Episode 9

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Published on:

1st Aug 2025

S2E9 WWI

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Transcript
Speaker:

Hello, y'all.

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It's me.

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It's me.

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It's Dr.

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G.

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Welcome back to Star Spangled Studies.

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In our last episode, we navigated

through the contradictory,

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but also interesting period.

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The progressive era.

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Today, we stand at the precipice

of a new century in a new era and a

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conflict that would irrevocably reshape

America and its place in the world.

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World War I.

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Or as it was known as

the time, the Great War.

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So let's go.

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The United States stumbled into

the inferno of World War I in:

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and emerged irrevocably altered.

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As our textbook notes quote, the war

heralded to the World, the United

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States potential as a global military

power, and domestically it advanced.

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But then beat back American progressivism

by unleashing vicious waves of repression.

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This cataclysmic war didn't just reshape

European borders and topple enemies.

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It seared itself into the American

psyche testing its ideals in

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exposing its deepest contradictions.

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To understand the impact we first must

listen to the voices of those who faced.

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Its brutal reality.

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The poet Alan Seger, an American

who joined the French Foreign Legion

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before the US entered the war,

captured the grim anticipation of many

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young men with his haunting words.

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Quote, I have a rendezvous with

death at some disputed barricade.

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And I, to my pledged word, am true.

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I shall not fail that rendezvous

Seeger would not fail that rendezvous.

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He was killed in 1916.

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His words serve as a somber prelude

to a conflict that would claim

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millions worldwide, including

115,000 American soldiers in little

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more than one year of fighting.

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But the road to war and why America

entered such a war was paved by the

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legacies of the recent past that we've

taken a look at in our previous episodes.

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The path to war was neither

straight nor universally desired.

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It began in a nation deeply

engrossed in its own progressive era,

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debates a period of intense social.

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In political reform.

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The America of the early 20th century

was a nation in profound transition,

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and nowhere was this more evident than

the election of:

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about last episode, the four-way contest.

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That was a testament of course to

the fractured political landscape and

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the diverse often competing visions

for how to address the challenges

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wrought by industrialization and

urbanization to really direct

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how progressivism would flow.

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The incumbent William Howard Taf

represented the more conservative

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Republicanism former President

Theodore Roosevelt feeling Taft had

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swayed from progressive principles.

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Thundered back with his Bull Moose

Progressive Party and the platform

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that he called New Nationalism.

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Roosevelt argued for a powerful

federal government to act as the

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steward of public welfare, regulating

big businesses and ensuring social

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justice as he declared in 1910.

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Quote, the new nationalism

puts the national need before

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sectional or personal advantage.

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End quote.

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Challenging.

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Both Republicans was a Democratic governor

of New Jersey, a man named Woodrow

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Wilson with his new freedom agenda.

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Wilson was also a progressive,

initially differed from Roosevelt,

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emphasizing the need to break up

monopolies, to restore competition

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rather than merely regulating them.

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He argued that quote,

life has become complex.

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It is harder to keep everything adjusted.

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And that the government intervention

in business and in other

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places was necessary freedom.

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Today, Wilson Proclaimed is something

more than being, let alone the program

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of a government of freedom must in these

days be positive, not merely a negative.

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I.

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Representing the Socialist Party,

Eugene Debs garnered nearly a million

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votes in this election, underscoring

the growing appeal of more radical

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solutions to the economic inequality

found in progressive America.

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Wilson ultimately triumphed due to

the deep split in the Republican vote.

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His early administration was largely

consumed by domestic reforms.

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We talked about this last time, the

Underwood tariff, the Federal Reserve

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Act, restructuring the nation's banking

system, the Clay to Nancy Trust act to

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strengthen measures against monopolies.

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And this domestic focus reflected

America's primary concerns with

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its own eternal challenges.

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A direction of which, where we

should put progressive ideas.

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Yet even in these early days,

the contradictions inherent

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in the progressive era.

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And in Wilson himself were apparent

his eloquent calls for democracy and

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justice, which would later define his

wartime rhetoric, coexisted uneasily

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with his administration's decision

to segregate federal government

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departments in Washington dc, which

was a significant setback for black

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civil rights, and a stark reminder of

reconstruction's unfinished business.

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Furthermore.

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Wilson's assertive and at times

imperialistic interventions in Latin

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America, such as the occupation

of Veracruz in Mexico in:

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the purchase of the Virgin Islands

demonstrated a willingness to, once

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again, project American power abroad.

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This foreshadowed his later global

leadership, but it also reflected the

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existing imperialist tendencies seen under

presidents that were deemed progressive

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like McKinley at the start of the century,

but also Teddy Roosevelt and Taft.

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The ideals of the progressive era

were thus a complex mix of domestic

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reform, moral idealism, and an

emerging, often contradictory vision

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of America's role in the world.

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When war erupted in Europe in

August of:

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assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.

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President Wilson swiftly

declared American neutrality.

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He urged the nation to be quote, neutral,

in fact, as well as in name, impartial

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in thought, as well as in action.

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End quote.

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This stance resonated deeply with an

American public, historically wary of

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entangling themselves in European wars.

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A sentiment tracing back to George

Washington's farewell address,

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which cautioned against foreign

alliances, attachments and intrigues.

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End quote.

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However, maintaining new true neutrality

in an increasingly interconnected

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world, especially one where American

economic interests were now so deeply

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intertwined with the belligerent

countries, proved an immense challenge.

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As our textbook notes quote, it was

unclear what neutrality meant in a

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world of close economic connections.

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The United States by 1914 was

the world's leading industrial

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economy producing roughly one

third of global manufactured goods.

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Ties to Great Britain and France were

particularly strong, and these nations

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quickly became the primary recipients

of American loans and supplies.

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In October of 1914, Wilson approved

commercial credit loans to the combatants.

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A decision that as our textbook

states quote, made it increasingly

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difficult for the nation to claim

impartiality as war swept through Europe.

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End quote.

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The economic data is stark.

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US exports to Europe

skyrocketed from 1.479

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billion in 1913 to 4.06

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billion in 1917.

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Munition shipments.

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Two, the allies surged from approximately

million in:

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in 1917, and American bankers extended

over $2 billion in loans to the allied

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powers before the US even entered the war.

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The.

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This wartime trade pulled the American

economy out of a recession that had

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begun in 1914, creating powerful economic

incentives that leaned heavily towards

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an allied victory and subtly eroded

the foundations of strict neutrality.

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I didn't mention it yet, but the Allied

powers were France and Great Britain.

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The first major shock to public opinion

about the war came a few years before

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we entered on May 7th, 1915, with the

sinking of the British passenger liner,

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the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat.

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Over 1100 lives were lost,

including 128 Americans.

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As the American Yop notes of that,

this attack quote, coupled with other

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German attacks on American and British

shipping, it raised the ire of the

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public and stoked the desire for war.

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End quote.

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While initial reactions were varied with

some newspapers like the New York Times

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headlining quote, divergent views on

the sinking of the Lusitania, the event

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undeniably hardened anti-German sentiment.

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Former President Theodore Roosevelt called

for swift retaliation, though President

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Wilson urged caution still hoping to

keep America out of this global conflict.

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Germany defendants its actions claiming

that the Lusitania carried munitions,

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but the sink became a potent symbol of

German brutality in allied propaganda.

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Spoiler, the Lusitania

was carrying munitions.

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The final straw came in early 1917

Germany, frustrated by the effective germ

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or British naval blockade and gambling on

a quick victory, announced the resumption

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of unrestricted submarine warfare on

st,:

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neutral or otherwise in the war zone.

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This was a direct challenge

to American maritime rights.

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Safety.

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Then in February, the British government

presented President Wilson with an

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intercepted German communication, what

would be known as the Zimmerman Telegram.

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This astonishing message from German

foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman,

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to the German minister in Mexico.

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Proposed a military alliance

against the United States.

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Should America enter the war?

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Germany promised Mexico generous financial

support and an understanding on our part

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that Mexico is to recon the territory

lost in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

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End quote.

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Our textbook states that the revelation

of the Zimmerman Telegram to the public

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quote helped usher the United States

into war, quote, widely published

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in the American Press on March 1st.

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Its contents, quote, inflamed

American public against Germany.

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End quote, the direct threat to

American territory, combined with the

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ongoing UBO attacks, made Wilson's

policy of neutrality untenable.

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He actually ran in 1916 for his second

term on keeping the United States.

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Neutral.

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The path to war then was not

paved by a single event, but

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by a confluence of factors.

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The powerful undertow of economic

interests, the moral outrage sparked by

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German actions like the otam sinking.

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And finally, the direct threat

to national security posed

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by the Zimmerman's Telegram.

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Wilson's own progressive idealism,

which envisioned a moral role for

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America on the world stage likely

also contributed to his ultimate

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and grave decision to enter the war.

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The die was cast on April 2nd, 1917.

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Woodrow Wilson stood before a special

session of Congress to ask for a

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declaration of war, a declaration that

would send over 2 million American

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Doughboys as they were called into

the crucible of the Western front.

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He framed America's entry into the Great

War, not as a quest for power or revenge,

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but as a crusade for global ideals.

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Maybe even some progressive quote,

the present German submarine

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warfare against commerce he declared

is a warfare against mankind.

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It is a war against all nations.

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He emphasized that American ships and

lives have been lost, but so too had those

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of other neutral and friendly nations

stated, there has been no discrimination.

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The challenge is to all mankind.

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I.

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Wilson was careful to

define American motives.

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Quote, our motive will not be revenge

or the victorious assertion of the

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physical might of the nation, but only

the vindication of right of human, right,

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of which we are only a single champion.

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This set the tone of moral righteousness

that would characterize much of

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America's wartime propaganda.

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He advised Congress to formally accept

the status of belligerent, which has thus

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been thrust upon us to exert all its power

and employ all its resources to bring the

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government of the German Empire to terms.

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And end the war.

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The most enduring phrase from this speech,

one that would echo throughout the 20th

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century was Wilson's declaration, the

world must be made safe for democracy.

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He continued.

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Its peace must be planted upon the

tested foundation of political liberty.

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We have no selfish ends to serve.

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We desire no conquest, no dominion.

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We seek no indemnities for ourselves.

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No material compensation for the

sacrifices we shall freely make.

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End quote.

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He concluded with a somber

acknowledgement of the path ahead.

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It is a fearful thing to lead this

great peaceful power into war, but

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the right is more precious than

peace, and we shall fight for the

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things which we have always carried.

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Nearest our hearts democracy.

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End quote.

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To field an army capable of fighting

this modern, industrialized war.

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Congress, despite some initial fears of

popular resistance, quickly passed the

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Selective Service Act in May of 1917.

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This act requiring men age 21 to

31 to register for the draft was

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as our textbook notes quote, a

reasonably equitable and locally

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administered system, quote unquote.

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That avoided the unpopular bonuses

and substitutes of the Civil War era.

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It was a significant assertion of federal

power characteristic of the progressive

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era itself, and essential for rapidly

building the American Expeditionary

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Forces or the A EF General John j

Pershing was chosen to lead the A EF.

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He adamantly insisted that American

troops fight under US command rather

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than being integrated piecemeal

into British and French units.

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A decision aimed at boosting American

morale, protecting national interests,

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and ensuring that the US had a distinct

role in any future peace negotiations.

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The journey for the American Doughboy

was transformative and often terrifying.

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The average soldier re received about

six months of training in the United

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States, followed by two months in France,

and then an introductory month in a

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relatively quiet sector of the front.

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The.

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They were taught basic drill, how to

handle new weapons and the importance

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of teamwork, all while building

physical fitness, French and British

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veterans, seasoned by years of brutal

trench warfare, provided much of

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the practical instruction on the

realities of this new type of combat.

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I.

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The grimness of this reality is

palpable in the writings of soldiers.

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Soldiers, like we heard of earlier, Alan

Seger before his death, he described

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the life of the common soldier, quote.

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His role is simply to dig himself

a hole in the ground and to keep

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hidden in it as tightly as possible.

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Exposed to all the dangers of war,

but with none of the enthusiasm or

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splendid Ilan, he is condemned to sit

like an animal in its burrow and hear

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the shells whistle over his head.

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End quote.

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This was a far cry from quote,

the popular notion of the evening

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campfire, the songs, and good cheer.

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That war brings letters from the front.

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Paint a vivid picture.

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PFC James v Coffin wrote in July,

:

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uptown, just behind the lines quote.

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While not in the trenches, I had

an opportunity to learn how Fritz's

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shells, fritz, being a short name

for Germans, how the shells sound,

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especially his high explosives.

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Everybody in this town must wear

his gas mask, our best friend on

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the alert position at all times.

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We even sleep with it on as

we had several night alarms.

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Another anonymous soldier recounting

a harrowing artillery barrage

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for one hour and 15 minutes.

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Shells as high as nine inches fell

near and around us, and for that

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length of time, I held the rosary in

my hands and said prayers constantly.

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While the United States possessed immense

industrial potential, its standing Army in

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1917 was relatively small and unprepared,

to say the least for the scale and

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the nature of modern European warfare.

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The AFS initial reliance on allied

training, and in some cases,

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allied equipment underscores this.

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The rapid mobilization under

the Selective Service Act was a

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testament to the progressive era's,

faith and centralized government

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action to meet a national crisis.

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America's entry was a bold wager

on its capacity to quickly convert

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its industrial and human resources.

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Into a formidable fighting military force.

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The American soldiers that made

it to the Western front in:

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were presented with a landscape

of unimaginable horror, and it was

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defined by years of a bloody stalemate.

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New technologies had transformed

warfare into an industrialized

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process of attrition.

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Machine guns mowed down attacking

infantry, poison gas, choked the trenches,

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tanks lumbered across shell cratered

Earth and airplanes, which were still a

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novelty engaged in deadly dog fights and

reconnaissance missions into this inferno.

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The American Expeditionary Forces arrived.

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The A EF saw first significant

combat in early:

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providing reinforcements and

relieving exhausted allied unions.

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Their presence, though initially

small, had an immediate impact on

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allied morale in German calculations.

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As our textbook notes quote.

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The rapid addition of American naval

escorts to the British surface fleet

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and the establishment of a convoy system

countered much of the effect of the

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German submarines leading to a decline in

shipping losses just as American troops

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began arriving in large numbers, I.

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Several key battles highlighted

the AFS growing contribution.

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At the second Battle of the Marin in

July of:

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played a crucial role in helping the

allies halt the last major German

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offensive of the war and launch a counter

attack that pushed the enemy back.

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This battle is widely seen as a

significant turning point in the war.

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September, 1918 saw the

Battle of Saint Michel.

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The first major offensive plan,

then executed primarily by American

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forces under General Pershing.

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Over half a million US troops

participated, and in just four days,

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they forced a German withdrawal

from a heavily fortified place.

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This victory quote boosted ally

morale and proved that American

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forces could cooperate and operate

effectively on their own end quote.

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The largest and most grueling engagement

for the A EF was the Moose Argon Offensive

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launched in late September 19 and

lasting until the armistice in November.

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This massive offensive included

over a million American soldiers

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fighting through difficult terrain

against determined German resistance.

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The objective was to break through

the German defensive lines and

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sever their critical supply routes.

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Casualties were horrific.

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This campaign remains the largest and

deadliest battles in US military history.

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With over 26,000 American soldiers killed

in action and more than 120,000 total

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casualties, yet the offensive succeeded.

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As our textbook describes on August

th,:

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Expedia Expeditionary Force joined

British and French armies in a series

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of successful counter offensives.

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That pushed the disintegrating

German lines back across France.

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German General, Eric Ludendorff himself

referred to this period as the black day

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of the German army, acknowledging that it

had exhausted Germany's faltering military

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effort and made defeat inevitable.

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The arrival of American forces,

millions of fresh troops backed by

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America's industrial might provided

the crucial manpower and resources that

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tipped the balance against the German

military strained by years of war

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and the constricting allied blockade

while the US entered the war late.

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Its contributions on the Western

front in:

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hastening the allied victory.

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And securing President Wilson, a powerful

voice at the Ensuing Peace Conference,

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America emerged from the Great War,

not just as an economic giant, but as a

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formidable military power on the world

stage, A voice they sought to use.

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For peace

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while American soldiers fought and

died over there, as they would say.

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The home firm underwent its own

profound transformation, a massive

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mobilization of industry resources and

public opinion, all orchestrated with a

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progressive era of faith in centralized

government control and efficiency.

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Now, the American War effort

required an unprecedented.

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Mobilization of the national

economy not seen before.

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Drawing on progressive era ideals of

efficiency and government intervention,

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new federal agencies were created

to direct resources and production.

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Though not extensively detailed in

your textbook, the war industry's board

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eventually headed by the financier,

Bernard Baruch wielded significant power.

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It could quote, determine priorities.

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Requisition supplies, conserve

resources, commandeer plants, and make

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purchases for the United States and

the allies, the WIB pressed industries

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to standardize the production of

munitions and other essential goods.

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Often through business government

cooperation that included

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exemption from antitrust laws.

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This represented a dramatic expansion

of federal economic control setting

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precedents for future national crises.

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Similarly, the food

administration under the li.

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Leadership of Herbert Hoover aimed to

ensure adequate food supplies for American

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troops and the starving allied nations.

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It famously encouraged voluntary

conservation campaigns through things

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like Meatless Mondays, weightless

Wednesdays, and the Gospel of the

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Clean plate collectively known.

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As Hoover rising, these efforts

reliant on public cooperation in

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the name of patriotism fundamentally

altered the relationship between the

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government and the national economy.

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Mobilizing mines was deemed as

crucial as mobilizing materials.

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President Wilson established the

committee on public information, the CPI

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headed by the progressive journalist.

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George Creole.

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The CPIs mission as described in

our textbook was quote, to inspire

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patriotism and generate support for

military adventures, Creole and the CP.

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I launched a vast propaganda

campaign utilizing the film industry

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in Hollywood, which was exploding

and commissioning vibrant posters,

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publishing pamphlets, and deploying

an army of about 75,000 volunteer

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speakers known as Four Minute Men.

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These volunteers delivered short

pro-war speeches at movie theaters and

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social gatherings across the country.

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Iconic Ima Images like

James Montgomery Flags.

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Uncle Sam Wants you.

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You've seen that poster.

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It became a powerful

symbol of this effort.

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While the CPI succeeded in unifying

much of the public behind the war,

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its methods often quote disregarded

facts and cause deep anti-German

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sentiment throughout the country.

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In it illustrated the ethically

fraught nature of wartime propaganda.

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I.

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Financing the war also required

a massive public effort.

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The government launched a series of what

would be called Liberty Bonds, employing

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similar techniques of patriotic appeal

and propaganda and social pressure posters

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featuring the Statue of Liberty, implored

citizens quote you by a liberty bond.

393

:

Lest I perish purchasing bonds, which

helped to fund the war effort was

394

:

framed as a civic duty and buyers

often wore, but proclaiming their

395

:

contribution as a badge of honor.

396

:

These campaigns were remarkably

successful, raising an estimated $17

397

:

billion for the war effort, and as a

byproduct, introducing many middle class.

398

:

Americans to the concept

of investing in securities.

399

:

The war also significantly transforms

social structures with millions

400

:

of men joining the military.

401

:

Women stepped into jobs

previously inaccessible to them.

402

:

Working in factories or working on

farms or in various service roles.

403

:

Over 20,000 women served in the US Army

Nurse Corps, often near the front lines,

404

:

while others joined the Navy as yeoman Fs,

performing clerical work, driving trucks,

405

:

even working as mechanics and translators.

406

:

Lutein Van Wirt, a Native American woman

volunteered as a nurse in Washington DC

407

:

during the Influenza Pandemic, a testament

to the diverse contributions of women.

408

:

These vital wartime contributions

provided undeniable momentum for

409

:

the women's suffrage movement.

410

:

As we saw in the last episode that

was finally passed in:

411

:

Wilson initially hesitant of their

actions, eventually acknowledged that

412

:

women's participation and sacrifice.

413

:

Justified a constitutional change, and

it helped to lead to that ratification of

414

:

the 19th Amendment in 1920 that granted

women the right to vote simultaneously.

415

:

Another social, uh, structure

that was challenged came from

416

:

what we call the Great Migration.

417

:

I.

418

:

Of African Americans from the rural

south to northern industrial cities.

419

:

And this accelerated, this migration

dramatically drawn by the labor shortages,

420

:

created by war production and military

enlistment and seeking to escape the

421

:

oppressive and violent Jim Crow South.

422

:

Millions of black Southerners

left the south and they reshaped

423

:

the demographic and the labor

landscape of northern urban America.

424

:

Places like Detroit, Cleveland,

New York, Philadelphia.

425

:

All saw a lot more

black people move there.

426

:

This mass movement, however, also

fueled racial tensions that would

427

:

soon explode in these northern areas.

428

:

The wartime mobilization,

therefore was a double-edged sword.

429

:

It showcased the progressive

areas capacity for large scale,

430

:

centralized organization, and

fostered a sense of national unity,

431

:

yet this very drive for unity and a.

432

:

Efficiency led to unprecedented

government control over the economy

433

:

and public discourse, and laid the

groundwork for the suppression of

434

:

symbol liberties for those that the war

office deemed disloyal or un-American.

435

:

The intense patriotic fervor cultivated

on the home front had a dark side.

436

:

A profound intolerance for dissent and

a vicious wave of anti-German sentiment.

437

:

As our textbook notes quote, as

war passions flared challenges to

438

:

the onrushing patriotic sentiment

that America was making the world

439

:

safe for democracy were considered.

440

:

Disloyal.

441

:

President Wilson himself declared that

disloyalty must be crushed out and

442

:

that such individuals had sacrificed

their right to civil liberties.

443

:

This atmosphere of fear and

suspicion led to widespread

444

:

persecution of German-Americans.

445

:

German language instruction

was banned in school.

446

:

German music was removed

from concert programs.

447

:

Books by German authors were

burned and common food items

448

:

with German names were rebranded.

449

:

Sauerkraut, for instance,

became Liberty Cabbage.

450

:

More alarmingly.

451

:

German Americans face public assault,

tarring and feathering, and in some

452

:

cases lynching as in the tragic case

Robert Prager in Illinois in:

453

:

To codify this suppression, Congress

the Espionage Act in June of:

454

:

and the Sedition Act in May of 1918.

455

:

These laws as described in our

textbook, quote, stripped dissenters

456

:

and protestors of their rights

to publicly resist the war.

457

:

The Sedition Act, which was

an amendment to the Espionage

458

:

Act, was particularly sweeping.

459

:

It criminalized willfully making false

reports to interfere with the military

460

:

inciting, disloyalty, or mutiny or

uttering printing or publishing, quote.

461

:

Any disloyal, profane, scurrilous,

or abusive language about the form

462

:

of government of the United States or

the Constitution of the United States

463

:

or the military, or nor forces of

the United States, or the flag or the

464

:

uniform of the Army or Navy end quote.

465

:

The postmaster General was also empowered

to block the mailing of materials

466

:

deemed in violation of this act.

467

:

The enforcement of these

acts was aggressive.

468

:

Over 2000 individuals were

prosecuted under these acts.

469

:

Among the most prominent was Eugene

v Debs, the multi-time socialist

470

:

party candidate for President Eugene.

471

:

Debs was sentenced to 10 years in

prison for an anti-war speech delivered

472

:

in Canton, Ohio in June, 1918.

473

:

In that speech, he had declared,

quote, the working class who make

474

:

the sacrifices, who shed the blood.

475

:

Have never yet had a

voice in declaring war.

476

:

End quote.

477

:

Debs was a staunch opponent of what

he saw as a capitalist war, and

478

:

famously stated in another speech

quote, I am opposed to every war, but

479

:

one I am for that war with heart and

soul, and that is the worldwide war.

480

:

Of a social revolution.

481

:

The Supreme Court upheld these wartime

restrictions on free spree and and

482

:

expression in Shank versus United States.

483

:

1919.

484

:

The court affirmed the conviction of

Charles Shank for distributing leaflets,

485

:

urging resistance to the draft.

486

:

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

487

:

Writing for a unanimous court.

488

:

Introduce the quote, clear and present

danger test arguing that quote.

489

:

The question in every case is whether the

words used are used in such a circumstance

490

:

and are of such a nature as to create

a clear and present danger that they

491

:

will bring about the substant evils,

that Congress has a right to prevent.

492

:

He went on to say that quote, when

a nation is at war, many things that

493

:

might be said in time of peace are

such a hindrance to its effort that

494

:

their utterance will not be endured

so long as men fight, and that no

495

:

court could regard them as protected

by any constitutional right end.

496

:

Other notable prosecutions included

anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander

497

:

Berkman, socialist editor Victor Berger

and film producer Robert Goldstein, whose

498

:

movie The Spirit of 76 was seized for.

499

:

Its allegedly anti British

and thus anti ally.

500

:

Sentiment.

501

:

These acts face contemporary criticism

from pacifists and civil libertarians.

502

:

Jane Adams, who was a leading progressive

reformer and a pacifist staunchly opposed

503

:

us entry into the war believing that

international disputes could be resolved.

504

:

Nonviolently, I.

505

:

Her principled stand led her

to being vilified by the press

506

:

and losing much of her public

acclaim from the previous decades.

507

:

The intellectual Randolph Burn offered one

of the most trenching critiques of wartime

508

:

conformity when he famously wrote quote,

war is the health of the state End quote.

509

:

Born argued that war was inevitable.

510

:

What leads to the suppression

of dissent and the ment of state

511

:

power serving undemocratic ends?

512

:

In the years following the war,

there was a growing recognition of

513

:

the injustices perpetuated under the

Espionage Act and the Sedition Acts.

514

:

Even some who had served in Wilson's

administration acknowledged that quote,

515

:

the general atmosphere of intolerance had

led to serious constitutional violations.

516

:

End quote.

517

:

Eventually, all those convicted under

these acts During World War I were

518

:

released from prison and granted amnesty.

519

:

The progressive eras drive for national

unity and efficiency in wartime therefore

520

:

came at a significant cost to individual

liberties, particularly for those holding

521

:

dissenting political views or belonging

to immigrant groups viewed with suspicion.

522

:

This period starkly

reveals the fragility of.

523

:

Free speech in times of national crisis

524

:

for African Americans World War

I presented a profound paradox.

525

:

They were called upon to fight for

democracy abroad while being denied the

526

:

most basic tenets of democracy at home.

527

:

Yet as our textbook states, quote,

prevailing racial attitudes among white

528

:

Americans mandated the assignment of white

and black soldiers in different units.

529

:

The US military was like much

of society rigidly segregated.

530

:

The war department largely barred black

troops from combat and relegated black

531

:

soldiers to segregated service units

where they worked as general laborers.

532

:

End quote.

533

:

They were excluded from the

Marines, served only in menial

534

:

roles within the Navy and were not

permitted in army aviation units.

535

:

Even officer training was segregated

with camps like Fort Des Moines in Iowa

536

:

established four black officer candidates.

537

:

Despite this pervasive

discrimination, many African American

538

:

leaders, including WEB Du Bois.

539

:

Initially supported the war effort.

540

:

They saw military service as a path

to prove their patriotism and as a

541

:

demand for full citizenship rights.

542

:

If you are willing to die for this

country, you should be granted

543

:

the rights within to live in it.

544

:

The hope was that if black men fought

and died alongside white soldiers,

545

:

white Americans would finally

recognize their value and equality.

546

:

However, the reality for most

of the approximately 380,000

547

:

African Americans who served was

one of continued discrimination.

548

:

The army often restricted the privileges

of black soldiers, even when they

549

:

were in Europe, to ensure that their

experiences abroad did not lead them

550

:

to quote, question their place in

American society upon their return.

551

:

Columbus Morris, a black soldier

in a labor battalion later recalled

552

:

that units were mixed, quote.

553

:

You only mingled with your own race.

554

:

A notable exception was the experience

of units like the 369th Infantry

555

:

uh, regiment, famously known as

the Harlem Hell Fighters assigned

556

:

to fight under French command.

557

:

These black soldiers saw extensive

combat and earned a reputation

558

:

for extraordinary bravery.

559

:

The French military, which was

already accustomed to using colonial

560

:

troops from Africa and Asia.

561

:

For the French Army often treated black

American soldiers with a degree of

562

:

respect and camaraderie that they had

not seen in their times living in the us.

563

:

Robert Sweeney, a black soldier,

reflected on his time in France, quote,

564

:

that was the only time that I was a

full fledged American citizen because

565

:

they treated the black soldiers just

like they treated the white soldiers.

566

:

No difference whatsoever.

567

:

The 369th quote, never lost a man

through capture, lost a trench or

568

:

a foot of ground to the enemy, end

quote, and the entire regiment.

569

:

Along with 171 individuals received the

French Quad de Gere for their value.

570

:

The War Cross, the regimental ban led

by James Reese Europe is also credited

571

:

with introducing Jazz to France.

572

:

The positive reception by

the French was however viewed

573

:

with alarm by white American

officials in Europe and back home.

574

:

The US Army went so far as

to issue a directive titled.

575

:

The secret information concerning Black

American troops, which they gave to

576

:

French military officials, urging them

not to quote spoil black soldiers by

577

:

treating them as equals for fear that they

would expect tr similar treatment upon

578

:

their return home to the United States.

579

:

I.

580

:

The transformative experience of

serving in France, coupled with the

581

:

continued denial of basic rights

at home, fueled a new militancy

582

:

among returning black veterans.

583

:

WB Du Bois captured this spirit in a

powerful May,:

584

:

crisis that he titled Returning Soldiers.

585

:

This is what he wrote, and you

can find the longer version

586

:

in your textbook reader.

587

:

Quote, we are returning from War for

the America that represents and gloats

588

:

in lynching, disenfranchisement, cast

brutality, and devilish insult for this,

589

:

in this hateful upturning and mixing

of things, we were forced by vindictive

590

:

fate to fight also, but we return today.

591

:

We sing, this country is ours.

592

:

Despite all its better souls have done

and dreamed is yet a shameful land.

593

:

It lynches.

594

:

It disenfranchises its own.

595

:

It encourages ignorance.

596

:

It steals from us.

597

:

It insults us.

598

:

This is the country to which we

soldiers of democracy return.

599

:

This is the Fatherland for which we

fought, but it is our Fatherland.

600

:

It was right for us to fight.

601

:

The faults of our country are our

faults under similar conditions?

602

:

We would fight again, but by the God of

heaven, we are cowards and jackasses.

603

:

If now that the war is over, we do

not marshal every ounce of our brain

604

:

and Braun to fight a sterner longer,

more unbending battle against the

605

:

forces of hell in our own land.

606

:

We return.

607

:

We return from fighting,

we return fighting.

608

:

End quote.

609

:

The war therefore acted as a

class consciousness awakening

610

:

for African Americans.

611

:

The taste of greater equality in

France contrasted sharply with

612

:

the bitter realities of American

racism and this galvanized a

613

:

generation of black Americans.

614

:

This newfound determination to

fight for the rights on American

615

:

soil would soon manifest.

616

:

In the face of brutal post-war violence,

617

:

the armistice of November 11th, 1918.

618

:

The 11th hour of the 11th

day of the 11th month.

619

:

Ended the fighting in Europe, but

for America, it actually ushered in a

620

:

period of profound domestic turmoil.

621

:

The peace was anything but peaceful as

the nation grappled with the war scars,

622

:

deep-seated racial animosities came to the

surface and a terrifying new global health

623

:

crisis pushed the country onto the brink.

624

:

The year 1919 witnessed an unprecedented

wave of racial violence across the

625

:

United States in a period so bloody.

626

:

It became known as the Red Summer.

627

:

Our textbook states that this

violence originated from the wartime

628

:

racial tensions brought back home.

629

:

The Great Migration had brought, as I had

mentioned, millions of African Americans

630

:

from the rural south to northern and

Midwestern industrial centers seeking

631

:

economic opportunities opened by the war,

as well as a chance to escape the violence

632

:

and humiliation of the Jim Crow South.

633

:

This demographic shift coupled with

the return of millions of soldiers,

634

:

both black and white from the war

itself, created a volatile environment.

635

:

White workers, including returning

veterans, often resented black

636

:

newcomers, seeing them as competition

for scarce jobs and housing.

637

:

Black laborers had also been used as

strike BA breakers, further inflaming

638

:

the tensions with the white unions.

639

:

Adding to this volatile mix was the

heightened assertiveness of black veterans

640

:

having fought for democracy abroad and

having often experienced more equitable

641

:

treatment of themselves as human beings

in France, they were unwillingly to come

642

:

back home and passively accept the racial

subjugation that awaited them back in

643

:

their home places, including the south.

644

:

As WEB Du Bois had proclaimed, they

were returning fighting white society,

645

:

however, largely expected that the

return to the pre-war racial hierarchy

646

:

would happen when the war was over.

647

:

This clash of expectations fueled

by the unresolved legacy of

648

:

reconstruction and the quote,

persistence of unpunished lynchings

649

:

created a tinderbox set for a flame.

650

:

Lynchings of African Americans had

actually increased during the war

651

:

years, not decreased, rising from 64

in:

652

:

coupled with a resurgence of the Ku

Klux Klan, revitalized by WD Griffith's

653

:

1915 film, the Birth of a Nation,

and there was a surge of membership,

654

:

something we'll talk about next episode.

655

:

From April to November, 1919, anti-black

riots erupted in at least 26 cities across

656

:

the United States, including Charleston,

Omaha, Knoxville, and Washington.

657

:

D.

658

:

C resulting in thousands of

injuries, hundreds of deaths and

659

:

widespread property destruction.

660

:

The Chicago Race Riot from July 27th to

rd in:

661

:

the most severe of the red summer.

662

:

It was ignited by the drowning of Eugene

Williams, a black teenager, who had

663

:

drifted on a raft across an informal

segregation line at a Lake Michigan

664

:

Beach when White Beach goers stoned him.

665

:

He drowned and the police refused then to

arrest the white man identified by black

666

:

witnesses as responsible for killing him.

667

:

Outrage and confrontations escalated

into a week of widespread mob

668

:

violence, um, of murder and arson.

669

:

The riot left 38 people dead.

670

:

23 black and 15 white, as

well as 537 injured and around

671

:

a thousand black families.

672

:

Homeless journalist Carl Sandberg

reporting in the Chicago Daily News

673

:

identified deep-seated issues of housing

shortages, political manipulation in

674

:

labor, competition as underlying causes.

675

:

In Washington dc riots broke out on July

19th after rumors spread of an alleged

676

:

assault on a white woman by a black man.

677

:

Hundreds of white soldiers and sailors

and marines formed what David Kruger

678

:

termed, quote, A mob in uniform

attacking African Americans and

679

:

their neighborhoods indiscriminately.

680

:

The Washington Post further inflamed the

situation with sensationalized reporting.

681

:

Crucially, black Washingtonians organized

and armed themselves for self-defense when

682

:

official protection failed to materialize.

683

:

This active black resistance was a

defining feature of the red summer.

684

:

Our textbook notes that quote

recently, empowered Black Americans

685

:

actively defended their families and

homes from hostile white rioters.

686

:

Often with militant force, this

behavior galvanized many black

687

:

communities, but it also shocked

white Americans who alternatively

688

:

interpreted black resistance.

689

:

As a desire for total revolution

or as a new positive step in the

690

:

path towards black civil rights.

691

:

James Weldon Johnson

observing the aftermath.

692

:

He asked this question, can't they

understand that the more Negroes

693

:

they outrage, the more determined the

whole race becomes to secure the full

694

:

rights and privileges of free men?

695

:

End quote.

696

:

The red summer was a brutal manifestation

of America's unfulfilled promise

697

:

of democracy, a violent reckoning

that shattered any illusions.

698

:

That wartime sacrifice alone

would dismantle racial injustice.

699

:

It forever altered American society.

700

:

I.

701

:

Leaving deep scars and also

stealing the resolve for the

702

:

long civil rights struggle ahead

703

:

as the guns fell silent on the

western front and racial strife

704

:

tore through American cities.

705

:

Another more insidious enemy

was taking a devastating toll,

706

:

the Influenza Pandemic of 1918.

707

:

As our textbook grimly notes quote,

during the war, more soldiers

708

:

died from influenza than combat.

709

:

I.

710

:

This global catastrophe misnamed

the Spanish influenza because Spain

711

:

was neutral in the war and didn't

have a press that was censored,

712

:

and so it was the first country

really to report on it extensively.

713

:

This influenza strain ultimately

claimed an estimated 50 million lives

714

:

worldwide with nearly 700,000 of those

deaths occurring in the United States.

715

:

The virus first appeared in the

spring of:

716

:

identified in Haskell County, Kansas.

717

:

Near Camp Funston, one of the

nation's largest army training camps.

718

:

The crowded conditions of military

camps and the constant movement of

719

:

troops shuffled between bases, sent

home on leave deployed overseas,

720

:

created ideal conditions for

viruses to spread like wildfire.

721

:

By September, 1918, a mutated far

deadlier second wave of the influenza

722

:

struck disproportionately affecting young

adults between the ages of 18 and 35.

723

:

The societal impact was profound.

724

:

I.

725

:

Van Wirt, the Native American woman

volunteering as a nurse I mentioned

726

:

earlier, described the grim reality.

727

:

In a letter to a classmate, she recounted

working 12 hour shifts, caring for dying

728

:

soldiers and witnesses, bodies being

carried out every two or three hours.

729

:

She noted that in DC all schools,

churches, theaters, and dancing halls

730

:

were closed on account of this epidemic.

731

:

Public health measures then called

non-pharmaceutical interventions such as

732

:

banning, public gathering, closing schools

and theaters and mandating mask wearing

733

:

were implemented in many cities, though

often with varying degrees of success and

734

:

a difficult public that would not comply.

735

:

Philadelphia, for example, notoriously

allowed a massive Liberty loan Pro parade

736

:

to proceed in late September, 1918.

737

:

Within 72 hours of the parade, every

hospital bed in the city was filled with

738

:

flu patients, and the city suffered one of

the highest mortality rates in the nation.

739

:

In contrast, cities like St.

740

:

Louis, which implemented measures

more quickly and mandated masks more

741

:

effectively, saw much lower death tolls.

742

:

Fear and panic became widespread.

743

:

A Red Cross report from the time

described, quote, A fear and panic of

744

:

the influenza akin to the terror of the

Middle Ages regarding the black pig,

745

:

the renowned physician, Victor Vaughn

Somberly worried quote, if the epidemic

746

:

continues its mathematical rate of

acceleration, civilization could easily

747

:

disappear from the face of the earth

within a matter of a few more weeks.

748

:

Compounding the crisis was

the wartime atmosphere.

749

:

The Wilson Administration

concerned about maintaining morale.

750

:

Used the espionage and sedition

act to suppress accurate medical

751

:

reporting on the pandemic severity.

752

:

Fearing it would undermine the war effort.

753

:

I.

754

:

Newspapers that attempted to sound

the alarm were sometimes silence.

755

:

The pandemic struck at the height of

the moose are gone offensive, severely

756

:

compromising the combat capabilities

of both American and German armies.

757

:

Maybe it was the disease that won that.

758

:

We'll never know.

759

:

It continued to ravage communities long

after the armistice finally fading in

760

:

early 1920, but leaving an indelible mark

of trauma and loss on a world already

761

:

reeling from the devastation of war.

762

:

No cure for influenza then was ever found.

763

:

The influenza pandemic serves

as a terrifying second front,

764

:

the invisible enemy of war that

exposed societal vulnerabilities.

765

:

And compounded the immense

suffering of the Great War.

766

:

Overall, it should have been a lesson

for what happened to us in:

767

:

World War.

768

:

I was, without question, a watershed

moment for the United States.

769

:

The nation announced and emerged itself

on the world stage as a formidable

770

:

economic power, but now a military

power, its industrial capacity,

771

:

proven its soldiers having displayed.

772

:

And played a decisive role

in the allied victory.

773

:

Yet the war's crucible also forged a

more complex and contradictory America.

774

:

The progressive impulse which had

driven domestic reform was channeled

775

:

into an unprecedented mobilization of

national resources and public will, but

776

:

also into the suppression of dissent.

777

:

And the erosion of civil liberties, the

lofty ideals of making the world safe

778

:

for democracy so eloquently articulated

by President Woodrow Wilson, clashed

779

:

starkly with the persistent realities of

racial discrimination at home, a reality

780

:

that black soldiers confronted with new

resolve and bitterness upon their return.

781

:

The disillusionment and social up

evils of World War I era set the stage

782

:

for the cultural dynamism and the

conflicts that we're gonna see when

783

:

we study the next time in our next

episode on the Roaring twenties, I.

784

:

Thanks for joining me on this

episode of Star Spangled Studies.

785

:

I'll see y'all in the past.

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About the Podcast

Star-Spangled Studies
Star-Spangled Studies is a college-level U.S. history podcast created by professional historian Dr. G—built for students, teachers, and curious listeners alike. Season 1 covers the era from 1865 to the present, using The American Yawp, a free and open educational resource (OER) textbook, as its guide. Each episode unpacks key events, movements, and ideas that shaped the modern United States—through rich narrative, scholarly insight, and accessible storytelling.

Whether you're enrolled in a course or exploring history on your own, you’ll get clear, engaging episodes that follow the chapters of The American Yawp. Bring your curiosity, download the textbook, and join Dr. G for a star-spangled journey through American history.

Free. Accessible. Thought-provoking.
This is your front-row seat to the story of the United States.
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