Foreign Policy + WWI

Causes
1. Humanitarian: Americans perceived Cuba’s rebellion against Spain similar to their own fight for independence from Great Britain
2. Economic: Significant investments by US businesses in Cuba heightened interests in the region
3. Yellow Journalism: Sensationalized reporting, characteristic of late 19th and early 20th-century journalism, magnified tensions.
4. U.S.S. Maine: The sinking of the USS Maine, attributed to Spain by American newspapers practicing yellow journalism, served as a catalyst for war with Spain

Spanish American War

2. Effects

1. Territorial Acquisition from Spain:
  1. Cuba: US maintained control until Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution in 1959
  2. Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines: US acquired these territories, paying $20 million for the Philippines and governing it for approximately 45 years
2. Anti-Imperialist League: Formed in opposition to US imperialism, particularly concerning the Philippines acquisition (they argued violations of the Monroe Doctrine and the Filipinos’ right to self-determination)

U.S. Imperialism Elsewhere

China

Boxer Rebellion (1900) - group of xenophobic Chinese nationalists known as the Society of Harmonious Fists, or Boxers, launched attacks on foreign settlements and killed numerous Christian missionaries
China and Open Door Policy - secure international consensus on the US policy advocating equal trade opportunities and commerce in a weakened China, despite China’s reluctance

Insular Cases

Background: did the constitution follow the flag?
Outcome: The Supreme Court’s verdict concluded that inhabitants of island territories under US dominion did not automatically enjoy the constitutional rights of US citizens.

Platt Amendment

Purpose: established conditions for the United States to cease its military presence in Cuba, which commenced during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
Provisions: 1) prohibited the Cuban government from entering into treaties that compromised its independence or allowed foreign military use of the island; 2) granted the US the right to intervene in Cuban affairs if its sovereignty was threatened.

Panama Canal

Description: A 50-mile-long canal in Panama linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Significance: 1) facilitated rapid and cost-effective shipment of goods between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts; 2) enabled rapid movement of naval fleets between oceans for military purposes

WWI (1914/7/28 - 1918/11/11)

Causes (MAIN)

1. Militarism: belief that a nation should maintain a strong military to defend or promote national interests
2. Alliances: Allies: France, Great Britain, Russia and US; Central powers: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Ottomans.
3. Industrialization: able to build military weapons and increased competition.
4. Nationalism: increased nationalism and division in Europe (wanted self-determination)

WWI: Home Front

Committee on Public Information

Formed by George Creel - Propaganda agency tasked with swaying public opinion in favor of the war (urged to watch out for German spies and to “do your bit”)

Food Administration

Agency tasked with the conservation of food so that surpluses could be sent to Europe to feed the Allied soldiers and civilians

Fuel Administration

Agency tasked with the conservation of resources during the war

War Industries Board

Agency tasked with guiding the economy during the war. Ultimate goal was to guide factories on what and how much to produce for the war effort

National War Labor Board

Agency tasked with mediating between workers and employers during the war to prevent strikes in industries

Liberty Bonds

Helped pay for the war

American Protective League

Agency tasked for forming prejudice against German Americans and others who are against the war

Railroad Administration

Agency that publicly control railroads to coordinate traffic

WWI: Restrictions

Espionage & Sedition Acts (1917 & 1918)

Imprisonment for up to 20 years of those who tried to incite rebellion or obstruct draft & illegal to speak out against the government, the country, or the war itself

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the right of the government to pass the two acts since free speech was a “clear and present danger”

Limits on Immigration

Barred Zone Act (Immigration Act of 1917) - restricted immigrants from the Middle East and Asia & required literacy tests for European immigrants

WWI: Ending the War

Treaty of Versailles failed because of…
1. President Wilson's Delegation to Paris:
  1. He led the negotiations at Versailles without including any Congressional Republicans
2. Wilson’s Refusal to Compromise:
  1. Wilson declined to engage in negotiations with Republicans or compromise on any alterations to the Treaty of Versailles
3. Progressive Impulse Diminished:
  1. WWI dulled the American appetite for progress and reform, undermining support for international agreements
4. Mood of the Country ("Return to Normalcy"):
  1. Trauma prompted a desire among Americans to return to a pre-war state; they wanted to avoid perpetual entanglement in European affairs.
Wilson’s 14 Points
1. Postwar Boundaries and New Nations:
  1. Eight of the points addressed the establishment of new nations from dissolved empires like the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
2. International Codes of Conduct:
  1. Five points focused on principles such as freedom of the seas, arms reduction, avoidance of secret treaties, free trade, and addressing colonial claims.
3. Creation of the League of Nations:
  1. Final point that aimed to maintain global peace and prevent future conflicts; faced fierce opposition because the U.S. wanted to isolate themselves
After the War: Isolationism
1. America was truly the only country to emerge from World War I economically, politically, and militarily strong
2. Revival of Nativism (especially against Southern and Eastern Europeans) led to new immigration laws
  1. Emergency Quota Act (1921) - based on 3% of each nationality living in the US. in 1910
  2. Immigration Quota Act (1924) - 2% of nationality living in the US. (1890 no Japanese, and Canadians and Latin Americans exempt from the act)
3. Palmer Raids (Red Scare) - government searched for political radicals and deport foreign born political activists (a reaction to post-war insecurities)
4. Great Migration of African Americans
  1. Lots of African Americans moved out of the rural South to urban areas of the North, Midwest, and West. The migration lasted from 1910 to 1970 (bulk of the migration occurred during the world wars)

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