1. World War 1
   1. 1914 Nations of Europe went to war
      1. governments fluorished, patriotism bloomed
         1. US was not yet in the war
      2. Ten million died on battlefield
         1. 20 million died of hunger and disease
      3. Killings happened very fast
         1. Large scale too
            1. British army almost entirely wiped out in first 3 months of war
            2. But British not told of how horrible the deaths were
            3. That summer, British general ordered troops to move toward German lines
            4. 20,000 Killed
            5. Huge number of casualties
   2. President Woodrow Wilson
      1. Originally promised to stay neutral in the war
         1. 1917 Germans had announced they would have submarines sink any ship bringing supplies to the enemy
            1. British Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine
            2. Included deaths of Americans
2. 1914 serious recession in the US
   1. Prices deflated, unemployment
      1. prosperity now depended on foreign markets
         1. WW1 England becomes a market for American goods and loans
            1. JP Morgan loans
            2. When US entered the war rich took even more direct charge of the economy
            3. This seems to always be the case
3. Imperialism
   1. Du Bois saw the war of this to conquer lands for their materials like gold and diamonds, rubber, ivory, etc.
      1. The new wealth will come from "darker" nations
         1. These nations are Asia, Africa, South and Central America, West Indies, islands of South Sea
            1. Ingenuity of capitalism
            2. Safety valve for explosive class conflict
   2. American capitalism
      1. Needed international rivalry
         1. periodic war
            1. creates artificial community of interest between rich and poor
4. Draft
   1. Congress voted overwhelmingly for a draft
      1. Needed many people to fight in the war
         1. Day after Congress declared war socialist party met and declared "crime against people of the US"
            1. In a way I agree because there was no real support for the war
            2. Lots of propaganda
5. Socialists
   1. Gaining ground
      1. Election in 1917- candidate for mayor of NY got 22% of the vote
         1. American Alliance for Labor and Democracy aim to unify sentiment in the nation
            1. Shows dissatisfaction in the nation
6. Espionage Act
   1. Passed in 1917
      1. Provided penalties up to 20 years in prison for those who attempt to destroy, be disloyal, refuse military of navy duties
         1. Not clear how this act would be used
            1. Really used to imprison Americans who spoke out against the war
            2. Ever hear of the 1st amendment?
            3. I was shocked to read that it's still legislation but only in times of war
            4. Charles Schenck arrested in Philly for printing and distributing 15 ,000 pamphlets that denounced draft law and war
            5. Said how this is unconstitutional
            6. Indicted anyway and found guilty
            7. Debs also arrested for violating
            8. Seems just use it to shut people up
            9. His appeal was slowly processed
            10. About 900 went to jail under this senseless act
            11. It could be a good act if it didnt follow ulterior motives
7. American Protective League
   1. Claimed to have found 3 million cases of disloyalty
      1. States organized vigilante groups
         1. Example
            1. Minnesota Commission of Public safety
            2. Closed saloons and moving picture theaters
         2. Post office began taking away mailing privileges of newspapers and magazines that printed antiwar article
            1. Seems like they're going too far
8. Antiwar
   1. Few in Congress spoke against the war
      1. Socialist Katie Richards O'Hare
         1. Said that women were there only to create and raise babies
            1. Arrested, tried, found guilty
   2. War gave government opportunity to out IWW
      1. Jury finds them all guilty
         1. Can't be illegal to have differing opinion
            1. That is not what our country was built on
9. 1918
   1. War ended
      1. 50,000 American soldiers had died
         1. Wartime jailings, intimidation, national unity, but still fear of socialism
            1. Deportation of Aliens
            2. Rounded up and deported
            3. In Boston, 600 arrested in home raids, etc.
            4. Was this really going on?