I. Waging Neutrality
  A. The origins of conflict
    1. Competing imperial ambitions that had led to economic rivalries, military alliances, and diplomatic maneuvering had divided Europe into two blocs.    
    2. The killing of Austrian Franz Ferdinand touched off World War I
  B. American attitudes
    1. The war surprised Americans but most believed the United States should not become involved.
    2. Most Americans sympathized with the Allies as ethnic, cultural, and economic ties bound most Americans to Britain and France.
    3. British propaganda writers bolstered American support with stories of German atrocities.
  C. The economy of war
    1. While international law permitted neutral nations to sell war material to all belligerents, the British navy prevented trade with the Central Powers.
    2. Supplying the Allies helped pull the U.S. out of a recession.
    3. Economic issues included the one-sided trade as it affected neutrality and the fact the Allies borrowed from American bankers to pay for their purchases.
  D. The diplomacy of neutrality
    1. The Unites States asked all parties to respect neutral rights outlined in the 1909 Declaration of London. Germany agreed but Britain refused.
    2. The British blockade infringed on American neutrality but Wilson conceded many rights to avoid conflict with the British.
    3. Germany began submarine warfare in 1915. The sinking of the British passenger liner Lusitania led to American condemnation.
    4. The submarine issues climaxed in 1916 when Germany made the Sussex Pledge not to sink merchant ships without warning.
  E. The battle over preparedness
    1. The threat of war sparked a debate over military preparedness.
    2. Republicans favors preparedness, the building up of U. S. military forces.
    3. A large peace movement emerged over preparedness.
    4. Wilson initially opposed preparedness but reversed his position when the submarine crisis worsened.
  F. The election of 1916
    1. Running on a platform of keeping America out of war, Wilson won reelection.
Descent into war
    2. Wilson recognized the war was inevitable and sought to avert it. He also developed a plan for a new world order.
    3. Germany’s decision to resume unrestricted submarine warfare combined with the release of the Zimmerman note promoted Wilson to ask Congress to declare war on April 2, 1917.
Map: The Election of 1916

II. Waging War in America
   A. Managing the war economy
    1. To mobilize the American economy for the war effort, the federal and state governments developed a complex structure of agencies and regulations that controlled every sector of the economy.   
    2. The War Industries Board set industrial priorities, coordinated military purchasing, and supervised business.
    3. The Railroad Board operated the nationals railroads as a unified system.
    4. The Food Administration organized relief for Belgium and controlled the production and distribution of food.
    5. The national War Labor Board supervised labor relations, guaranteeing union organizing and collective bargaining.
  B. Women and minorities: new opportunities, old inequities
    1. The war opened manufacturing and other jobs to women that had been previously been closed.
    2. As white women shifted jobs, blacks enjoyed expanded employment opportunities.
    3. The demand for industrial labor stimulated  a huge migration of southern blackss to northern cities.
    4. Blacks often encountered racism and violence in     the North.
  C. Financing the war
    1. The federal government financed the war by borrowing money and raising taxes.   
    2. Two-thirds of the war costs were aided by Liberty Bonds sold to the general public, banks, and wealthy investors.
  D. Conquering minds
    1. To promote support for the war the government established propaganda agencies and enacted legislation to control social attitudes and behavior.
    2. The Committee on Public Information sought to manipulate public opinion focusing on national unity, the  loathsome character of the enemy, and the war a grand crusade for liberty and democracy.
  E. Suppressing dissent
    1. The Espionage Acts provided heavy fines and prison sentences for obstructing the war effort and became a weapon to crush dissent.
    2. The Sedition Act of 1918 provided severe penalties for speaking or writing against the war or criticizing government personnel.
    3. Radical newspapers and magazines were banned from the mail.
    4. State and local authorities suppressed antiwar and radical activity by establishing councils of defense or public safety agencies.
    5. Public hysteria led to absurd anti-German activities.

III. Waging War and Peace Abroad
  A. The war to end all wars
    1. The Selective Service Act of 1917 instituted a draft that eventually registered over 24 million men. Three million men and two million volunteers joined the military.
    2. More than 40,000 women also served in the military.
    3. Full-scale American military intervention began in late spring of 1918.
    4. Wilson committed American troops to fight the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
    5. Allied advances on the western front led to an armistice on November 11, 1918.
Map: The Western Front, 1918
  B. The Fourteen Points
    1. Wilson’s peace plan included 14 points for a more democratic and peaceful  world, including self-determination a League of Nations.
  C. The Paris Peace Conference
    1. The Paris Peace Conference at Versailles moved away from Wilson’s program and made Germany accept war guilt and pay a huge reparation.
    2. Wilson did achieve self-determination of some borders and a League of Nations.
Map: Europe and the Middle East after the Treaty of Versailles

IV. Waging Peace at home
  A. Battle over the League
    1. Most Americans favored the Versailles Treaty but some Republicans opposed it.
    2. Irreconcilables opposed participation in the League and favored restoring civil liberty and reforms at home.
    3. Reservationists wanted changes in the Treaty.
    4. Wilson undertook a nationwide tour to drum up support for the treaty but suffered a stroke.
    5. Unable to get the treaty provisions he desired, Wilson asked Democrats to defeat the treaty as amended by the reservationists.
  B. Economic readjustment and social conflict
    1. A severe influenza epidemic that killed 700,000 Americans and a chaotic reconversion to peace conditions that created unemployment and inflation.
    2. Women lost their wartime jobs as men returned. blacks had hoped support for the war would improve     their situation but race riots dashed these hopes.
    3. Strikes swept through many industries leading employers to employ violence, hire strike breakers, and brand the strikers as radicals.
  C. The Red Scare
    1. The strikes contributed to the anti-Bolshevik hysteria that culminated in the Red Scare of 1919.
    2. The government led a campaign of repression, including raids on groups suspected of radical activities that led to the rounding up of 4,000 people in 33 cities.
    3. Support for the Red Scare withered in the face of excesses and illegal acts.
  D. The election of 1920
    1. Wilson believed the election of 1920 was a referendum on the League.
    2. The Republican nominee Warren G. Harding won the election by promising a return to normalcy.

V. Conclusion
•  Participation in World War I changed the American government, economy, and society.
•  Many of the changes had been building in  the prewar years such as centralization of the economy, woman suffrage, and prohibition.
•  The suppression of civil rights and repression of radicals and minorities betrayed progressive principles.