

Within the module "World War I and the Jazz Age," go to "America's War Aims: The Fourteen Points" and "The Treaty of Versailles." (You may locate the first document by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1918," then click on the title. The second may be located by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "France and Belgium," then scroll down to the title.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What kind of language does Wilson use when describing his peace plan? Are the goals he lays out uniquely American? Does he believe that other nations will accept them?
How do the goals Wilson lays out in the first document relate to the causes of the war as spelled out in his message to Congress discussed in Activity 1 above? If Wilson's goals are accomplished, what sort of world does he believe the future holds?
Compare the second document with the first. How do the terms of the treaty stack up against Wilson's professed goals in the Fourteen Points? Do you note any obvious differences? If so, what are they and how might they be explained?
Do you note any provisions in the treaty that might spark resentment or anger among the German people? If so, what specifically? What problems might these provisions generate down the road?
Historians have often portrayed Woodrow Wilson as an idealist who failed to grasp the realities of international relations. Using the two documents here, decide whether you believe Wilson was more of an idealist or more of a realist. Refer to the documents when stating and defending your position, and try to cover as many sides of the picture as you can.

Activity 0
Given the costs of involvement in World War I for the United States and the significant domestic dissent and disillusionment it generated, it was only natural that officials would try to assess the importance of U.S. involvement once the war was won. It was hoped that such study would reveal the indispensability of the U.S. contribution and thus make the nation's many sacrifices seem worthwhile.

Within the module "World War I and the Jazz Age," go to "The American Military Contribution to World War I" and "Significance of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive." (These documents may be located by going to "Index," then "A," then "American contribution to victory [World War I]," then click on the titles.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What contributions to the Allied victory in the war do these documents attribute to the Americans? How important were these contributions? Were they vital or indispensable? Explain.
Who would have been interested in learning of the extent of the U.S. contribution to the victory? What use could be made of this information?
Although these documents focus on the U.S. military contributions to the war, they also provide inferential information about the costs. What can you learn of the costs from these documents? How important would these costs have been at the time, and in the years immediately after the war?

To visually assess the effect of the U.S.-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive, go now to the images "Allied Attacks on the Western Front, September 26-November 11, 1918" and "Kilometers of Front Line Held By Allied Armies" within the same module. (The first image may be located in the same fashion as the two documents above. The second may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first image.)

Use the images, in conjunction with the documents above, to answer the following questions.

How does the map support the above documents in stating the U.S. contribution to the Meuse-Argonne campaign? Does the image make it easier to understand the U.S. contribution, especially to place it in the war's larger context? If so, how?
What does the chart add to an understanding of the U.S. contribution to the war? How does the information it measures buttress the statistics related in the documents above? Taken together, what do all of these sources tell you about the extent and importance of the U.S. contribution? Which type of source--written account with statistics, map, or chart--do you find most helpful in presenting the American contribution? Why?