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Now try increasing and decreasing the velocity. Assuming the banana is moving fast enough to reach the tree, does the monkey still catch the banana? Describe your findings....

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31

The War to End War ‫ﱞ‬ ‫ﱛﱛ‬

1917–1918 The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. WOODROW WILSON, WAR MESSAGE, APRIL 2, 1917

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estin y dealt cru elly with Wood row Wilson . Th e lover of p eace, as fate wou ld have it, was forced to lead a hesitan t an d p eace-lovin g n ation in to war. As th e last d ays of 1916 slip p ed th rou gh th e hou rglass, th e p resid en t m ad e on e fin al, futile attem p t to m ediate between th e em ba ttled belligeren ts. On Jan u ary 22, 1917, he delivered on e of his m ost m ovin g ad dresses, restatin g Am erica’s com m itm en t to n eu tra l righ ts an d declarin g th at on ly a n egotiated “p eace with ou t victory” wou ld prove du rab le. Germ an’s warlo rd s resp on ded with a b low of th e m ailed fist. On Ja n ua ry 31, 1917, th ey an n ou n ced to an aston ish ed world th eir decision to wage u n restricted su b m arin e warfare, sin kin g all ship s, in clu din g Am erica’s, in th e war zon e. Wh y th is rash act? War with Am erica was th e last th in g Germ a n y wa n ted . But after th ree gh astly yea rs in th e tren ch es, Germ a n y’s leaders decid ed th e dis-

tin ction between com ba tan ts an d n on com b atan ts was a lu xury th ey cou ld n o lon ger afford. Th u s th ey jerked on th e strin g th ey had attach ed to th eir Su ssex p led ge in 1916, d esp erately hop in g to brin g En glan d to its kn ees before th e Un ited States en tered th e war. Wilson , h is blu ff called , broke dip lom atic rela tion s with Germ an y bu t refu sed to m ove closer to war u n less th e Germ an s u n dertook “overt” acts aga in st Am erica n lives.

War by Act of Germ any To d efen d Am erican in terests sh ort of wa r, th e p residen t asked Con gress for au th ority to arm Am erican m erch an t sh ips. Wh en a ban d of m id western sen ators lau n ch ed a filibu ster to block th e m easu re, 705

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Th e War to En d War, 1917–1918

Wilson den ou n ced th em as a “little grou p of willful m en” who were ren d erin g a great n ation “help less an d con tem p tib le.” But th eir ob stru ction was a p owerfu l rem in d er of th e con tin u in g stren gth of Am erican isolation ism . Mean wh ile, th e sen sation al Zim m erm a n n note was in tercep ted an d pu blish ed on March 1, 1917, in fu riatin g Am erican s, esp ecially western ers. Germ an foreign secretary Arth ur Zim m erm a n n had secretly p rop osed a Germ an -Mexican allian ce, tem p tin g an ti- Yan kee Mexico with veiled p rom ises of recoverin g Texas, New Mexico, an d Arizon a. On th e h eels of th is p rovoca tion cam e th e lon gdread ed “overt” acts in th e Atlan tic, wh ere Germ an U-b oats san k fou r u n arm ed Am erican m erch an t vessels in th e first two weeks of March . As on e Ph ilad elp h ia n ewsp ap er observed , “th e differen ce between war an d wh at we ha ve n ow is th at n ow we aren’t fightin g ba ck.” Sim u ltan eou sly cam e th e rou sin g n ews th at a revolu tion in Russia h ad top p led th e cru el regim e of th e tsars. Am erica cou ld now fight fou rsqu are for dem ocracy on th e sid e of th e Allies, with ou t th e black sheep of Russian desp otism in th e Allied fold. Su bd u ed an d solem n , Wilson at last stood before a hu sh ed join t session of Con gress on th e even in g of Ap ril 2, 1917, an d asked for a declaration of war. He h ad lost his ga m b le th at Am erica cou ld p u rsu e th e p rofits of n eu tral trad e with ou t bein g su cked in to th e gh astly m aelstrom . A m yth develop ed in later years th at Am erica was dragged u n wittin gly in to war by m u n ition s m akers an d Wall Street ba n kers, desp erate to p rotect th eir profits an d loan s. Yet th e weap on s m erch an ts an d fin an ciers were alread y th rivin g, un h am p ered by wartim e govern m en t restriction s an d heavy ta xation . Their slo-

gan m igh t well h ave b een “Neu trality Forever.” Th e sim p le tru th is th at British harassm en t of Am erican com m erce ha d been gallin g bu t en d u rable; Germ an y h ad resorted to th e m ass killin g of civilian s. Th e differen ce was like th at between a gan g of th ieves an d a gan g of m u rderers. Presiden t Wilson h ad dra wn a clea r, if risky, lin e again st th e dep red ation s of th e su bm a rin e. Th e Germ an h igh com m an d , in a last d esp era te th row of th e dice, ch ose to cross it. In a figu rative sen se, Am erica’s war decla ration of Ap ril 6, 1917, bore th e un am b igu ous trad em ark “Mad e in Germ an y.”

Wilsonian Idealism Enthroned “It is a fearful th in g to lea d th is great peacefu l p eop le in to war,” Wilson said in h is war m essage. It wa s fearful in d eed , n ot least of all beca use of th e form ida ble ch allen ge it posed to Wilson’s lea dersh ip skills. Iron ica lly, it fell to th e sch olarly Wilson , deep ly resp ectfu l of Am erican trad ition s, to sh atter on e of th e m ost sacred of th ose trad ition s by en tan glin g Am erica in a distan t Eu rop ean war. How cou ld th e presid en t arouse th e Am erica n p eop le to sh ou ld er th is u n p reced en ted bu rden ? For m ore th an a cen tu ry, th ey h ad p rided th em selves on th eir isolation ism from th e p eriod ic ou tbu rsts of m ilitarized violen ce th at afflicted th e Old World . Sin ce 1914 th eir prid e h ad b een rein forced by th e boun tifu l profits gain ed th rou gh n eutrality. Germ an U-b oats h ad n ow rou gh ly sh oved a waverin g Am erica in to th e abyss, b ut om in ou sly, n o fewer th an six sen ators an d fifty rep resen tatives (in clu din g th e first con gresswom an , Jean n ette Ran kin of Mon tan a) h ad

Th e Fou rteen Poin ts

voted again st th e war resolu tion . Wilson cou ld whip u p n o en th u siasm , esp ecially in th e lan d locked Mid west, by figh tin g to m a ke th e world safe from th e sub m arin e. To galva n ize th e cou n try, Wilson wou ld h ave to p roclaim m ore glorified aim s. Radiatin g th e spiritu al fervor of his Presbyterian an cestors, h e d eclared th e twin goals of “a war to en d wa r” an d a cru sad e “to m ake th e world sa fe for dem ocracy.” Bran d ish in g th e sword of righteou sn ess, Wilson virtu ally h yp n otized th e n ation with his lofty id ea ls. He con trasted th e selfish war aim s of th e oth er belligeren ts, Allied an d en em y alike, with Am erica’s sh in in g altru ism . Am erica, he p reach ed , did n ot figh t for th e sake of rich es or territorial con q uest. Th e Rep u b lic sou gh t on ly to sh ap e an in tern ation al order in wh ich dem ocracy cou ld flou rish with ou t fear of p ower- crazed au tocrats an d m ilitarists. In Wilson ian idealism th e person ality of th e p residen t an d th e n ecessities of history were perfectly m atch ed. Th e high -m in d ed Wilson gen u in ely believed in th e p rin cip les he so eloqu en tly in ton ed . An d p rob ably n o oth er ap p eal cou ld h ave successfully con verted th e Am erica n p eop le from th eir h istoric hostility to in volvem en t in Eu rop ea n squ ab b les. Am erican s, it seem ed , could be eith er isolation ists or cru sad ers, bu t noth in g in between . Wilson’s ap p eal worked —p erh ap s too well. Hold in g aloft th e torch of idealism , th e p residen t fired up th e p u blic m in d to a fever pitch . “Force, force to th e utm ost, force with ou t stin t or lim it,” h e cried , while th e cou n try resp on d ed less elegan tly with “Ha n g th e kaiser.” Lost on th e gale wa s Wilson’s earlier p lea for “p eace with ou t victory.”

Wilson’s Fourteen Potent Points Wilson qu ickly cam e to be recogn ized as th e m oral leader of th e Allied cau se. He scaled a su m m it of in sp irin g oratory on Jan u ary 8, 1918, wh en h e delivered his fam ed Fou rteen Poin ts Ad dress to an en th u siastic Con gress. Alth ou gh on e of h is p rim ary p u rp oses wa s to keep reelin g Ru ssia in th e war, Wilson’s vision in sp ired all th e droop in g Allies to m ake m igh tier efforts an d dem oralized th e en em y govern m en ts by holdin g ou t allu rin g prom ises to th eir dissatisfied m in orities. Th e first five of th e Fou rteen Poin ts were broa d in scop e. (1) A p rop osal to abolish secret treaties

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p lea sed liberals of all cou n tries. (2) Freed om of th e seas ap p ealed to th e Germ an s, as well as to Am erican s wh o distru sted British sea p ower. (3) A rem oval of econ om ic barriers am on g n ation s was com fortin g to Germ an y, wh ich fea red postwar ven gean ce. (4) Red u ction of arm am en t bu rden s was gratifyin g to ta xpayers everywh ere. (5) An ad ju stm en t of colon ial claim s in th e in terests of both n ative peop les an d th e colon izers wa s reassu rin g to th e an tiim p erialists. Oth er p oin ts am on g th e fou rteen proved to be n o less sedu ctive. Th ey h eld ou t th e h op e of in d ep en den ce (“self-d eterm in ation”) to op p ressed m in ority grou p s, su ch as th e Poles, m illion s of wh om lay u n der th e h eel of Germ an y an d Au striaHu n gary. Th e cap ston e p oin t, n u m b er fou rteen , foresh ad owed th e Leagu e of Na tion s—an in tern ation al organ ization th at Wilson drea m ed wou ld provid e a system of collective secu rity. Wilson earn estly p rayed th at th is n ew sch em e wou ld effectively gu aran tee th e political in dep en d en ce an d territorial in tegrity of all cou n tries, wh eth er large or sm all. Yet Wilson’s ap pealin g p oin ts, th ou gh ra isin g h op es th e world over, were n ot everywh ere ap p lau ded . Certain leaders of th e Allied n ation s, with an eye to territorial booty, were less th an en th u siastic. Hard- n osed Rep u blican s at h om e gru m b led , an d som e of th em op en ly m ocked th e “fou rteen com m a n dm en ts” of “God Alm igh ty Wilson .”

Creel Manipulates Minds Mobilizin g p eople’s m in d s for war, b oth in Am erica an d ab road , was an urgen t task facin g th e Wash in gton au th orities. For th is pu rp ose th e Com m ittee on Pub lic In form ation was created . It wa s h ead ed by a you n gish jou rn alist, George Creel, wh o, th ou gh ou tsp oken an d ta ctless, was gifted with zeal an d im a gin ation . His job was to sell Am erica on th e war an d sell th e world on Wilson ian war aim s. Th e Creel organ ization , em p loyin g som e 150,000 workers at hom e an d oversea s, proved th at words were in d eed weap on s. It sen t ou t an arm y of 75,000 “fou r-m in u te m en”—often lon ger- win d ed th an th at—wh o delivered cou n tless sp eech es con ta in in g m u ch “patriotic p ep.” Creel’s prop agan d a took varied form s. Posters were sp lash ed on billboard s in th e “Battle of th e Fen ces,” as artists “rallied to th e colors.” Million s of

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Over there, over there Send the w ord, send the w ord over there, That the Yank s are com ing, the Yank s are com ing The dru m s ru m -tu m m ing ev’ryw here. Creel typ ified Am erican wa r m ob ilization , wh ich relied m ore on arou sed p assion an d volu n ta ry com p lia n ce th an on form al laws. But he oversold th e id eals of Wilson an d led th e world to exp ect too m u ch . Wh en th e p residen t proved to be a m ortal an d n ot a god , th e resu ltin g disillusion m en t both at h om e an d ab road wa s d isastrou s.

Enforcing Loyalty and Stifling Dissent

leaflets an d p am p h lets, wh ich con tain ed th e m ost p u n gen t Wilson ism s, were sh owered like con fetti u p on th e world . Prop aga n da booklets with red wh ite-an d - blu e covers were prin ted by th e m illion s. Han g-th e-kaiser m ovies, carryin g su ch titles as The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin an d To Hell with the Kaiser, revealed th e h elm eted “Hu n” at h is blood iest. Arm - wavin g con d uctors by th e th ou san d s led h u ge au dien ces in son gs th at p ou red scorn on th e en em y an d glorified th e “b oys” in u n iform . Th e en tire na tion , catch in g th e fren zied sp irit of a religiou s revival, b urst in to son g. This was u n d ou btedly Am erica’s sin gin gest war. Most m em orable was George M. Coh an’s sp in e-tin glin g “Over Th ere”:

Germ an -Am erican s n u m b ered over 8 m illion , cou n tin g th ose with at least on e p aren t foreign born , ou t of a total pop u lation of 100 m illion . On th e wh ole th ey p roved to b e dep en d ably loyal to th e Un ited States. Yet ru m orm on gers were qu ick to sp read tales of spyin g an d sa botage; even triflin g ep idem ics of diarrh ea were blam ed on Germ a n agen ts. A few Germ an -Am erican s were tarred , feath ered , an d b ea ten ; in on e extrem e case a Germ a n Socialist in Illin ois was lyn ch ed by a d ru n ken m ob. As em otion m ou n ted , h ysterical hatred of Germ an s an d th in gs Germ an ic swep t th e n ation . Orch estra s fou n d it u n safe to presen t Germ an com p osed m u sic, like th at of Wagn er or Beeth oven . Germ an books were rem oved from lib rary shelves, an d Germ an classes were can celed in h igh sch ools an d colleges. Sau erkrau t becam e “lib erty cab bage,” h am b urger “liberty steak.” Even beer becam e su sp ect, as p atriotic Am erican s fretted over th e loyalty of b reweries with n am es like Schlitz an d Pab st. Both th e Esp ion age Act of 1917 an d th e Sedition Act of 1918 reflected cu rren t fears ab ou t Germ a n s an d an tiwar Am erican s. Especially visib le am on g th e 1,900 p rosecu tion s un d ertaken un d er th ese laws were an tiwar Socialists an d m em b ers of th e rad ical In d ustrial Workers of th e World (IWW). Kin gp in Socialist Eu gen e V. Deb s was con victed un d er th e Esp ion age Act in 1918 an d sen ten ced to ten years in a federa l p en iten tiary. IWW lead er William D. (“Big Bill”) Haywood an d n in ety-n in e associates were sim ilarly con victed . Virtu ally an y criticism of th e govern m en t cou ld be cen sored an d pu n ished . Som e critics cla im ed th e n ew laws were ben d in g, if n ot breakin g, th e First Am en d m en t. Bu t in Sch en ck v. United States (1919), th e Sup rem e Cou rt affirm ed

Mobilizin g the Econ om y

th eir legality, argu in g th at freedom of sp eech cou ld be revoked wh en su ch sp eech p osed a “clear an d p resen t dan ger” to th e n ation . Th ese prosecu tion s form an ugly ch ap ter in th e h istory of Am erica n civil liberty. With th e dawn of p ea ce, p residen tial p ardon s were rath er freely gra n ted , in clu d in g Presiden t Hardin g’s to Eu gen e Deb s in 1921. Yet a few victim s lin gered b eh in d ba rs in to th e 1930s.

The Nation’s Factories Go to War Victory was n o foregon e con clu sion , esp ecially sin ce th e Rep u blic, desp ite am p le warn in g, was cau gh t flat-footed ly un read y for its leap in to glob al war. Th e p acifistic Wilson had on ly belated ly backed som e m ild prep ared n ess m easu res begin n in g in 1915, in clu din g th e creation of a civilian Cou n cil of Nation a l Defen se to stu d y prob lem s of econ om ic m ob ilization . He h ad also lau n ch ed a sh ip bu ildin g p rogram (as m u ch to cap tu re th e belligeren ts’ wardisru p ted foreign trad e as to an ticip ate Am erica’s p ossib le en try in to th e war) an d en d orsed a m od est beefin g-u p of th e arm y, wh ich with 100,000 regula rs th en ran ked ab ou t fifteen th am on g th e arm ies of th e world , in th e sa m e category with Persia’s. It wou ld ta ke a h ercu lean effort to m arsh al Am erica’s dau n tin g bu t disorgan ized resou rces an d th row th em in to th e field qu ickly en ou gh to bolster th e Allied war effort.

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Towerin g obstacles con fron ted econ om ic m ob ilizers. Sh eer ign ora n ce was am on g th e biggest road blocks. No on e kn ew precisely h ow m u ch steel or exp losive p owder th e cou n try was cap able of p rodu cin g. Old ideas also proved to be liab ilities, as tradition al fears of b ig govern m en t ham stru n g efforts to orch estrate th e econ om y from Wash in gton . Sta tes’ rights Dem ocrats an d bu sin essp eople alike ba lked at federa l econ om ic con trols, even th ou gh th e em b attled n ation cou ld ill afford th e freewh eelin g, hit- or-m iss ch aos of th e peacetim e econ om y. Late in th e wa r, an d after som e b ru isin g p olitical ba ttles, Wilson su cceed ed in im p osin g som e order on th is econ om ic con fusion . In March 1918 h e ap p oin ted lon e-eagle stock sp ecu lator Bern ard Baru ch to head th e War In du stries Board. Bu t th e War Ind u stries Board n ever h ad m ore th an feeble form al p owers, an d it was disba n ded with in days after th e arm istice. Even in a glob e-girdlin g crisis, th e Am erican preferen ce for laissez- faire an d for a wea k cen tral govern m en t proved am azin gly stron g.

Workers in Wartim e Sp u rred by th e slogan , “Labor Will Win th e War,” Am erican workers sweated th eir wa y to victory. In p art th ey were driven by th e War Dep artm en t’s “work or figh t” ru le of 1918, wh ich th reaten ed an y u n em p loyed m ale with bein g im m ed iately drafted—

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a powerful discou ragem en t to go on strike. Bu t for th e m ost p art, govern m en t tried to trea t lab or fairly. Th e Nation al War Lab or Board , ch aired by form er p residen t Taft, exerted itself to head off lab or disp u tes th at m igh t ha m p er th e war effort. Wh ile pressin g em p loyers to gran t con cession s to lab or, in clu din g high wa ges an d th e eigh t- h ou r day, th e board stop p ed sh ort of su pp ortin g lab or’s m ost im p ortan t d em an d : a govern m en t gu aran tee of th e righ t to organ ize in to u n ion s. Fortu n ately for th e Allied ca use, Sam u el Gom p ers an d h is Am erican Fed eration of Lab or (AF of L) loyally su p ported th e war, th ou gh som e sm aller an d m ore rad ical lab or organ ization s, in clu d in g th e In d ustrial Workers of th e World , did not. Th e IWW, kn own as th e “Wobb lies” an d som etim es derid ed as th e “I Won’t Works,” en gin eered som e of th e m ost da m a gin g in d u stria l sab ota ge, an d n ot with ou t rea-

son . As tran sien t lab orers in su ch in du stries as fru it an d lu m b er, th e Wob b lies were victim s of som e of th e sha bb iest workin g con d ition s in th e coun try. Wh en th ey p rotested , m an y were viciou sly beaten , arrested, or ru n ou t of town . Main stream labor’s loyalty was reward ed. At war’s en d , th e AF of L had m ore th an dou bled its m em b ersh ip, to over 3 m illion , an d in th e m ost h ea vily un ion ized sectors—coal m in in g, m a n ufactu rin g, an d tran sp orta tion —real wages (after ad justin g for in flation ) h ad risen m ore th an 20 p ercen t over prewar levels. A n ew day seem ed to be da wn in g for th e lon g-stru gglin g u n ion m ovem en t. Yet lab or harb ored grievan ces. Recogn ition of th e righ t to orga n ize still elu d ed lab or’s grasp. Wartim e in flation th reaten ed to eclipse wage gain s (p rices m ore th an dou bled between 1914 an d 1920). Not even th e call of patriotism an d Wilson ian id ea lism cou ld defu se all lab or disp utes. Som e six th ou san d strikes, several sta in ed by blood , broke

Wartim e Workers

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n in e wh ites an d at least forty bla cks d ea d. An equ ally gru esom e race riot ripp ed th rou gh Ch icago. Th e wartim e Win d y City was tau t with racial ten sion as a growin g b lack p op u lation exp an d ed in to wh ite workin g-class neigh borh ood s an d as African Am erican s fou n d job s as strikeb reakers in m eatp ackin g p lan ts. Triggered by an in cid en t at a bath in g beach in Ju ly 1919, a reign of terror descen ded on th e city for n early two weeks. Black an d white gan gs roam ed Chicago’s streets, even tua lly killin g ...