Period 7A Part II (Chapters 5-7) Flashcards
Neutrality
The tradition of noninvolvement started by Washington and Jefferson.
Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, German torpedoes hit and sank a British passenger liner. Most of the passengers drowned, including 128 Americans. In response, Wilson sent Germany a strongly worded diplomatic message warning that Germany would be held to “strict accountability” if it continued its policy of sinking unarmed ships.
Zimmermann Telegram
On March 1, U.S. newspapers carried shocking news of a secret offer made by Germany to Mexico. Intercepted by British intelligence, a telegram to Mexico from the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, proposed that Mexico ally itself with Germany in return for Germany’s pledge to help Mexico recover lost territories: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Mexico never considered accepting the offer. However, the Zimmermann Telegram aroused the nationalist anger of the American people and convinced Wilson that Germany fully expected a war with the United States.
Peace Without Victory
In January 1917, Wilson made a speech to the Senate declaring U.S. commitment to his idealistic hope for “peace without victory.”
Fourteen Points
A detailed list of war aims, presented by Wilson to Congress, designed to address the causes of World War I and prevent another world war. Several of these points related to specific territorial questions. Of greater significance, however, were the broad principles for securing a lasting peace:
- Recognition of freedom of the seas
- An end to the practice of making secret treaties
- Reduction of national armaments
- An “impartial adjustment of all colonial claims”
- Self-determination for the various nationalities
- Removal of trade barriers
- “A general association of nations . . . for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike”
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty that ended WWI. It included the following terms:
1. To punish Germany, Germany was disarmed and stripped of its colonies in Asia and Africa. It was also forced to admit guilt for the war, accept French occupation of the Rhineland for 15 years, and pay a huge sum of money in reparations to Great Britain and France.
2. To apply the principle of self-determination, territories once controlled by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia were taken by the Allies; independence was granted to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland; and the new nations of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were established.
3. To maintain peace, signers of the treaty joined an international peacekeeping organization, the League of Nations.
Article X
This article of the covenant (charter) of the League of Nations called on each member nation to stand ready to protect the independence and territorial integrity of other nations.
Espionage Act
Provided for imprisonment of up to 20 years for persons who tried to incite rebellion in the armed forces or obstructed the draft.
Sedition Act
Prohibited anyone from making “disloyal” or “abusive” remarks about the U.S. government.
Schenck v. United States
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Espionage Act in a case involving a man who had been imprisoned for distributing pamphlets against the draft. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes concluded that the right to free speech could be limited when it represented a “clear and present danger” to public safety.
Great Migration
About 1 million African Americans migrated north to seek jobs in the cities between 1910 and 1930. Motivating their decision to leave the south were:
1. Deteriorating race relations marked by segregation and racial violence
2. Destruction of their cotton crops by the boll weevil
3. Limited economic opportunities
Red Scare
In 1919, the country suffered from a volatile combination of unhappiness with the peace process, fears of communism fueled by the Communist takeover in Russia, and worries about labor unrest at home. The anti-German hysteria of the war years turned quickly into anti-Communist hysteria. These anti-Communist fears also fueled xenophobia that resulted in restrictions on immigration in the 1920s.
Palmer Raids
A series of unexplained bombings caused Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer to establish a special office under J. Edgar Hoover to gather information on radicals. Palmer also ordered mass arrests of anarchists, socialists, and labor agitators. From November 1919 through January 1920, more than 6,000 people were arrested based on limited criminal evidence. Most of the suspects were foreign born, and 500 of them, including the outspoken radial Emma Goldman, were deported. The scare faded almost as quickly as it arose. Palmer warned of huge riots on May Day, 1920, but they never took place. His loss of credibilty, coupled with rising concerns about civil liberties, caused the hysteria to recede.
Assembly Line
A system for manufacturing automobiles in which, instead of losing time moving around a factory as in the past, workers remained at one place all day and performed the same simple operation over and over again at rapid speed.
Mass Media
In the 1920s, a new medium of mass communication and entertainment, the radio, suddenly appeared. This enabled people from coast to coast to listen to the same programs: news broadcasts, sporting events, soap operas, quiz shows, and comedies.
