Chapter 3 : US participation in WW1

• Why was the US neutral in the WW1 ?

  • The U.S. was still focused on the Western hemisphere
  • Political leaders feared the social consequences of taking sides
  • Anti-war movement
• Anti-war movement:

  • Progressives thought it would postpone reforms
  • Industrialists feared the economic consequences (for them and the country)
• President Wilson was against the WW1
• • Wilson’s 1916 presidential campaign slogan “He kept us out of war”
• Wilson believed in “peace without victory” because “peace forced upon a loser […] would be accepted in humiliation”
• Pro-war people thought it would be an opportunity to implement reforms faster
• Pro-war people wanted to change the role of the government and use it to impose social reforms and improve working conditions (8-hour day, labor unions)
• There was a rise of the 'Preparedness Movement' among the pro-war people.
• Tensions with Germany in May 1915, after they sunk the ship Lusitania, killing 1198 civilians (128 of them were Americans)
• In January 1917, Germany resumes "unrestricted submarine warfare"
• The "Zimmermann telegram" : in march 1917 a secret telegram between Germany and Mexico offering an alliance. Germany promised to give back US territories to Mexico (Texas, California etc)
• Date of the "Zimmermann telegram"

  March 1917
• The Bolshevik revolution & the collapse of the tsarist regime meant : 


  • Germany could fight on a single front
  • Socialists in Russia threatened democracy worldwide
• the WW1 caused a strong control of the economy by the government in order to build, sell/use war supplies
• Thanks to the WW1, The US army professionalized & modernized : stronger aviation, new ships, modern artillery
• Selective Service Act of 1917 created the draft (i.e. raising an army through conscription)
• The U.S. profited from the war: loaning money to the Allies, selling them supplies
• During the WW1, ethnic tensions grew in the U.S., in particular towards German-Americans
• 1917 : Committee on Public Information (aka the Creel Committee): using propaganda poster and pamphlet to get Americans to support the war
• 1917 : The Espionage Act prevented spying, interfering with the draft, and false statement impeding military success
• 1918 : The Sedition Act criminalized dissent, stripping protesters of their rights to publicly resist & criticize the war. Critics and protesters were imprisoned
• Jan, 8 1918

  Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” speech before Congress outlined war aims and peace terms
• The fifth point in the Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech : the right of a people to self-determination
• The last point in Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech


  “a general association of nations”, what will be the “League of Nations”
• The United States never joined the League of Nations and refused to endorse the Treaty of Versailles
• Reasons why the US never joined the League of Nations :

  • Congress feared the loss of sovereignty
  • Remaining isolationist sentiments
• After the WW1, The US surpassed Europe to emerge as a superpower, economically and militarily