Chapter 31 Reading Guide

The War to End War 1917-1918

Terms: Peace with out Victory, Zimmerman Note, 14 Points, George Creel, Espionage Act of 1917, Sedition Act 1918, Bernard Baruch, 19th Amendment, National War Labor Board, H. Hoover, Wheatless Wed., Black Jack Pershing, Meuse-Argonne offensive, Henry C. Lodge, William Borah, H. Johnson, Treaty of Versailles, Irreconcilables, Reservationists, Article X.

  1. U.S. Enters World War I
  1. War by Act of Germany
  2. How did the Germans react to WW’s “peace with out victory” address? How did the US react to this action?
  3. Explain the effects of the Zimmerman Note on the US entry into WWI?
  4. What events immediately precipitated US entry into WWI?

B.Wilsonian Idealism Enthroned

  1. What problems did Wilson face in uniting Americans behind an European War?
  2. What were the 2 goals of the Americans as they entered the War?
  3. How did Wilson’s idealism affect American war aims? How realistic were these war aims?

C.Wilson’s Fourteen Potent Points

  1. What was the primary purpose of issuing the 14 points? What were the effects of the fourteen points on the allies? On the central powers?
  2. Explain each of the 14 points. (Some may be in the handout)

D.Creel Manipulates Minds

  1. What was the purpose of the Committee on Public Information?
  2. How did Creel accomplish this purpose? How effective was Creel’s Propaganda?

E.Enforcing Loyalty and Stifling Dissent

  1. Why was an appeal to emotionalism problematic?
  2. How were the German-Americans affected by the War?
  3. What methods and laws were used to crush opposition to WWI?
  4. What happened to Bill Haywood and Eugene V. Debs?

II.U.S. Mobilizes for War

A. The Nation’s Factories Go to War

  1. Evaluate the degree of preparedness of America upon entrance into WWI.
  2. Describe how Americans belief in laissez faire hampered war mobilization.

B. Workers in Wartime

How did the war affect blacks? Labor?

C. Suffering Until Suffrage

How did the war affect women?

D. Forging a War Economy

  1. How did Herbert Hoover increase food surpluses in the US during the war?
  2. How did WWI contribute to prohibition?
  3. How did the US pay for the war?

F.Making Plowboys into Doughboys

  1. Why was it necessary for an American Expeditionary force to be sent to Europe?
  2. How did the Draft Act of 1917 differ from the Conscription Act of 1863?

III.U.S. in France

  1. Fighting in France-Belatedly
  2. How did the Bolsheviks affect the war effort?
  3. What was German strategy in resuming unrestricted submarine warfare?
  4. Why did America send troops to Russia?

B.America Helps Hammer the “Hun”

  1. What effect (In Detail) did American forces have on the war?
  2. How did the American casualty rate compare with that of the other combatants?
  1. Wilson the Peacemaker
  1. The Fourteen Points Disarm Germany
  2. How did the war end?
  3. Assess the US contribution to victory in WWI.

B. Wilson Steps Down from Olympus

  1. What political mistakes did Wilson make after the war that destroyed the bipartisanship of the war?
  2. Why were Henry Cabot Lodge and Woodrow Wilson adversaries?

C.An Idealist Battles the Imperialists in Paris

  1. Who were the Big Four?
  2. What was the most important point of the 14 points to Wilson? How did Wilson sacrifice the other points for the League of Nations?
  3. What happened to the Central Powers’ colonial possessions?

D.Hammering Out the Treaty

  1. Who were the Irreconcilables? Who were the Reservationists? What was the position of each regarding the Treaty of Versailles?
  2. What were the details of the Treaty of Versailles?

E.The Peace Treaty That Bred a New War

  1. How many of Wilson’s points were full realized?
  2. What were the real accomplishments of the Treaty of Versailles?
  1. The Defeat of Wilson’s Treaty
  1. The Domestic Parade of Prejudice
  2. Why did both Conservatives and Liberals criticize the Treaty of Versailles?
  3. Why did German, Italian, and Irish-Americans oppose the treaty?
  1. Wilson’s Tour and Collapse (1919)
  2. How did Lodge combat the treaty in 1919?
  3. How did Lodge want to amend the treaty?
  4. How did Wilson’s stroke affect passage of the League of Nations (Treaty of Versailles)? Why?

C.Defeat Through Deadlock

  1. What did Lodge object to most in the League of Nations Charter?
  2. How did the Treaty of Versailles fail to be ratified when most Senators supported the League in some fashion? Be specific.
  3. How did Wilson contribute to the defeat of the League of Nations? Why?

D.The “Solemn Referendum” of 1920

  1. How did Wilson try to connect the League of Nations to the election of 1920?
  2. Who were the candidates in the election of 1920 and what were their positions on the Treaty of Versailles?
  3. Why did Harding win? What effect did his election have on the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles?

E.The Betrayal of Great Expectations

  1. What were the consequences of the failure of American participation in the League of Nations?
  2. How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to WWII?
  1. Varying Viewpoints
  2. What are the three principles of Wilsonianism?
  3. How did Kennan and Kissinger criticize Wilson?
  4. How does Link defend Wilson?
  5. Do you think President Bush is an Wilsonian Idealist or a Realist?
  6. How does the Left criticize Wilson? What is meant by “the imperialism of free trade”?