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Main > Teacher Resources > JCC Survey Course > Cyber Lectures > Survey2-06
The War to End All Wars and the
"Roaring Twenties"
Hyperlinked materials are considered part of each lecture and
should be reviewed.
World War I began in Europe in 1914, (for a multimedia
view from the British perspective visit
BBC
History---World War I
soon after the heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne was assassinated in the Balkans--yes, the same Balkans which
remain a significant problem today. The sequence of events
demonstrates the danger of alliances:
*June 28, 1914 A Serbian terrorist
assassinates Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife.
*July 23, 1914 The Austrian Government
issues an ultimatum threatening war and invades four days later.
*August 1, 1914 Austria's ally, Germany,
declares war against Russia, an ally of Serbia.
*August 3, 1914 Germany declares war
against France, an ally of Russia and invades neutral Belgium
enroute to France
*August 4, 1914 Great Britain, an ally of
France, declares war against Germany.
View this History Channel video clip
World War I Action.
Ultimately, most major European countries and their colonies were
drawn into the war because of Nationalism, Imperialism, the Alliance
System and Militarism. The United States was officially neutral
until 1917. However, Germany's declaration of unlimited submarine
warfare, propaganda, economic ties to the "Allies", the Russian
Revolution and the Zimmerman note finally forced the United States
to declare war. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson addressed a
special session of Congress and condemned Germany's submarine
warfare as "warfare against mankind" and stated that "The world must
be made safe for democracy". On April 6, 1917, Congress voted for a
declaration of war. Among the few no votes was Jeanette Rankin, the
first woman elected to Congress--she would also cast the only no
vote after Pearl Harbor--believing that as a woman she could not
fight in the war and therefore, should not send others to fight and
die!! Wilson aroused the country to patriotic heights by making the
war an idealistic crusade for democracy and permanent peace based on
his
Fourteen Points and
Wartime Propaganda
(check out some of the posters of the United States and other
countries) stirred nationalism and voluntary commitment to the war
effort, but at the cost of suppressing dissent with the Espionage
Act of 1917 and the
Sedition Act of 1918.
It was now against the law to "interfere with the draft" or to speak
or publish anything "disloyal, profane ...or abusive" about the
government, Constitution, flag or military services of the United
States. What happened to the First Amendment?? The Supreme Court
declared in the case
Schenck v.
U.S. that rights are not absolute and could be limited
when it presented a "clear and present danger" to the public safety.
It is also
important to note that there was substantial opposition to American
involvement in World War I. There also was war hysteria and frenzied
patriotism which often escalated into violence--most often against
German speaking people, German music (Beethoven prohibited at public
events), German beers were renamed (can you name a famous American
brewery with a German name) and sauerkraut (renamed victory
cabbage).
Voluntary efforts combined with the
centralization of economic operations through federal agencies (War
Industries Board, Food Administration) also worked wonders in
organizing industry, producing food and financing the war. United
States armed forces, named the
American
Expeditionary Force--initially a small force but later
nearly two million served in Europe-- took nearly a year to arrive
on "the continent", and fought in only a few major battles at the
end of the war but sustained the loss of up to 53,000 men often
killed under horrendous conditions called
trench warfare
and from new weapons of destruction--poison gas, machine guns,
airplanes and submarines. America's main contribution to the Allied
victory was to provide fresh support troops, improve morale and to
play a significant role in the last German offensive by holding at
the Marne River and counterattacking at Belleau Wood. However, by
the end of the war, nearly five million Americans had served in the
armed forces including 400,000 African Americans in segregated
units. In 1917, Jacob Gfg464lvs was a single, thirty one year old man
with a severe sight problem living in Lackawanna, New York. He was
drafted and, despite his handicap, was assigned to the medical
corps. For a change, good fortune was with Jacob as a few weeks
before being shipped out to France, World War I was over. Many women
worked with the Red Cross and Salvation Army. On the home front, the
United States work force had to compensate for all the troops "over
there". Women worked in traditional male occupations, African
Americans in a "great migration" moved from the rural South to work
in the factories of the North, and thousands of Mexicans crossed the
border predominantly working in agriculture or mining . The United
States was changing, but Europe was a wasteland of death,
destruction and disease. View this video clip from the History
Channel regarding
The End of World War I.
Wilson's immense prestige created high
expectations for an idealistic peace based on his Fourteen Points
including: open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, arms reduction, self
determination of peoples, and an association of nations to guarantee
political independence. Unfortunately his own political blunders and
the stubborn opposition of European statesmen forced him to
compromise his lofty aims. The victorious European powers brutalized
Germany through huge reparations and land cessions--thus sowing the
seeds of World War II. Henry Cabot Lodge stalled the treaty in the
United States Senate. Wilson tried to rouse the country on behalf of
his cherished League of Nations, but his physical collapse and
refusal to compromise killed the treaty and the League. Republican
isolationists effectively turned Harding's victory in 1920 into a
death sentence for the League of Nations.
After the crusading idealism of World War
I, American turned inward and became hostile to anything foreign or
different. Immediate post-war America was rocked by strikes, race
riots and a worldwide pandemic called the
"Spanish
flu" (visit this site--puts the SARS problem in
perspective!!) which killed over 600,000 Americans and millions
worldwide. Here are a few questions: what caused this disease, where
did it go, could it come back, do we have a cure???? Radicals and
"foreigners" were targeted in the
Red Scare and the Sacco-Vanzetti case. The resurgent Ku
Klux Klan joined other forces in bringing about restrictions on
further immigration, promoted anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism,
and to respond to the African-Americans who had moved to cities
during the war to work in factories.
Race riots
erupted in Northern and Southern cities and
lynching and racial violence reared its ugly head
again. Hundreds of thousands of northern, southern, urban and rural
white men, women and children embraced the KKK traditionalist views
and a return to "the way it should be or used to be". Despite this
new "nativist" and "racist" uproar
(Rosewood),(Scottsboro
in 1931) an important cultural movement--The
Harlem Renaissance-- occurred through the efforts of
African American writers, artists and musicians. Please take a
moment to meet
Langston Hughes--read
his poem I, Too, Sing America and listen to The Negro
Speaks of Rivers.
Marcus Garvey (listen to his own words) led a
significant black nationalist movement. From a musical perspective,
the 1920's are often referred to as the "Jazz Age"--visit PBS and
click on the musicians listed in the
"Selected Artists
Discographies"
and listen to some of the audio samples for an appreciation of the
various types of jazz.
Sharp cultural conflicts occurred over
prohibition and evolution. A new mass consumption economy fueled the
spectacular prosperity of the
1920's
although some segments of our society were left behind. The
automobile industry, led by Henry Ford, transformed the economy and
altered American life styles. New systems of mass distribution and
mass marketing led not simply to a higher standard of living but
increasingly to a mass culture and mass society. Modern life
emerged, complete with more independent women, the new mass media of
radio and film, a standardized culture, impersonal cities, spectator
sports, jazz music alienated intellectuals, and a rising tide of
black nationalism. The pervasive media of radio and film truly
altered popular culture and values. Boy am I glad no one complains
that television, movies and music negatively affects our youth
today!!! Birth control and Freudian psychology overturned sexual
standards, especially for women. Young literary rebels, many
originally from the Midwest, scorned small town culture and searched
for new values in the United States and Europe. The stock market
boom symbolized the freewheeling spirit of the decade. The good, the
bad and the ugly of this time period promoted a spirit of
disillusionment, "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we may die".
See this History Channel video clip of the
1920's.
For another micro-moment of history, allow
me to revisit my grandfather, during the "Roaring Twenties". The
booming economy in Buffalo resulted in an enormous demand for labor.
Jacob had always had difficulty finding good paying jobs with large
companies and had worked in retail stores as a clerk. However, the
new economy was willing to ignore his sight problem and Iroquois
Fuel Gas hired him as a night watchman. This job provided a
significant increase in pay and job security. In 1923, he met
twenty-five year old Elleanora Mullin of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
who was visiting friends in Lackawanna. Elleanora was a slender
women, just under five feet tall, with a severe limp caused by a
traumatic birth. She had been a premature baby, under three pounds,
in 1898. Born at home, and thought too fragile to survive, her
parents contrived an incubator system using a cotton filled shoe box
placed in the kitchen oven for many hours each day. Elleanora
survived and grew to adulthood, although she was considered a
"cripple" by society, she had a will of iron. Jacob and Elleanora
were married on April 24, 1924. Two handicapped individuals, the
wife with severe hip and pelvic deformities which would preclude
childbirth. By the way, three daughters were born: Alice, (my
mother) January 31, 1925; Margaret, March 10, 1927; and Mary Ellen,
January 31, 1935. A loan from Elleanora's brother enabled them to
purchase a house, just a few blocks from Father Baker's Orphanage. I
guess grandma and grandpa had their own roaring twenties! In another
neighborhood in Buffalo, on January 3, 1921, Clayton N. Walters
became the only child of Elmer and Margaret Comb Walters.
The Republican governments of the 1920's
carried out active, pro-business policies while undermining much of
the Progressive legacy by neglect. As the Harding scandals became
public knowledge, the puritanical Coolidge replaced his morally easy
going predecessor. Feuding Democrats and La Follette progressives
fell easy victim to the Republican prosperity. The Washington Naval
Conference indicated America's desire to withdraw from international
involvement. Incredibly high tariffs protected America's booming
industry but caused severe economic problems elsewhere in the world.
American demands for strict repayment of war debts created
international economic difficulties. The Dawes Plan provided
temporary relief, but the Hawley-Smoot Tariff proved devastating to
international trade. The
Stock Market Crash of 1929
(check the headlines by clicking on the link at the bottom of
the page) brought a sudden end to prosperity and plunged America
into a horrible depression--view this video clip from the History
Channel
The Crash.
Hoover's reputation collapsed as he failed to relieve national
suffering, although he did make unprecedented but limited efforts to
revive the economy through federal assistance. He set a precedent
for FDR's New Deal with his limited use of federal works projects to
create jobs and stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, he is
remembered for using the United States Army to disperse thousands of
homeless and hungry World War I veterans encamped around Washington,
D.C.
(the Bonus Army)
and the hollow promise "Prosperity is just around the corner".
Take a moment to visit a site dedicated to
the
cultural issues
of the 1920's!
For each module I recommend that you visit A Biography of
America
http://learner.org/resources/series123.html# ,
an exceptional
video instructional series for high school and college students
produced by WGBH Boston in cooperation with the Library of Congress
and the National Archives and Records Administration. These thirty
minute lectures incorporate first person narratives, photographs,
film footage and documents related to various historical time
periods. Combined with my introductory comments, the required
textbooks and our discussions, I believe you will acquire a more
in-depth and enjoyable encounter with history. Please note the
requirements and possible download limitations—which is why this is
not a requirement. Please follow the directions below and give it a
try!!!!
You can view Annenberg/CPB programs of your
choice online with a broadband connection whenever you see this
icon.  There is no
charge for this service.
Simply select a
program and go
to the individual program description listing and click on the icon.
Free sign up required for first-time users. To hear the sound
and view video, you should have Windows Media Player, DSL, a
cable modem, or a LAN connection to a T1 line or greater, and have
Javascript enabled. For more information, please visit our
broadband FAQ.
For this topic—visit
http://learner.org/resources/series123.html#
and
access the
presentation: The Twenties
Our textbook offers a very comprehensive Online Student
Learning Center. Click on the link below, Select the
appropriate chapter and you will have access to: Chapter
Objectives, Chapter in Perspective, Chapter Overview,
numerous Interactive Activities, Primary Source documents
and my favorite--Internet Exercises/Recommended Sites
Related to the Specific Topics--CHOOSE A CHAPTER
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072870982/student_view0/index.html
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