Chapter 21: America and The Great War

• Treaty of Portsmouth


  Treaty that formally ended the Russo-Japanese War over influence in Chinese trading port. Roosevelt acted as a mediator and won a Nobel Peace Prize
• Roosevelt Corollary


  Stated that not only were the nations of the western hemisphere not open to colonization by European powers, but that the US had the responsibility to preserve order and protect life and property in those countries
• Panama Canal


  Canal that helped reduce shipping costs and helped extend US naval power by allowing the fleets to move between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Colombians would not let Americans build the canal, but then with the assistance of the US government, a Panamanian Revolution occured
• John Hay


  American secretary of state who attempted to preserve Chinese independence and protect American interests in China (open door policy & negotiated the construction of the Panama Canal w/ Colombia)
• Philippe Bunau-Varilla

  French engineer who advocated an American canal through Panama and helped instigate a Panamanian rebellion against Colombia
• dollar diplomacy


  American foreign policy under Taft, imperialism through exerting financial power, American financial support in other countries through American bankers
• "Pancho" Villa 


  Mexican revolutionary and military officer who killed many Americans in Mexico. The US sent John J Pershing to capture him but never did.
• Triple Entente/Allies

  • Britain
  • France
  • Russia
  • Italy (during WWI)
• Triple Alliance/Central Powers

  • Germany
  • Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand


  heir to Austrian throne, was assinated (causing a chain reaction in Europe leading to WWI)

  Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia
• unrestricted submarine warfare


  a naval strategy where submarines attack merchant ships without warning, disregarding the rules of engagement and international law. primarily used by Germany during WWI to cut off supplies to Allied nations
• Lusitania


  British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-boat during WWI (128 Americans died)
• Sussex


  unarmed French ship that Germany fired on (injuring some Americans)
• Zimmerman telegram


  intercepted dispatch in which German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman urged Mexico to join the Central Powers and promised that if the United States entered the war, Germany would help Mexico recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona
• Selective Service Act

  provided for the registration of all American men between the ages of 21 and 30 for a military draft (brought nearly 3m men to fight in WWI)
• American Expeditionary Force (AEF)


  US armed forces sent to Europe during WWI commanded by General John J. Pershing
• trench warfare


  sheltered troops while allowing limited, and usually inconclusive, fighting, a result of high-powered military technology
• new warfare technology WWI

  • tanks
  • flamethrowers
  • planes
  • chemical weapons (poisonous mustard gas)
  • navy and submarines used more advanced navigational aids, wireless telegraphy, diesel engines
• raising $$ for the war effort

  • liberty bonds (sold to public)
  • taxes
• Council of National Defense: coordinated industries and resources for the national security and welfare

  Civilian Advisory Commission: set up local defense councils (developed into war boards, like Herbert Hoover & food)

  War Industries Board: assisted US in the production of materials for the army (under control of finance Bernard Baruch)

  National War Labor Board: settled labor disputes
• Committee on Public Information (CPI)

  under George Creel, supervised the distribution of printed material in support of the war effort
• Espionage Act of 1917

  gave the gov. new tools to combat spying, sabotage, or obstruction of the war effort
• Sabatoge and Sedition Acts

  made press opposing war effort illegal
• figures present at the Paris Peace Conference

  • David Lloyd George- Prime Minister of Great Britain
  • Georges Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France)
  • Vittorio Orlando (Prime Minister of Italy)
  • Wilson (US)
• Fourteen Points

  Wilson's proposal to ensure peace after WWI. Included recommendations for adjusting postwar boundaries, principles for international conduct, and the establishment of a League of Nations
• Great Migration

  The migration of African Americans from the rural South to the industrial North, which held promises of jobs, during and after WWI
• Chicago Riot

  a violent racial conflict that erupted in Chicago, Illinois following the drowning of a Black teenager at a white-only beach