Emergence on the World Stage (1912 - 1920) Flashcards
1
Q
What did President Wilson do for banking?
A
Federal Reserve Act 1913:
- 12 banking districts were created, each under the supervision of a Federal Reserve Board
- All banks that wanted to participate in this system had to invest 6% of their capital and surplus into the reserve bank
- This means money is no longer dependent on the amount of gold
2
Q
What were the successes of President Wilson’s banking reforms?
A
- Banks could use rediscount rates to control the amount of money in circulation
- By 1923, 70% of the national banking resources were part of the federal reserve system
3
Q
What were the limitations of President Wilson’s banking reforms?
A
- 30% of national banking resources were not part of the federal reserve
- Opposed state rights
4
Q
What were President Wilson’s economic policies?
A
- Wilson appointed the first secretary of the Department of Labour who helped resolve disputes between capital and labour
- Reorganised the Department of Agriculture
- Federal Loan Act 1916
- Underwood Tariff Act 1913
- Revenue Act 1916
5
Q
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s economic policies?
A
- Government received much more income through income tax than it ever did through tariffs
- Helped fund prohibition
6
Q
What were the weaknesses of President Wilson’s economic policies?
A
- Some saw income tax an attack on big business
7
Q
What were President Wilson’s social policies?
A
- Federal Child Labour Act of 1916
- Workmen’s Compensation Act 1916
- Adamson Act 1916
- 1913 Coal mine strike in Ludlow, Colorado
8
Q
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s social policy?
A
Several bits of reforming legislation
9
Q
What were the weaknesses of President Wilson’s social policy?
A
- Federal Child Labour Act was ruled unconstitutional
- Wilson opposed strikers
- Adamson Act only applied to railway workers
10
Q
What were President Wilson’s policies on African Americans?
A
- Initially won support of the NAACP in 1912 election by promising equality and to speak out against lynching
Disappointed during his presidency:
- Placed segregationists in charge of federal agencies
- Opposed federal anti-lynching legislation
- Appointed white southerners to his cabinet
- Supported segregated facilities
11
Q
Describe the Federal Trade Commission
A
- Formed to investigate corporations and stop unfair practices
- Under Wilson the FTC administered 400 cease-and desist orders to companies engaged in illegal activity
12
Q
What were the strengths of President Wilson’s amendments to the Constitution?
A
- Did establish the principle of federal regulation
- Prevented illegal and unfair business acts and gave more power to government
13
Q
What were the weaknesses of the federal trade commission?
A
- The value of ‘unfair’ was not defined
- Many felt the federal trade commission was not strong enough
14
Q
Explain how public opinion motivated US neutrality at the start of WW1
A
- The prevailing mood in the US was that war in Europe had nothing to do with them. Wars seemed wrong and did not achieve much.
- 29th August 1914, 1,500 women marched down Fifth Avenue in New York in black robes to the beat of drums to protest the war.
- Influential leaders (including William Jennings Bryan - Secretary of State) organised campaigns against it.
15
Q
Explain how Wilsonianism motivated US neutrality at the start of WW1
A
- Wilson wanted neutrality
- Declaration of Neutrality 19th August 1914, he claimed he wanted to mediate. He warned citizens against taking sides and wanted the conflict to end.
- He was guided by a sense of Christian morality
- If the US wanted to be a peacemaker it needed to be neutral
16
Q
Describe how pro-British feeling contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- Wilson does support neutrality but many of his advisors favoured the Allies (particularly the British)
- Wilson did support the British due to fond memories of cycling round the wet and wonderful Lake District
17
Q
Describe how anti-German feeling contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- Wilson believes that Germany is a threat to the US interests
- If they didn’t help the Allies now they could end up fighting Germany alone
- Confrontations with Germany in Samoa in 1889
- Worried about Germany’s growing interests in Latin America, especially Mexico
- In message to Congress in December 1915, Wilson attacked German-Americans for disloyalty to the USA
18
Q
Describe how trade contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- The British blockade of Germany was very effective
- Trade with the allies reached $3.2 billion by 1916 (10x that of with central powers)
- By 1916, US trade with Germany was only 1% of what it had been in 1914
- By the time of the peace settlement, Allied war debts to the USA amounted to $10.5 billion
19
Q
Describe how ‘Freedom for the Seas’ contributed to American tension towards the war
A
The laws of the sea allowed countries at war to blockade enemy ports and seize cargo classified at ‘contraband’:
- The issue was ‘contraband’ was quite a loose term that could be defined as anything that could be useful to the enemy
- Led to the confiscation of American ships carrying food and other items to neutral ports
- The British were particularly prone to seizing American ships but the American crews were treated with courtesy and there was no loss of life
20
Q
Describe how the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- 30th Jan 1917, Germany gave 8 hours notice that it intended to sink all ships found within the war zone around British waters
- They hoped to intensify their U-boat campaign to starve Britain into surrender
- They hoped that, in the event the US joined the war, this surrender could be achieved before American help arrived
- Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with Germany on the 3rd of February
- Feb-March 1917, several US ships were sunk by German U-boats
21
Q
Describe how German activities within the US contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- Some Germans in the US were conducting espionage and sabotage
- The impact was largely exaggerated but stirred up feelings
22
Q
Describe how the Zimmerman Telegram contributed to American entry into WW1
A
- A telegram sent from the German Foreign Secretary to the German Ambassador to Mexico on 16th Jan 1917
- The telegram proposed a secret alliance with Mexico
- If Germany went to war with the US, Mexico would receive back Texas, Arizona and New Mexico
- Telegram was intercepted by the Americans
- It became clear that the plan had never actually been proposed to the Mexicans but Wilson was still affronted
23
Q
Decribe the US war economy during WW1
A
- US went from debtor nation to creditor nation
- Agriculture boomed
- Britain and France depended on US for war supplies
- Total value of US exports $2.5 billion, 1913 -> $6.2 billion, 1917
- By the end of 1918, American factories had produced 3.5 million rifles and 20 million artillery rounds
24
Q
Describe how WW1 impacted on the US employment rate
A
US unemployment rate dropped from 16.4% in 1914 to 6.3% in 1916:
- Reduction in immigration due to war
- Recruitment to the army
- Increase in production, increased jobs
25
How did the US pay for WW1?
- The total cost of America’s 19 months of combat was $33.5 billion
- 22% was raised through taxes on corporate profits and high-income earners
- 20% was raised through the creation of new money
- 58% was raised through borrowing from the public, mainly through the sale of ‘liberty bonds’
- 25% inheritance tax introduced
26
Describe the role of US federal government during WW1
- Gov established War Industries Board (Set quotas and efficiency standards, and allocated raw materials based on need)
- Railroads were run as a single centralised system under William G McAdoo
- 1917 Lever Food and Fuel Control Act set wheat prices, encouraged food production and discouraged food waste.
27
Describe how WW1 impacted on American women
- 1 million women helped with the war effort
- 90,000 served in the US armed forces in Europe, working as clerks, radio operators, chemists and nurses
- Greater freedoms such as smoking, drinking and going out unchaperoned.
- Few women in heavy industry (only 6,000 worked in aircraft manufacture)
- Women's participation in WW1 had a big impact on the passing of the 19th Amendment
- Most gains were only temporary and women faced much discrimination
28
Describe how WW1 impacted on US industrial relations
- National War Labor Board 1918
- The War Labour Policies Board
- Union membership rose by 2.3 million during the war years
- Communist Revolution of 1917 led to fear of socialism and a backlash against workers movement, leading to a ‘Red Scare’ in 1919
29
Describe the 1919 Palmer Raids
- November 1919, agents under the orders of Palmer’s justice department raided the offices of ‘radical organisations’ in 12 cities across America
- Documents seized and suspects arrested
- December 1919, **249 ‘radicals’ deported** back to Europe
The Palmer raids continued into January 1920:
- **33 cities**
- All known communist party offices shut down
30
Describe the aftermath of the Palmer Raids 1919
- Similar action at local and state level
- ‘Red flag’ laws banned left-wing insignia
- Vigilante gangs operated against union activists in Washington State and California
- Red Scare lost momentum during 1920
- Supreme Court ruled evidence collected during the Palmer raids was illegal and could not be used in prosecution
31
Describe the 1919 strikes
- Wave of strike involving 4 million + workers
- Seattle, Feb 1919, general strike of 60,000 workers
- September 1919, Boston Police Strike, 75% of police officers on strike
- Pittsburgh and Chicago, September 1919, ‘Great Steel Strike’ against US Steel, lasted 3 months
32
Describe the news laws instituted following the end of WW1
- 1917 Espionage Act (to guard against the enemy within. Debs was prosecuted)
- 1918 Sedition Act (made it a criminal offence to speak out in a way that may harm the war effort)
- 1918 Immigration Act (US gov power to deport people)
- 1919 Palmer Raids, deportation of ‘subversives’ (Red Ark)
- 1921 Emergency Quota Act (limit numbers entering USA)
- 1924 Immigration Act (extension of 1921 Act, gave gov the legal power to deport people)
33
Describe how WW1 effected African Americans
- War for democracy (many African Americans volunteered to serve)
- Great Migration 330,000 Southern African Americans moved to northern cities
- Black consciousness
- Expansion of the NAACP
- Segregation in the armed force (black soldiers and workers suffered much discrimination)
34
Describe the Red Summer 1919
25 race riots throughout the US
Racial frictions intensified by:
- Large-scale African American migration to the North
- Industrial labour competition
- Overcrowding in urban ghettos
- Greater militancy among black war veterans
Southern revival of Ku Klux Klan:
1918, 64 lynchings
1919, 83 lynchings
35
Describe the peace treaty that brought an end to WW1
- The Treaty of Versaille
- Signed June1919
- Wilson, David Lloyd George and Clemenceau
36
Why did Wilson fail to get the US to join the League of Nations?
- A document condemning the League was signed by 37 Republican senators
- September 1919 Wilson collapsed following a speech in Pueblo, Colorado
- Lodge introduced a compromise bill in the Senate in November which Wilson told the Democrats to oppose. It therefore failed, by 53 to 38 votes.
37
What was the Federal Loan Act 1916?
Federal Loan Act 1916 provided low-cost loans
38
What was the Underwood Tariff Act 1913?
Reduced many duties and loss of revenue was compensated by the 1913 federal income tax (the Sixteenth Amendment).
39
What was the Revenue Act 1916
Continued the plan of taxing the rich and redistributing wealth, including taxing of business profits and estates as well.
Income tax only had to be paid by those with an income over $4000 (4x industrial wage).
40
What was the Federal Child Labour Act 1916?
Federal Child Labour Act of 1916:
Banned child labour and barred goods made by child labour from interstate commerce. 2 years later it was ruled unconstitutional.
41
What was the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1916?
Workmen’s Compensation Act 1916:
Ensured federal employees who were absent from work because of illness or injury received financial support.
42
What was the Adamson Act?
Adamson Act:
8 hour working day for railroad workers.
43
What happened at the 1913 coal mine strike in Colorado?
1913 Coal mine strike in Ludlow, Colorado:
The Colorado National Guard called in and killed 26. Wilson sent federal troops to break up the strike.
44
What was the Clayton Anti-trust Act?
- Gave **more powers to those enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act**
- **Made certain business practices illegal** (price discrimination to foster monopolies, ‘tying arrangements’ forbidding retailers from handling rivals products and creation of interlocking directorates to control companies that appeared competition)
- Gompers, president of the AFL, saw value to workers in the Act and called it the Magna Carta for labour.
45
Describe the early part of the German policy 'unrestricted submarine warfare'
- Wilson immediately responded by warning Germany they would be held accountable for any loss of life on American ships sunk by Germany
- After another British ship, the Arabic, was sunk in August 1915, with the deaths of two Americans, Germany agreed to abandon unrestricted submarine warfare
- From now on, German submarines would only attack ships after giving due warnings and ensuring their crew and passengers had been placed in lifeboats
46
Why did the US continue to trade with Europe after the outbreak of WW1?
- The only reason the government wanted to keep traiding was because it received 40% of its revenues from the tariff
- Loss of trade could see a $60 to $100 million deficit in government spending over income
- Wilson followed the rules of international law which stated that neutrals could sell to countries at war
