The US entry into the First World War Flashcards
1
Q
What was moral diplomacy and what did Wilson have to do with it?
A
- He believed the USA had a responsibility to improve the live of Foreign peoples through US example.
- Spoke of a ‘moral diplomacy’ in which the desire to do good would govern US policy
- USA morally superior + could only benefit others
2
Q
How did US demonstrate ‘moral diplomacy’?
A
- USA gave Colombia $20 million in reparations for the role the USA had played in encouraging the Panamanians to rebel from Columbian rule in 1903
3
Q
What was Wilson’s idealism?
A
- the goal in Latin America became ‘to support the orderly processes of just government based upon law and not upon arbitrary or irregular forces’
4
Q
What did Wilson’s idealism achieve?
A
- US interests built highways, bridges, airfields, schools + hospitals throughout Latin America
5
Q
when did the policy of neutrality end?
A
- April 1917 when it entered the war as an associated power on the side of the Allies
6
Q
How was Public opinion a reason for neutrality?
A
- The prevailing mood in the US was that war in Europe had nothing to do with them.
- Wars seemed wrong and did not achieve much.
- 29th August 1914, 1500 women marched down Fifth Avenue in New York in black robes to the beat of drums to protest the war.
- Influential leaders (including William Jennings Bryan - Secretary of State) organised campaigns against it.
7
Q
How was Wilsonianism a reason for neutrality?
A
- Wilson wanted neutrality. He saw himself as an honest broker who could negotiate peace.
- In Declaration of Neutrality 19th August 1914 he offered to mediate.
- He was guided by a sense of Christian morality which found war abhorrent
- He feared the war would escalate and the US would be sucked in.
8
Q
how was pro-british feeling a reason for entering the war?
A
Many of Wilson’s advisors favoured the Allies
Wilson had fond memories of holidaying in Britain
9
Q
how was anti-german feeling a reason for entering the war?
A
- Germany was considered a threat to US interests
- US had confrontations with Germany in Samoa in 1889 and worried about its increasing interest in Latin America, especially Mexico
10
Q
how was trade a reason for entering the war?
A
- US traded more with Allies than Axis
- 1914, US exported $549 million worth of goods to Britain, sold only $344 million to Germany
- Loss of trade could see a $60 to $100 million deficit in government spending over income
- 1916, trade with Allies = $3.2 billion, trade with Germany was only 1% what it had been in 1914
- By the end of the war, the Allies were in debt nearly $10.5 billion to the US
11
Q
How was Freedom of the seas a reason for entering the war?
A
- The laws of the sea allowed countries at war to blockade enemy ports and seize cargo classified at ‘contraband’
- led to the confiscation of American ships carrying food and other items to neutral ports
- The British were particularly prone to seizing American ships but the American crews were treated with courtesy and there was no loss of life - -> pro-british feeling and anti-german feeling
12
Q
How was unrestricted submarine warfare a reason for US involvement?
And when was this
A
- Feb-Aug 1915
- The Germans developed a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare
- Wilson warned Germany they would be held accountable for any loss of life on American ships sunk by Germany
- After another British ship, the Arabic, was sunk in August 1915, with the deaths of two Americans, Germany agreed to abandon unrestricted submarine warfare
- From now on, German submarines would only attack ships after giving due warnings and ensuring their crew and passengers had been placed in lifeboats
13
Q
During the War
What was production like during the war?
A
- Not prepared for mass war production
- Hog Island Shipyard, Philadelphia employed 3,400 workers but failed to finish its first vessel before the war ended
- Of the 8.8million artillery rounds fired by the US troops, fewer than 8,000 manufacture in the US
14
Q
What was paying for the war like?
A
- War cost $33.5 billion + $7 billion lent to Allies
- 2/3rds of cost raised by loans i.e Liberty and Victory loans
- There were Five war bonds issued April 1917 - April 1919.
- Government collected $10.5 billion in taxes
- Steeply graded income tax, top level = 75%
- 25% inheritance tax introduced
15
Q
What was the War Industries Board?
A
- War Industries Board
- Created July 1917 to coordinate finance and supplies
- Had power to direct resources, standardise production and fix prices
- Firms still made large profits (US steel made ½ billion dollars in 2 years)
