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U.S. History

Chapter 20

World War I: 1914–1919

Book Version 23
By Boundless
Boundless U.S. History
U.S. History
by Boundless
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Section 1
The Wilson Administration
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The Wilson Administration

During his presidency (1913–1921), Wilson passed a Progressive Democratic legislative agenda and played a major role in World War I.

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Wilson and Latin America

Wilson continued the U.S. policy of intervening in the affairs of Latin American nations, including Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Nicaragua, as well as in Mexico.

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The European Crisis

Conflict began when a Serb nationalist assassinated the Austro-Hungarian archduke; war quickly spread across Europe and affected the world.

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The Election of 1916

Incumbent Democratic President Wilson narrowly defeated Republican Supreme Court Justice Hughes in the 1916 election.

Section 2
America's Entry into the War
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American Neutrality

Although World War I began in Europe in 1914, the U.S. pursued a policy of neutrality until 1917.

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Last Efforts for Peace

By 1916, American neutrality was giving way to self-interest and nationalism, with peace efforts failing as fear of Germany grew.

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Mobilizing a Nation

The U.S. mobilized its home front in WWI, resulting in bureaucratic confusion but also expansion of the wartime economy and women in the workforce.

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War Propaganda

War propaganda campaigns by the Creel Committee and Hollywood influenced American views on World War I.

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Civil Liberties in Wartime

Congress used the Espionage and Sedition Acts to stamp out war opposition by curbing civil liberties.

Section 3
America in WWI
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The Call to Arms

President Wilson instituted a draft to catch up to larger European military forces, resulting in the American Expeditionary Force.

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The Western Front

The Western Front in Europe opened with a German invasion and continued through four years of bloody combat in World War I.

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The War in France

The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) served alongside the French and British armies on the Western Front.

Section 4
The War at Home
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Domestic Discontent with the War

Old-Stock Americans and Irish-Americans opposed U.S. entry into World War I, but Wilson made appeals to gain their support.

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The Progressive Stake in the War

The Progressive Movement influenced U.S. policy in World War I through its ideals of morality, efficiency and democracy.

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Americanization and Pluralism

The outbreak of war in 1914 led to the "Americanization" campaign aimed at millions of immigrants to the U.S.

The Anti-German Crusade

Anti-German hysteria in the U.S. during World War I led to restrictions on speaking German and internment.

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Toward Immigration Restriction

Nativists campaigned for immigration restrictions from 1890-1920, proposing measures such as literacy tests and quotas.

Section 5
African Americans and the War
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The "Nadir of Race Relations" and the Great Migration

The early 1900s marked the low point in 20th-century race relations between white Americans and African Americans.

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Jim Crow Laws

Enacted between 1876 and 1965, Jim Crow laws formalized racial segregation in the Southern States, systematizing a number of economic, educational, and social disadvantages for African Americans.

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Theodore Roosevelt and Race

Theodore Roosevelt's treatment of the Brownsville Affair, in which 167 African American soldiers were wrongfully discharged from the Army, caused the black community to turn away from the Republic president they had once supported.

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Woodrow Wilson and Race

Despite promises made to black voters during the election of 1912, Woodrow Wilson gave into the demands of white Southern Democrats, fired a number of black Republican politicians, and supported racial segregation.

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Military Segregation

Woodrow Wilson's policy of military segregation led to conflict, rioting, and the brutal sentencing of the all-black Twenty-Fourth U.S. Infantry Regiment. 

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Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey, a prominent Jamaican, led a Back-to-Africa movement that promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands.

Section 6
Diplomacy and Negotiations at the End of the War
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The End of the War

Germany surrendered in November 1918 after its war alliance collapsed, ending World War I in a reshaped and devastated Europe.

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Wilson's Fourteen Points

The Fourteen Points was a speech by Woodrow Wilson in January 1918 outlining the aims of the Great War that became the blueprint for postwar peace negotiations.

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The Paris Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference determined the terms of peace after World War I between the victorious Allies and defeated Central Powers.

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The League of Nations

The League of Nations, created by the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, was an organization formed to promote diplomacy and preserve world peace.

Section 7
The Transition to Peace: 1919-1921
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Economic Hardship and Labor Upheaval During the Transition to Peace

After World War I, the U.S. faced hard economic times and problems over labor, race and reintegration of veterans.

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Red Scare

Postwar patriotism and fears of communism after the Russian Revolution produced the Red Scare in the U.S. in 1919-1920.

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Changing Demographics

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Mexican population in the U.S. grew and African-Americans migrated to the North.

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Racial Friction

Numerous examples of postwar racial friction sparked by Nativism and the Great Migration reached a peak in the 1919 Red Summer.

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The Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu of 1918 was a global influenza pandemic that killed millions more people than the Great War.

Section 8
Conclusion: The Legacy of WWI
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Conclusion: The Legacy of WWI

World War I both decimated and transformed the modern world, with the U.S. taking on a major role and seeing numerous changes in its national character and policies.

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The Progressive Era: 1890–1917
  • The Progressive Era
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World War I: 1914–1919
  • The Wilson Administration
  • America's Entry into the War
  • America in WWI
  • The War at Home
  • African Americans and the War
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The Roaring Twenties: 1920–1929
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