President Wilson And The World War
"The welfare, the happiness, the energy, and the spirit of the men and
women who do the daily work in our mines and factories, on our
railroads, in our offices and ports of trade, on our farms, and on the
sea are the underlying necessity of all prosperity." Thus spoke Woodrow
Wilson during his campaign for election. In this spirit, as President,
he gave the signal for work by summoning Congress in a special session
on
pril 7, 1913. He invited the cooeperation of all "forward-looking
men" and indicated that he would assume the role of leadership. As an
evidence of his resolve, he appeared before Congress in person to read
his first message, reviving the old custom of Washington and Adams. Then
he let it be known that he would not give his party any rest until it
fulfilled its pledges to the country. When Democratic Senators balked at
tariff reductions, they were sharply informed that the party had
plighted its word and that no excuses or delays would be tolerated.
DOMESTIC LEGISLATION
Financial Measures
Under this spirited leadership Congress went to
work, passing first the Underwood tariff act of 1913, which made a
downward revision in the rates of duty, fixing them on the average about
twenty-six per cent lower than the figures of 1907. The protective
principle was retained, but an effort was made to permit a moderate
element of foreign competition. As a part of the revenue act Congress
levied a tax on incomes as authorized by the sixteenth amendment to the
Constitution. The tax which roused such party passions twenty years
before was now accepted as a matter of course.
Having disposed of the tariff, Congress took up the old and vexatious
currency question and offered a new solution in the form of the federal
reserve law of December, 1913. This measure, one of the most interesting
in the history of federal finance, embraced four leading features. In
the first place, it continued the prohibition on the issuance of notes
by state banks and provided for a national currency. In the second
place, it put the new banking system under the control of a federal
reserve board composed entirely of government officials. To prevent the
growth of a "central money power," it provided, in the third place, for
the creation of twelve federal reserve banks, one in each of twelve
great districts into which the country is divided. All local national
banks were required and certain other banks permitted to become members
of the new system and share in its control. Finally, with a view to
expanding the currency, a step which the Democrats had long urged upon
the country, the issuance of paper money, under definite safeguards, was
authorized.
Mindful of the agricultural interest, ever dear to the heart of
Jefferson's followers, the Democrats supplemented the reserve law by the
Farm Loan Act of 1916, creating federal agencies to lend money on farm
mortgages at moderate rates of interest. Within a year $20,000,000 had
been lent to farmers, the heaviest borrowing being in nine Western and
Southern states, with Texas in the lead.
Anti-trust Legislation
The tariff and currency laws were followed by
three significant measures relative to trusts. Rejecting utterly the
Progressive doctrine of government regulation, President Wilson
announced that it was the purpose of the Democrats "to destroy monopoly
and maintain competition as the only effective instrument of business
liberty." The first step in this direction, the Clayton Anti-trust Act,
carried into great detail the Sherman law of 1890 forbidding and
penalizing combinations in restraint of interstate and foreign trade. In
every line it revealed a determined effort to tear apart the great
trusts and to put all business on a competitive basis. Its terms were
reinforced in the same year by a law creating a Federal Trade Commission
empowered to inquire into the methods of corporations and lodge
complaints against concerns "using any unfair method of competition." In
only one respect was the severity of the Democratic policy relaxed. An
act of 1918 provided that the Sherman law should not apply to companies
engaged in export trade, the purpose being to encourage large
corporations to enter foreign commerce.
The effect of this whole body of anti-trust legislation, in spite of
much labor on it, remained problematical. Very few combinations were
dissolved as a result of it. Startling investigations were made into
alleged abuses on the part of trusts; but it could hardly be said that
huge business concerns had lost any of their predominance in American
industry.
Labor Legislation
By no mere coincidence, the Clayton Anti-trust law
of 1914 made many concessions to organized labor. It declared that "the
labor of a human being is not a commodity or an article of commerce,"
and it exempted unions from prosecution as "combinations in restraint of
trade." It likewise defined and limited the uses which the federal
courts might make of injunctions in labor disputes and guaranteed trial
by jury to those guilty of disobedience (see p. 581).
The Clayton law was followed the next year by the Seamen's Act giving
greater liberty of contract to American sailors and requiring an
improvement of living conditions on shipboard. This was such a drastic
law that shipowners declared themselves unable to meet foreign
competition under its terms, owing to the low labor standards of other
countries.
Still more extraordinary than the Seamen's Act was the Adamson law of
1916 fixing a standard eight-hour work-day for trainmen on railroads--a
measure wrung from Congress under a threat of a great strike by the four
Railway Brotherhoods. This act, viewed by union leaders as a triumph,
called forth a bitter denunciation of "trade union domination," but it
was easier to criticize than to find another solution of the problem.
Three other laws enacted during President Wilson's administration were
popular in the labor world. One of them provided compensation for
federal employees injured in the discharge of their duties. Another
prohibited the labor of children under a certain age in the industries
of the nation. A third prescribed for coal miners in Alaska an
eight-hour day and modern safeguards for life and health. There were
positive proofs that organized labor had obtained a large share of power
in the councils of the country.
Federal and State Relations
If the interference of the government
with business and labor represented a departure from the old idea of
"the less government the better," what can be said of a large body of
laws affecting the rights of states? The prohibition of child labor
everywhere was one indication of the new tendency. Mr. Wilson had once
declared such legislation unconstitutional; the Supreme Court declared
it unconstitutional; but Congress, undaunted, carried it into effect
under the guise of a tax on goods made by children below the age limit.
There were other indications of the drift. Large sums of money were
appropriated by Congress in 1916 to assist the states in building and
maintaining highways. The same year the Farm Loan Act projected the
federal government into the sphere of local money lending. In 1917
millions of dollars were granted to states in aid of vocational
education, incidentally imposing uniform standards throughout the
country. Evidently the government was no longer limited to the duties of
the policeman.
The Prohibition Amendment
A still more significant form of
intervention in state affairs was the passage, in December, 1917, of an
amendment to the federal Constitution establishing national prohibition
of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors as beverages. This
was the climax of a historical movement extending over half a century.
In 1872, a National Prohibition party, launched three years before,
nominated its first presidential candidate and inaugurated a campaign of
agitation. Though its vote was never large, the cause for which it
stood found increasing favor among the people. State after state by
popular referendum abolished the liquor traffic within its borders. By
1917 at least thirty-two of the forty-eight were "dry." When the federal
amendment was submitted for approval, the ratification was surprisingly
swift. In a little more than a year, namely, on January 16, 1919, it was
proclaimed. Twelve months later the amendment went into effect.
COLONIAL AND FOREIGN POLICIES
The Philippines and Porto Rico
Independence for the Philippines and
larger self-government for Porto Rico had been among the policies of the
Democratic party since the campaign of 1900. President Wilson in his
annual messages urged upon Congress more autonomy for the Filipinos and
a definite promise of final independence. The result was the Jones
Organic Act for the Philippines passed in 1916. This measure provided
that the upper as well as the lower house of the Philippine legislature
should be elected by popular vote, and declared it to be the intention
of the United States to grant independence "as soon as a stable
government can be established." This, said President Wilson on signing
the bill, is "a very satisfactory advance in our policy of extending to
them self-government and control of their own affairs." The following
year Congress, yielding to President Wilson's insistence, passed a new
organic act for Porto Rico, making both houses of the legislature
elective and conferring American citizenship upon the inhabitants of the
island.
American Power in the Caribbean
While extending more self-government
to its dominions, the United States enlarged its sphere of influence in
the Caribbean. The supervision of finances in Santo Domingo, inaugurated
in Roosevelt's administration, was transformed into a protectorate under
Wilson. In 1914 dissensions in the republic led to the landing of
American marines to "supervise" the elections. Two years later, an
officer in the American navy, with authority from Washington, placed
the entire republic "in a state of military occupation." He proceeded to
suspend the government and laws of the country, exile the president,
suppress the congress, and substitute American military authority. In
1919 a consulting board of four prominent Dominicans was appointed to
aid the American military governor; but it resigned the next year after
making a plea for the restoration of independence to the republic. For
all practical purposes, it seemed, the sovereignty of Santo Domingo had
been transferred to the United States.
In the neighboring republic of Haiti, a similar state of affairs
existed. In the summer of 1915 a revolution broke out there--one of a
long series beginning in 1804--and our marines were landed to restore
order. Elections were held under the supervision of American officers,
and a treaty was drawn up placing the management of Haitian finances and
the local constabulary under American authority. In taking this action,
our Secretary of State was careful to announce: "The United States
government has no purpose of aggression and is entirely disinterested in
promoting this protectorate." Still it must be said that there were
vigorous protests on the part of natives and American citizens against
the conduct of our agents in the island. In 1921 President Wilson was
considering withdrawal.
In line with American policy in the West Indian waters was the purchase
in 1917 of the Danish Islands just off the coast of Porto Rico. The
strategic position of the islands, especially in relation to Haiti and
Porto Rico, made them an object of American concern as early as 1867,
when a treaty of purchase was negotiated only to be rejected by the
Senate of the United States. In 1902 a second arrangement was made, but
this time it was defeated by the upper house of the Danish parliament.
The third treaty brought an end to fifty years of bargaining and the
Stars and Stripes were raised over St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and
numerous minor islands scattered about in the neighborhood. "It would be
suicidal," commented a New York newspaper, "for America, on the
threshold of a great commercial expansion in South America, to suffer a
Heligoland, or a Gibraltar, or an Aden to be erected by her rivals at
the mouth of her Suez." On the mainland American power was strengthened
by the establishment of a protectorate over Nicaragua in 1916.
Mexican Relations
The extension of American enterprise southward
into Latin America, of which the operations in the Caribbean regions
were merely one phase, naturally carried Americans into Mexico to
develop the natural resources of that country. Under the iron rule of
General Porfirio Diaz, established in 1876 and maintained with only a
short break until 1911, Mexico had become increasingly attractive to our
business men. On the invitation of President Diaz, they had invested
huge sums in Mexican lands, oil fields, and mines, and had laid the
foundations of a new industrial order. The severe regime instituted by
Diaz, however, stirred popular discontent. The peons, or serfs, demanded
the break-up of the great estates, some of which had come down from the
days of Cortez. Their clamor for "the restoration of the land to the
people could not be silenced." In 1911 Diaz was forced to resign and
left the country.
Mexico now slid down the path to disorder. Revolutions and civil
commotions followed in swift succession. A liberal president, Madero,
installed as the successor to Diaz, was deposed in 1913 and brutally
murdered. Huerta, a military adventurer, hailed for a time as another
"strong man," succeeded Madero whose murder he was accused of
instigating. Although Great Britain and nearly all the powers of Europe
accepted the new government as lawful, the United States steadily
withheld recognition. In the meantime Mexico was torn by insurrections
under the leadership of Carranza, a friend of Madero, Villa, a bandit of
generous pretensions, and Zapata, a radical leader of the peons. Without
the support of the United States, Huerta was doomed.
In the summer of 1914, the dictator resigned and fled from the capital,
leaving the field to Carranza. For six years the new president,
recognized by the United States, held a precarious position which he
vigorously strove to strengthen against various revolutionary movements.
At length in 1920, he too was deposed and murdered, and another military
chieftain, Obregon, installed in power.
These events right at our door could not fail to involve the government
of the United States. In the disorders many American citizens lost their
lives. American property was destroyed and land owned by Americans was
confiscated. A new Mexican constitution, in effect nationalizing the
natural resources of the country, struck at the rights of foreign
investors. Moreover the Mexican border was in constant turmoil. Even in
the last days of his administration, Mr. Taft felt compelled to issue a
solemn warning to the Mexican government protesting against the
violation of American rights.
President Wilson, soon after his inauguration, sent a commissioner to
Mexico to inquire into the situation. Although he declared a general
policy of "watchful waiting," he twice came to blows with Mexican
forces. In 1914 some American sailors at Tampico were arrested by a
Mexican officer; the Mexican government, although it immediately
released the men, refused to make the required apology for the incident.
As a result President Wilson ordered the landing of American forces at
Vera Cruz and the occupation of the city. A clash of arms followed in
which several Americans were killed. War seemed inevitable, but at this
juncture the governments of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile tendered their
good offices as mediators. After a few weeks of negotiation, during
which Huerta was forced out of power, American forces were withdrawn
from Vera Cruz and the incident closed.
In 1916 a second break in amicable relations occurred. In the spring of
that year a band of Villa's men raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico,
killing several citizens and committing robberies. A punitive expedition
under the command of General Pershing was quickly sent out to capture
the offenders. Against the protests of President Carranza, American
forces penetrated deeply into Mexico without effecting the object of
the undertaking. This operation lasted until January, 1917, when the
imminence of war with Germany led to the withdrawal of the American
soldiers. Friendly relations were resumed with the Mexican government
and the policy of "watchful waiting" was continued.
THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN WAR
The Outbreak of the War
In the opening days of August, 1914, the
age-long jealousies of European nations, sharpened by new imperial
ambitions, broke out in another general conflict such as had shaken the
world in the days of Napoleon. On June 28, the heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated at Serajevo, the capital of
Bosnia, an Austrian province occupied mainly by Serbs. With a view to
stopping Serbian agitation for independence, Austria-Hungary laid the
blame for this incident on the government of Serbia and made humiliating
demands on that country. Germany at once proposed that the issue should
be regarded as "an affair which should be settled solely between
Austria-Hungary and Serbia"; meaning that the small nation should be
left to the tender mercies of a great power. Russia refused to take this
view. Great Britain proposed a settlement by mediation. Germany backed
up Austria to the limit. To use the language of the German authorities:
"We were perfectly aware that a possible warlike attitude of
Austria-Hungary against Serbia might bring Russia upon the field and
that it might therefore involve us in a war, in accordance with our
duties as allies. We could not, however, in these vital interests of
Austria-Hungary which were at stake, advise our ally to take a yielding
attitude not compatible with his dignity nor deny him our assistance."
That made the war inevitable.
Every day of the fateful August, 1914, was crowded with momentous
events. On the 1st, Germany declared war on Russia. On the 2d, the
Germans invaded the little duchy of Luxemburg and notified the King of
Belgium that they were preparing to violate the neutrality of his realm
on their way to Paris. On the same day, Great Britain, anxiously
besought by the French government, promised the aid of the British navy
if German warships made hostile demonstrations in the Channel. August
3d, the German government declared war on France. The following day,
Great Britain demanded of Germany respect for Belgian neutrality and,
failing to receive the guarantee, broke off diplomatic relations. On the
5th, the British prime minister announced that war had opened between
England and Germany. The storm now broke in all its pitiless fury.
The State of American Opinion
Although President Wilson promptly
proclaimed the neutrality of the United States, the sympathies of a
large majority of the American people were without doubt on the side of
Great Britain and France. To them the invasion of the little kingdom of
Belgium and the horrors that accompanied German occupation were odious
in the extreme. Moreover, they regarded the German imperial government
as an autocratic power wielded in the interest of an ambitious military
party. The Kaiser, William II, and the Crown Prince were the symbols of
royal arrogance. On the other hand, many Americans of German descent, in
memory of their ties with the Fatherland, openly sympathized with the
Central Powers; and many Americans of Irish descent, recalling their
long and bitter struggle for home rule in Ireland, would have regarded
British defeat as a merited redress of ancient grievances.
Extremely sensitive to American opinion, but ill informed about it, the
German government soon began systematic efforts to present its cause to
the people of the United States in the most favorable light possible.
Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, the former colonial secretary of the German
empire, was sent to America as a special agent. For months he filled the
newspapers, magazines, and periodicals with interviews, articles, and
notes on the justice of the Teutonic cause. From a press bureau in New
York flowed a stream of pamphlets, leaflets, and cartoons. A magazine,
"The Fatherland," was founded to secure "fair play for Germany and
Austria." Several professors in American universities, who had received
their training in Germany, took up the pen in defense of the Central
Empires. The German language press, without exception it seems, the
National German Alliance, minor German societies, and Lutheran churches
came to the support of the German cause. Even the English language
papers, though generally favorable to the Entente Allies, opened their
columns in the interest of equal justice to the spokesmen for all the
contending powers of Europe.
Before two weeks had elapsed the controversy had become so intense that
President Wilson (August 18, 1914) was moved to caution his countrymen
against falling into angry disputes. "Every man," he said, "who really
loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality which
is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all
concerned.... We must be impartial in thought as well as in action, must
put a curb upon our sentiments as well as upon every transaction that
might be construed as a preference of one party to the struggle before
another."
The Clash over American Trade
As in the time of the Napoleonic wars,
the conflict in Europe raised fundamental questions respecting rights of
Americans trading with countries at peace as well as those at war. On
this point there existed on August 1, 1914, a fairly definite body of
principles by which nations were bound. Among them the following were of
vital significance. In the first place, it was recognized that an enemy
merchant ship caught on the high seas was a legitimate prize of war
which might be seized and confiscated. In the second place, it was
agreed that "contraband of war" found on an enemy or neutral ship was a
lawful prize; any ship suspected of carrying it was liable to search and
if caught with forbidden goods was subject to seizure. In the third
place, international law prescribed that a peaceful merchant ship,
whether belonging to an enemy or to a neutral country, should not be
destroyed or sunk without provision for the safety of crew and
passengers. In the fourth place, it was understood that a belligerent
had the right, if it could, to blockade the ports of an enemy and
prevent the ingress and egress of all ships; but such a blockade, to be
lawful, had to be effective.
These general principles left undetermined two important matters: "What
is an effective blockade?" and "What is contraband of war?" The task of
answering these questions fell to Great Britain as mistress of the seas.
Although the German submarines made it impossible for her battleships to
maintain a continuous patrol of the waters in front of blockaded ports,
she declared the blockade to be none the less "effective" because her
navy was supreme. As to contraband of war Great Britain put such a broad
interpretation upon the term as to include nearly every important
article of commerce. Early in 1915 she declared even cargoes of grain
and flour to be contraband, defending the action on the ground that the
German government had recently taken possession of all domestic stocks
of corn, wheat, and flour.
A new question arose in connection with American trade with the neutral
countries surrounding Germany. Great Britain early began to intercept
ships carrying oil, gasoline, and copper--all war materials of prime
importance--on the ground that they either were destined ultimately to
Germany or would release goods for sale to Germans. On November 2, 1914,
the English government announced that the Germans wore sowing mines in
open waters and that therefore the whole of the North Sea was a military
zone. Ships bound for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were ordered to come
by the English Channel for inspection and sailing directions. In effect,
Americans were now licensed by Great Britain to trade in certain
commodities and in certain amounts with neutral countries.
Against these extraordinary measures, the State Department at Washington
lodged pointed objections, saying: "This government is reluctantly
forced to the conclusion that the present policy of His Majesty's
government toward neutral ships and cargoes exceeds the manifest
necessity of a belligerent and constitutes restrictions upon the rights
of American citizens on the high seas, which are not justified by the
rules of international law or required under the principle of
self-preservation."
Germany Begins the Submarine Campaign
Germany now announced that, on
and after February 18, 1915, the whole of the English Channel and the
waters around Great Britain would be deemed a war zone and that every
enemy ship found therein would be destroyed. The German decree added
that, as the British admiralty had ordered the use of neutral flags by
English ships in time of distress, neutral vessels would be in danger of
destruction if found in the forbidden area. It was clear that Germany
intended to employ submarines to destroy shipping. A new factor was thus
introduced into naval warfare, one not provided for in the accepted laws
of war. A warship overhauling a merchant vessel could easily take its
crew and passengers on board for safe keeping as prescribed by
international law; but a submarine ordinarily could do nothing of the
sort. Of necessity the lives and the ships of neutrals, as well as of
belligerents, were put in mortal peril. This amazing conduct Germany
justified on the ground that it was mere retaliation against Great
Britain for her violations of international law.
The response of the United States to the ominous German order was swift
and direct. On February 10, 1915, it warned Germany that if her
commanders destroyed American lives and ships in obedience to that
decree, the action would "be very hard indeed to reconcile with the
friendly relations happily subsisting between the two governments." The
American note added that the German imperial government would be held to
"strict accountability" and all necessary steps would be taken to
safeguard American lives and American rights. This was firm and clear
language, but the only response which it evoked from Germany was a
suggestion that, if Great Britain would allow food supplies to pass
through the blockade, the submarine campaign would be dropped.
Violations of American Rights
Meanwhile Germany continued to ravage
shipping on the high seas. On January 28, a German raider sank the
American ship, William P. Frye, in the South Atlantic; on March 28, a
British ship, the Falaba, was sunk by a submarine and many on board,
including an American citizen, were killed; and on April 28, a German
airplane dropped bombs on the American steamer Cushing. On the morning
of May 1, 1915, Americans were astounded to see in the newspapers an
advertisement, signed by the German Imperial Embassy, warning travelers
of the dangers in the war zone and notifying them that any who ventured
on British ships into that area did so at their own risk. On that day,
the Lusitania, a British steamer, sailed from New York for Liverpool.
On May 7, without warning, the ship was struck by two torpedoes and in a
few minutes went down by the bow, carrying to death 1153 persons
including 114 American men, women, and children. A cry of horror ran
through the country. The German papers in America and a few American
people argued that American citizens had been duly warned of the danger
and had deliberately taken their lives into their own hands; but the
terrible deed was almost universally condemned by public opinion.
The Lusitania Notes
On May 14, the Department of State at
Washington made public the first of three famous notes on the
Lusitania case. It solemnly informed the German government that "no
warning that an unlawful and inhumane act will be committed can possibly
be accepted as an excuse or palliation for that act or as an abatement
of the responsibility for its commission." It called upon the German
government to disavow the act, make reparation as far as possible, and
take steps to prevent "the recurrence of anything so obviously
subversive of the principles of warfare." The note closed with a clear
caution to Germany that the government of the United States would not
"omit any word or any act necessary to the performance of its sacred
duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and its citizens and
of safeguarding their free exercise and enjoyment." The die was cast;
but Germany in reply merely temporized.
In a second note, made public on June 11, the position of the United
States was again affirmed. William Jennings Bryan, the Secretary of
State, had resigned because the drift of President Wilson's policy was
not toward mediation but the strict maintenance of American rights, if
need be, by force of arms. The German reply was still evasive and German
naval commanders continued their course of sinking merchant ships. In a
third and final note of July 21, 1915, President Wilson made it clear to
Germany that he meant what he said when he wrote that he would maintain
the rights of American citizens. Finally after much discussion and
shifting about, the German ambassador on September 1, 1915, sent a brief
note to the Secretary of State: "Liners will not be sunk by our
submarines without warning and without safety of the lives of
non-combatants, provided the liners do not try to escape or offer
resistance." Editorially, the New York Times declared: "It is a
triumph not only of diplomacy but of reason, of humanity, of justice,
and of truth." The Secretary of State saw in it "a recognition of the
fundamental principles for which we have contended."
The Presidential Election of 1916
In the midst of this crisis came
the presidential campaign. On the Republican side everything seemed to
depend upon the action of the Progressives. If the breach created in
1912 could be closed, victory was possible; if not, defeat was certain.
A promise of unity lay in the fact that the conventions of the
Republicans and Progressives were held simultaneously in Chicago. The
friends of Roosevelt hoped that both parties would select him as their
candidate; but this hope was not realized. The Republicans chose, and
the Progressives accepted, Charles E. Hughes, an associate justice of
the federal Supreme Court who, as governor of New York, had won a
national reputation by waging war on "machine politicians."
In the face of the clamor for expressions of sympathy with one or the
other of the contending powers of Europe, the Republicans chose a middle
course, declaring that they would uphold all American rights "at home
and abroad, by land and by sea." This sentiment Mr. Hughes echoed in his
acceptance speech. By some it was interpreted to mean a firmer policy in
dealing with Great Britain; by others, a more vigorous handling of the
submarine menace. The Democrats, on their side, renominated President
Wilson by acclamation, reviewed with pride the legislative achievements
of the party, and commended "the splendid diplomatic victories of our
great President who has preserved the vital interests of our government
and its citizens and kept us out of war."
In the election which ensued President Wilson's popular vote exceeded
that cast for Mr. Hughes by more than half a million, while his
electoral vote stood 277 to 254. The result was regarded, and not
without warrant, as a great personal triumph for the President. He had
received the largest vote yet cast for a presidential candidate. The
Progressive party practically disappeared, and the Socialists suffered a
severe set-back, falling far behind the vote of 1912.
President Wilson Urges Peace upon the Warring Nations
Apparently
convinced that his pacific policies had been profoundly approved by his
countrymen, President Wilson, soon after the election, addressed "peace
notes" to the European belligerents. On December 16, the German Emperor
proposed to the Allied Powers that they enter into peace negotiations, a
suggestion that was treated as a mere political maneuver by the opposing
governments. Two days later President Wilson sent a note to the warring
nations asking them to avow "the terms upon which war might be
concluded." To these notes the Central Powers replied that they were
ready to meet their antagonists in a peace conference; and Allied Powers
answered by presenting certain conditions precedent to a satisfactory
settlement. On January 22, 1917, President Wilson in an address before
the Senate, declared it to be a duty of the United States to take part
in the establishment of a stable peace on the basis of certain
principles. These were, in short: "peace without victory"; the right of
nationalities to freedom and self-government; the independence of
Poland; freedom of the seas; the reduction of armaments; and the
abolition of entangling alliances. The whole world was discussing the
President's remarkable message, when it was dumbfounded to hear, on
January 31, that the German ambassador at Washington had announced the
official renewal of ruthless submarine warfare.
THE UNITED STATES AT WAR
Steps toward War
Three days after the receipt of the news that the
German government intended to return to its former submarine policy,
President Wilson severed diplomatic relations with the German empire. At
the same time he explained to Congress that he desired no conflict with
Germany and would await an "overt act" before taking further steps to
preserve American rights. "God grant," he concluded, "that we may not be
challenged to defend them by acts of willful injustice on the part of
the government of Germany." Yet the challenge came. Between February 26
and April 2, six American merchant vessels were torpedoed, in most cases
without any warning and without regard to the loss of American lives.
President Wilson therefore called upon Congress to answer the German
menace. The reply of Congress on April 6 was a resolution, passed with
only a few dissenting votes, declaring the existence of a state of war
with Germany. Austria-Hungary at once severed diplomatic relations with
the United States; but it was not until December 7 that Congress, acting
on the President's advice, declared war also on that "vassal of the
German government."
American War Aims
In many addresses at the beginning and during the
course of the war, President Wilson stated the purposes which actuated
our government in taking up arms. He first made it clear that it was a
war of self-defense. "The military masters of Germany," he exclaimed,
"denied us the right to be neutral." Proof of that lay on every hand.
Agents of the German imperial government had destroyed American lives
and American property on the high seas. They had filled our communities
with spies. They had planted bombs in ships and munition works. They had
fomented divisions among American citizens.
Though assailed in many ways and compelled to resort to war, the United
States sought no material rewards. "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."
In a very remarkable message read to Congress on January 8, 1918,
President Wilson laid down his famous "fourteen points" summarizing the
ideals for which we were fighting. They included open treaties of peace,
openly arrived at; absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas; the
removal, as far as possible, of trade barriers among nations; reduction
of armaments; adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the
populations concerned; fair and friendly treatment of Russia; the
restoration of Belgium; righting the wrong done to France in 1871 in the
matter of Alsace-Lorraine; adjustment of Italian frontiers along the
lines of nationality; more liberty for the peoples of Austria-Hungary;
the restoration of Serbia and Rumania; the readjustment of the Turkish
Empire; an independent Poland; and an association of nations to afford
mutual guarantees to all states great and small. On a later occasion
President Wilson elaborated the last point, namely, the formation of a
league of nations to guarantee peace and establish justice among the
powers of the world. Democracy, the right of nations to determine their
own fate, a covenant of enduring peace--these were the ideals for which
the American people were to pour out their blood and treasure.
The Selective Draft
The World War became a war of nations. The
powers against which we were arrayed had every able-bodied man in
service and all their resources, human and material, thrown into the
scale. For this reason, President Wilson summoned the whole people of
the United States to make every sacrifice necessary for victory.
Congress by law decreed that the national army should be chosen from all
male citizens and males not enemy aliens who had declared their
intention of becoming citizens. By the first act of May 18, 1917, it
fixed the age limits at twenty-one to thirty-one inclusive. Later, in
August, 1918, it extended them to eighteen and forty-five. From the men
of the first group so enrolled were chosen by lot the soldiers for the
World War who, with the regular army and the national guard, formed the
American Expeditionary Force upholding the American cause on the
battlefields of Europe. "The whole nation," said the President, "must be
a team in which each man shall play the part for which he is best
fitted."
Liberty Loans and Taxes
In order that the military and naval forces
should be stinted in no respect, the nation was called upon to place its
financial resources at the service of the government. Some urged the
"conscription of wealth as well as men," meaning the support of the war
out of taxes upon great fortunes; but more conservative counsels
prevailed. Four great Liberty Loans were floated, all the agencies of
modern publicity being employed to enlist popular interest. The first
loan had four and a half million subscribers; the fourth more than
twenty million. Combined with loans were heavy taxes. A progressive tax
was laid upon incomes beginning with four per cent on incomes in the
lower ranges and rising to sixty-three per cent of that part of any
income above $2,000,000. A progressive tax was levied upon inheritances.
An excess profits tax was laid upon all corporations and partnerships,
rising in amount to sixty per cent of the net income in excess of
thirty-three per cent on the invested capital. "This," said a
distinguished economist, "is the high-water mark in the history of
taxation. Never before in the annals of civilization has an attempt been
made to take as much as two-thirds of a man's income by taxation."
Mobilizing Material Resources
No stone was left unturned to provide
the arms, munitions, supplies, and transportation required in the
gigantic undertaking. Between the declaration of war and the armistice,
Congress enacted law after law relative to food supplies, raw materials,
railways, mines, ships, forests, and industrial enterprises. No power
over the lives and property of citizens, deemed necessary to the
prosecution of the armed conflict, was withheld from the government. The
farmer's wheat, the housewife's sugar, coal at the mines, labor in the
factories, ships at the wharves, trade with friendly countries, the
railways, banks, stores, private fortunes--all were mobilized and laid
under whatever obligations the government deemed imperative. Never was a
nation more completely devoted to a single cause.
A law of August 10, 1917, gave the President power to fix the prices of
wheat and coal and to take almost any steps necessary to prevent
monopoly and excessive prices. By a series of measures, enlarging the
principles of the shipping act of 1916, ships and shipyards were brought
under public control and the government was empowered to embark upon a
great ship-building program. In December, 1917, the government assumed
for the period of the war the operation of the railways under a
presidential proclamation which was elaborated in March, 1918, by act of
Congress. In the summer of 1918 the express, telephone, and telegraph
business of the entire country passed under government control. By war
risk insurance acts allowances were made for the families of enlisted
men, compensation for injuries was provided, death benefits were
instituted, and a system of national insurance was established in the
interest of the men in service. Never before in the history of the
country had the government taken such a wise and humane view of its
obligations to those who served on the field of battle or on the seas.
The Espionage and Sedition Acts
By the Espionage law of June 15,
1917, and the amending law, known as the Sedition act, passed in May of
the following year, the government was given a drastic power over the
expression of opinion. The first measure penalized those who conveyed
information to a foreign country to be used to the injury of the United
States; those who made false statements designed to interfere with the
military or naval forces of the United States; those who attempted to
stir up insubordination or disloyalty in the army and navy; and those
who willfully obstructed enlistment. The Sedition act was still more
severe and sweeping in its terms. It imposed heavy penalties upon any
person who used "abusive language about the government or institutions
of the country." It authorized the dismissal of any officer of the
government who committed "disloyal acts" or uttered "disloyal language,"
and empowered the Postmaster General to close the mails to persons
violating the law. This measure, prepared by the Department of Justice,
encountered vigorous opposition in the Senate, where twenty-four
Republicans and two Democrats voted against it. Senator Johnson of
California denounced it as a law "to suppress the freedom of the press
in the United States and to prevent any man, no matter who he is, from
expressing legitimate criticism concerning the present government." The
constitutionality of the acts was attacked; but they were sustained by
the Supreme Court and stringently enforced.
Labor and the War
In view of the restlessness of European labor
during the war and especially the proletarian revolution in Russia in
November, 1917, some anxiety was early expressed as to the stand which
organized labor might take in the United States. It was, however, soon
dispelled. Samuel Gompers, speaking for the American Federation of
Labor, declared that "this is labor's war," and pledged the united
support of all the unions. There was some dissent. The Socialist party
denounced the war as a capitalist quarrel; but all the protests combined
were too slight to have much effect. American labor leaders were sent to
Europe to strengthen the wavering ranks of trade unionists in war-worn
England, France, and Italy. Labor was given representation on the
important boards and commissions dealing with industrial questions.
Trade union standards were accepted by the government and generally
applied in industry. The Department of Labor became one of the powerful
war centers of the nation. In a memorable address to the American
Federation of Labor, President Wilson assured the trade unionists that
labor conditions should not be made unduly onerous by the war and
received in return a pledge of loyalty from the Federation. Recognition
of labor's contribution to winning the war was embodied in the treaty of
peace, which provided for a permanent international organization to
promote the world-wide effort of labor to improve social conditions.
"The league of nations has for its object the establishment of universal
peace," runs the preamble to the labor section of the treaty, "and such
a peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice....
The failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labor is an
obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the
conditions in their own countries."
The American Navy in the War
As soon as Congress declared war the
fleet was mobilized, American ports were thrown open to the warships of
the Allies, immediate provision was made for increasing the number of
men and ships, and a contingent of war vessels was sent to cooeperate
with the British and French in their life-and-death contest with
submarines. Special effort was made to stimulate the production of
"submarine chasers" and "scout cruisers" to be sent to the danger zone.
Convoys were provided to accompany the transports conveying soldiers to
France. Before the end of the war more than three hundred American
vessels and 75,000 officers and men were operating in European waters.
Though the German fleet failed to come out and challenge the sea power
of the Allies, the battleships of the United States were always ready to
do their full duty in such an event. As things turned out, the service
of the American navy was limited mainly to helping in the campaign that
wore down the submarine menace to Allied shipping.
The War in France
Owing to the peculiar character of the warfare in
France, it required a longer time for American military forces to get
into action; but there was no unnecessary delay. Soon after the
declaration of war, steps were taken to give military assistance to the
Allies. The regular army was enlarged and the troops of the national
guard were brought into national service. On June 13, General John J.
Pershing, chosen head of the American Expeditionary Forces, reached
Paris and began preparations for the arrival of our troops. In June, the
vanguard of the army reached France. A slow and steady stream followed.
As soon as the men enrolled under the draft were ready, it became a
flood. During the period of the war the army was enlarged from about
190,000 men to 3,665,000, of whom more than 2,000,000 were in France
when the armistice was signed.
Although American troops did not take part on a large scale until the
last phase of the war in 1918, several battalions of infantry were in
the trenches by October, 1917, and had their first severe encounter with
the Germans early in November. In January, 1918, they took over a part
of the front line as an American sector. In March, General Pershing
placed our forces at the disposal of General Foch, commander-in-chief of
the Allied armies. The first division, which entered the Montdidier
salient in April, soon was engaged with the enemy, "taking with splendid
dash the town of Cantigny and all other objectives, which were organized
and held steadfastly against vicious counter attacks and galling
artillery fire."
When the Germans launched their grand drives toward the Marne and Paris,
in June and July, 1918, every available man was placed at General Foch's
command. At Belleau Wood, at Chateau-Thierry, and other points along the
deep salient made by the Germans into the French lines, American
soldiers distinguished themselves by heroic action. They also played an
important role in the counter attack that "smashed" the salient and
drove the Germans back.
In September, American troops, with French aid, "wiped out" the German
salient at St. Mihiel. By this time General Pershing was ready for the
great American drive to the northeast in the Argonne forest, while he
also cooeperated with the British in the assault on the Hindenburg line.
In the Meuse-Argonne battle, our soldiers encountered some of the most
severe fighting of the war and pressed forward steadily against the most
stubborn resistance from the enemy. On the 6th of November, reported
General Pershing, "a division of the first corps reached a point on the
Meuse opposite Sedan, twenty-five miles from our line of departure. The
strategical goal which was our highest hope was gained. We had cut the
enemy's main line of communications and nothing but a surrender or an
armistice could save his army from complete disaster." Five days later
the end came. On the morning of November 11, the order to cease firing
went into effect. The German army was in rapid retreat and
demoralization had begun. The Kaiser had abdicated and fled into
Holland. The Hohenzollern dreams of empire were shattered. In the
fifty-second month, the World War, involving nearly every civilized
nation on the globe, was brought to a close. More than 75,000 American
soldiers and sailors had given their lives. More than 250,000 had been
wounded or were missing or in German prison camps.
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARIS
The Peace Conference
On January 18, 1919, a conference of the Allied
and Associated Powers assembled to pronounce judgment upon the German
empire and its defeated satellites: Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and
Turkey. It was a moving spectacle. Seventy-two delegates spoke for
thirty-two states. The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and
Japan had five delegates each. Belgium, Brazil, and Serbia were each
assigned three. Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, China, Greece,
Hedjaz, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Siam, and Czechoslovakia were
allotted two apiece. The remaining states of New Zealand, Bolivia, Cuba,
Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru,
and Uruguay each had one delegate. President Wilson spoke in person for
the United States. England, France, and Italy were represented by their
premiers: David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Vittorio Orlando.
The Supreme Council
The real work of the settlement was first
committed to a Supreme Council of ten representing the United States,
Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. This was later reduced to five
members. Then Japan dropped out and finally Italy, leaving only
President Wilson and the Premiers, Lloyd George and Clemenceau, the
"Big Three," who assumed the burden of mighty decisions. On May 6, their
work was completed and in a secret session of the full conference the
whole treaty of peace was approved, though a few of the powers made
reservations or objections. The next day the treaty was presented to the
Germans who, after prolonged protests, signed on the last day of grace,
June 28. This German treaty was followed by agreements with Austria,
Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Collectively these great documents formed
the legal basis of the general European settlement.
The Terms of the Settlement
The combined treaties make a huge
volume. The German treaty alone embraces about 80,000 words.
Collectively they cover an immense range of subjects which may be
summarized under five heads: (1) The territorial settlement in Europe;
(2) the destruction of German military power; (3) reparations for
damages done by Germany and her allies; (4) the disposition of German
colonies and protectorates; and (5) the League of Nations.
Germany was reduced by the cession of Alsace-Lorraine to France and the
loss of several other provinces. Austria-Hungary was dissolved and
dismembered. Russia was reduced by the creation of new states on the
west. Bulgaria was stripped of her gains in the recent Balkan wars.
Turkey was dismembered. Nine new independent states were created:
Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Esthonia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia,
Armenia, and Hedjaz. Italy, Greece, Rumania, and Serbia were enlarged by
cessions of territory and Serbia was transformed into the great state of
Jugoslavia.
The destruction of German military power was thorough. The entire navy,
with minor exceptions, was turned over to the Allied and Associated
Powers; Germany's total equipment for the future was limited to six
battleships and six light cruisers, with certain small vessels but no
submarines. The number of enlisted men and officers for the army was
fixed at not more than 100,000; the General Staff was dissolved; and the
manufacture of munitions restricted.
Germany was compelled to accept full responsibility for all damages; to
pay five billion dollars in cash and goods, and to make certain other
payments which might be ordered from time to time by an inter-allied
reparations commission. She was also required to deliver to Belgium,
France, and Italy, millions of tons of coal every year for ten years;
while by way of additional compensation to France the rich coal basin of
the Saar was placed under inter-allied control to be exploited under
French administration for a period of at least fifteen years. Austria
and the other associates of Germany were also laid under heavy
obligations to the victors. Damages done to shipping by submarines and
other vessels were to be paid for on the basis of ton for ton.
The disposition of the German colonies and the old Ottoman empire
presented knotty problems. It was finally agreed that the German
colonies and Turkish provinces which were in a backward stage of
development should be placed under the tutelage of certain powers acting
as "mandatories" holding them in "a sacred trust of civilization." An
exception to the mandatory principle arose in the case of German rights
in Shantung, all of which were transferred directly to Japan. It was
this arrangement that led the Chinese delegation to withhold their
signatures from the treaty.
The League of Nations
High among the purposes which he had in mind
in summoning the nation to arms, President Wilson placed the desire to
put an end to war. All through the United States the people spoke of the
"war to end war." No slogan called forth a deeper response from the
public. The President himself repeatedly declared that a general
association of nations must be formed to guard the peace and protect all
against the ambitions of the few. "As I see it," he said in his address
on opening the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign, "the constitution of the
League of Nations and the clear definition of its objects must be a
part, in a sense the most essential part, of the peace settlement
itself."
Nothing was more natural, therefore, than Wilson's insistence at Paris
upon the formation of an international association. Indeed he had gone
to Europe in person largely to accomplish that end. Part One of the
treaty with Germany, the Covenant of the League of Nations, was due to
his labors more than to any other influence. Within the League thus
created were to be embraced all the Allied and Associated Powers and
nearly all the neutrals. By a two-thirds vote of the League Assembly the
excluded nations might be admitted.
The agencies of the League of Nations were to be three in number: (1) a
permanent secretariat located at Geneva; (2) an Assembly consisting of
one delegate from each country, dominion, or self-governing colony
(including Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and India); (3)
and a Council consisting of representatives of the United States, Great
Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, and four other representatives
selected by the Assembly from time to time.
The duties imposed on the League and the obligations accepted by its
members were numerous and important. The Council was to take steps to
formulate a scheme for the reduction of armaments and to submit a plan
for the establishment of a permanent Court of International Justice. The
members of the League (Article X) were to respect and preserve as
against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing
political independence of all the associated nations. They were to
submit to arbitration or inquiry by the Council all disputes which could
not be adjusted by diplomacy and in no case to resort to war until three
months after the award. Should any member disregard its covenants, its
action would be considered an act of war against the League, which would
accordingly cut off the trade and business of the hostile member and
recommend through the Council to the several associated governments the
military measures to be taken. In case the decision in any arbitration
of a dispute was unanimous, the members of the League affected by it
were to abide by it.
Such was the settlement at Paris and such was the association of nations
formed to promote the peace of the world. They were quickly approved by
most of the powers, and the first Assembly of the League of Nations met
at Geneva late in 1920.
The Treaty in the United States
When the treaty was presented to the
United States Senate for approval, a violent opposition appeared. In
that chamber the Republicans had a slight majority and a two-thirds vote
was necessary for ratification. The sentiment for and against the treaty
ran mainly along party lines; but the Republicans were themselves
divided. The major portion, known as "reservationists," favored
ratification with certain conditions respecting American rights; while a
small though active minority rejected the League of Nations in its
entirety, announcing themselves to be "irreconcilables." The grounds of
this Republican opposition lay partly in the terms of peace imposed on
Germany and partly in the Covenant of the League of Nations. Exception
was taken to the clauses which affected the rights of American citizens
in property involved in the adjustment with Germany, but the burden of
criticism was directed against the League. Article X guaranteeing
against external aggression the political independence and territorial
integrity of the members of the League was subjected to a specially
heavy fire; while the treatment accorded to China and the sections
affecting American internal affairs were likewise attacked as "unjust
and dangerous." As an outcome of their deliberations, the Republicans
proposed a long list of reservations which touched upon many of the
vital parts of the treaty. These were rejected by President Wilson as
amounting in effect to a "nullification of the treaty." As a deadlock
ensued the treaty was definitely rejected, owing to the failure of its
sponsors to secure the requisite two-thirds vote.
The League of Nations in the Campaign of 1920
At this juncture the
presidential campaign of 1920 opened. The Republicans, while condemning
the terms of the proposed League, endorsed the general idea of an
international agreement to prevent war. Their candidate, Senator
Warren G. Harding of Ohio, maintained a similar position without saying
definitely whether the League devised at Paris could be recast in such a
manner as to meet his requirements. The Democrats, on the other hand,
while not opposing limitations clarifying the obligations of the United
States, demanded "the immediate ratification of the treaty without
reservations which would impair its essential integrity." The Democratic
candidate, Governor James M. Cox, of Ohio, announced his firm conviction
that the United States should "go into the League," without closing the
door to mild reservations; he appealed to the country largely on that
issue. The election of Senator Harding, in an extraordinary "landslide,"
coupled with the return of a majority of Republicans to the Senate, made
uncertain American participation in the League of Nations.
The United States and International Entanglements
Whether America
entered the League or not, it could not close its doors to the world and
escape perplexing international complications. It had ever-increasing
financial and commercial connections with all other countries. Our
associates in the recent war were heavily indebted to our government.
The prosperity of American industries depended to a considerable extent
upon the recovery of the impoverished and battle-torn countries of
Europe.
There were other complications no less specific. The United States was
compelled by force of circumstances to adopt a Russian policy. The
government of the Czar had been overthrown by a liberal revolution,
which in turn had been succeeded by an extreme, communist
"dictatorship." The Bolsheviki, or majority faction of the socialists,
had obtained control of the national council of peasants, workingmen,
and soldiers, called the soviet, and inaugurated a radical regime. They
had made peace with Germany in March, 1918. Thereupon the United States
joined England, France, and Japan in an unofficial war upon them. After
the general settlement at Paris in 1919, our government, while
withdrawing troops from Siberia and Archangel, continued in its refusal
to recognize the Bolshevists or to permit unhampered trade with them.
President Wilson repeatedly denounced them as the enemies of
civilization and undertook to lay down for all countries the principles
which should govern intercourse with Russia.
Further international complications were created in connection with the
World War, wholly apart from the terms of peace or the League of
Nations. The United States had participated in a general European
conflict which changed the boundaries of countries, called into being
new nations, and reduced the power and territories of the vanquished.
Accordingly, it was bound to face the problem of how far it was prepared
to cooeperate with the victors in any settlement of Europe's
difficulties. By no conceivable process, therefore, could America be
disentangled from the web of world affairs. Isolation, if desirable, had
become impossible. Within three hundred years from the founding of the
tiny settlements at Jamestown and Plymouth, America, by virtue of its
institutions, its population, its wealth, and its commerce, had become
first among the nations of the earth. By moral obligations and by
practical interests its fate was thus linked with the destiny of all
mankind.
SUMMARY OF DEMOCRACY AND THE WORLD WAR
The astounding industrial progress that characterized the period
following the Civil War bequeathed to the new generation many perplexing
problems connected with the growth of trusts and railways, the
accumulation of great fortunes, the increase of poverty in the
industrial cities, the exhaustion of the free land, and the acquisition
of dominions in distant seas. As long as there was an abundance of land
in the West any able-bodied man with initiative and industry could
become an independent farmer. People from the cities and immigrants from
Europe had always before them that gateway to property and prosperity.
When the land was all gone, American economic conditions inevitably
became more like those of Europe.
Though the new economic questions had been vigorously debated in many
circles before his day, it was President Roosevelt who first discussed
them continuously from the White House. The natural resources of the
country were being exhausted; he advocated their conservation. Huge
fortunes were being made in business creating inequalities in
opportunity; he favored reducing them by income and inheritance taxes.
Industries were disturbed by strikes; he pressed arbitration upon
capital and labor. The free land was gone; he declared that labor was in
a less favorable position to bargain with capital and therefore should
organize in unions for collective bargaining. There had been wrong-doing
on the part of certain great trusts; those responsible should be
punished.
The spirit of reform was abroad in the land. The spoils system was
attacked. It was alleged that the political parties were dominated by
"rings and bosses." The United States Senate was called "a millionaires'
club." Poverty and misery were observed in the cities. State
legislatures and city governments were accused of corruption.
In answer to the charges, remedies were proposed and adopted. Civil
service reform was approved. The Australian ballot, popular election of
Senators, the initiative, referendum, and recall, commission and city
manager plans for cities, public regulation of railways, compensation
for those injured in industries, minimum wages for women and children,
pensions for widows, the control of housing in the cities--these and a
hundred other reforms were adopted and tried out. The national watchword
became: "America, Improve Thyself."
The spirit of reform broke into both political parties. It appeared in
many statutes enacted by Congress under President Taft's leadership. It
disrupted the Republicans temporarily in 1912 when the Progressive party
entered the field. It led the Democratic candidate in that year,
Governor Wilson, to make a "progressive appeal" to the v