Thursday, March 19

• Welcome back! • Bellringer:– Evaluate the Germans’ decision to return to

unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917. Why did they do it? What were they risking, and what did they hope to gain? Do you think it was a good decision, from their perspective?

• Reminder: Bellringers will be due tomorrow!

America in World War I

• We’ve broken down America’s involvement in World War I into categories:– Getting Americans into action– The men in the field– Traditional and emerging dangers in WWI– Supporting war efforts at home– The impact of WWI on American society– The end of the war

Getting Americans into action• How did the U.S. raise an army to fight in WWI?

• How were these new soldiers trained?

• How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?

• How did the U.S. build its naval force?

• a. c.

• b. d.

• How did the U.S. employ (use) these new ships?

• What cumulative effect did all these things have on America’s readiness to fight the war?

The men in the field• What was the American Expeditionary Force

(AEF)?– The American forces in World War I

• Who was its leader?– John J. Pershing

• Where have we studied him before?– He was sent after Pancho Villa in Mexico

• What effect did Pershing and his forces have on the way the war was being fought?– Reinforced Allied strength and energized the Allies

(optimism, enthusiasm)

The men in the field• Who was Eddie Rickenbacker, and how did he

influence the war?– American fighter pilot– Medal of Honor winner– 26 aerial victories– America’s most successful

fighter ace in the war– Contrast Rickenbacker with

Manfred von Richthofen, a/k/a the “Red Baron,” Germany’s fighter ace

The men in the field• What is a conscientious objector?– Someone who opposes war (military service) on

moral grounds– Was Alvin York a conscientious objector?

The men in the field• Who was Alvin York, and for

what feat is he remembered?– He had struggled with the idea

of fighting but ended up doing so

– Led attack on German machine gun nest; took 32 machine guns, killed 28 German soldiers, captured 132 others

– Won the Medal of Honor

Traditional and emerging dangers• The new weapons in World War I:

Machine guns Could fire more rounds faster

Airplanes Could drop bombs on targets

Anti-aircraft guns Could shoot down airplanes

Poison gas No precision necessary

Tanks Provided some protection from gunfire

Traditional and emerging dangers• What dangers were specific to the trench warfare

that characterized World War I?– Gangrene, “trench foot,” fevers

• What was “shell shock”? – reaction of some WWI soldiers to battle trauma– Reaction to intense bombardment and fighting – Produced a helplessness in soldiers; they appeared

panicked and/or afraid and lost the ability to reason, sleep, walk, or talk

Traditional and emerging dangers• What dangers were specific to the trench warfare

that characterized World War I?– Gangrene, “trench foot,” fevers

• What was “shell shock”? – reaction of some WWI soldiers to battle trauma– Reaction to intense bombardment and fighting – Produced a helplessness in soldiers; they appeared

panicked and/or afraid and lost the ability to reason, sleep, walk, or talk

Traditional and emerging dangers• What do we now understand “shell shock” to be?– Combat stress reaction (CSR)– Can be a precursor to post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD)

Supporting war efforts at home• How did the government raise money to finance (pay

for) the war?

• How did America manage its food resources?

• What was the War Industries Board, and why was it established?

Supporting war efforts at home• How did the government

raise money to finance (pay for) the war?– Sold Liberty and Victory

bonds, loans made by citizens to the government

Supporting war efforts at home• How did America

manage its food resources?– Set up programs

calling for conservation: Meatless, sweetless, wheatless, sugarless days/nights and “clean-plate” drives

Supporting war efforts at home• What was the War

Industries Board, and why was it established?– Created to encourage

efficiency in production and with resources

Supporting war efforts at home• What changed about working conditions during the

war?– They got tougher. Longer hours, fewer employee

protections: “Work or fight”

• Who was George Creel, and what was his role in the war effort?– Committee on Public Information; Four Minute Men;

propaganda to support the war

• What effect did all these things have on Americans’ support for the war?– They helped Americans focus to support the war effort

Propaganda

• Propaganda: – a form of communication – aimed towards influencing the attitude of the

community toward some cause or position – by presenting only one side of an argument.

• May be partly false and partly true• Usually repeated and dispersed over a wide

variety of media to achieve its goal• Modern examples?

U.S. propaganda in WWI

• The Committee on Public Information: George Creel– Designed to get Americans to support the war– Former muckraker– Advertising and public relations– Got the best writers, artists, musicians, and ad

people of the day to help him sell the war– Booklets and books– Movies

• Four Minute Men• 75,000 men delivered

patriotic, four-minute speeches on demand

• Credibility: – Prominent men in their

communities– Effort to accommodate

diversity

• Anytime, anywhere: Movie theaters, churches, synagogues, and labor union, lodge, and grange halls

• Subjects included the draft, rationing, bond drives, “Victory Gardens”

• 7.5 million speeches to 314 million listeners

• Examples

Supporting war efforts at home• What effect did all these things have on

Americans’ support for the war?– They helped Americans focus to support the war

effort

Supporting the war

• What was the re-election slogan for President Wilson in 1916?– “He kept us out of war”

• Since Wilson was re-elected, what can we surmise (assume) about public opinion about World War I?– Americans didn’t want to enter

the war; they liked what Wilson had done to keep them out of it

Impact of WWI on American society• How did the influenza epidemic affect America

and the world?– Killed 30 million to 50 million people worldwide– Killed 675,000 Americans – more than WWI

Impact of WWI on American society

• How did the status of women change during World War I?– Took jobs supporting

the war effort; became more visible in public life

Impact of WWI on American society

• How did the status of women change during World War I?– Took jobs supporting

the war effort; became more visible in public life

Impact of WWI on American society

• What major goal for women was achieved at the end of the war?– The 19th

Amendment was ratified, giving them the right to vote

Impact of WWI on American society• How did the status of African-Americans change

during World War I?

– They participated in the war effort, even fighting in segregated units, but they still faced discrimination and racism

Impact of WWI on American society• What was the Great Migration, and what

factors encouraged it?– A major movement of African-Americans from rural

areas in the South to cities in the North– They were looking for opportunity and equality, but

they found many of the conditions the same

Impact of WWI on American society• What was the Great Migration, and what

factors encouraged it?– A major movement of African-Americans from rural

areas in the South to cities in the North– They were looking for opportunity and equality, but

they found many of the conditions the same

Impact of WWI on American society• How did the war affect Americans’ civil rights

and liberties?– Racism and discrimination against immigrant

communities, especially German immigrants, got worse

– Government clamped down on dissent (disagreement) and speech against its actions

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What do you think …

• True or false: The First Amendment entitles you to say anything you want in the U.S.

• True or false: The First Amendment entitles the press to write anything it wants in the U.S.

• True or false: The First Amendment entitles you to criticize the U.S. government.

• True or false: The government cannot break or take away the protections provided by the First Amendment.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Watch this.

• Read p. 396-397 in your textbook.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Who was involved?

• What did he do?

• What was wrong with that?

• What was the purpose of Sedition Act of 1918?

• What penalty did he face?

• What did the Supreme Court say?

The Schenck decision

• Written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes• “The question in every case is whether the

words used … create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.”

The Schenck decision

• Written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes• “When a nation is at war, many things that

might be said in time of peace ... will not be endured.”

• “Protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting ‘Fire!’ in a theatre and causing a panic.”

Free speech hero or villain?

• Justice Holmes wrote the decision that backed up nearly 2,000 speech-related prosecutions during World War I

• So why does your book say he won “acclaim (praise) as a protector of free speech”?

• In a later case, Holmes emphasized the importance of a free exchange of ideas so that truth will win out in the intellectual marketplace

• Truth will eventually win out in the marketplace of ideas!

Lasting impact of Schenck

• What are some examples of times when free speech has been curtailed (reduced) in the United States?

• How are actions and symbolic speech, like wearing an armband, affected by Schenck?

• What role does public opinion play in determining what kind of speech is acceptable during difficult times for the country?