1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. Announcer American History tv is on cspan3 every weekend featuring museum tours, archival films, and programs on the presidency, the civil war, and much more. Here is a clip from a recent program. Here she is at 87. In an 1860 brigade eight march to the Capitol Building in d. C. , or they delivered a petition against the ruthless slaughter in vietnam. The speaker of the house, john mccormick, a veteran of world war i. 50 years seemed very short at that moment i think. ,n another echo of the war during the great war there is a 1970s soul record that shot to number one on the billboard chart by edward star. Imposed the rhetorical question, war, what is it good for . Absolutely nothing1 absolutely nothing announcer you can watch this and other American History programs on our website, where all video is archived. Thats cspan. Org history. Next on American History tv, historians j sexton and Jennifer Keene discuss the events leading up to world war i. They comment on audio clips from a fivepart dramatize world war i podcast series by british playwright martin wade. The podcast and discussion highlight president Woodrow Wilsons attempts to negotiate a Peace Agreement among the before america entered world war i in april 1917. Museumional world war i in kansas city, missouri hosted this event. Lora in 1926, this place opened. It was dedicated to those who had the courage, honor, patriotism, and sacrifice to defend their nation, and also in the hope of a just and lasting peace, which is in part, and in whole, our conversation this evening. This evening we are going to be discussing that u. S. Entry into world war i in april of 1917. It is part of a much larger ies that is a docudrama partn me and the first of our conversation we will be looking at the u. S. In 1914 when the war broke out in europe. Then we will look at wilsons reelection in 1916, the decision to go to war, and finally the u. S. At war. Evening is made up of two. Originally it was going to be three speakers. I do not have the lovely gentleman whoted should be here in my place, professor hugh strong, who is the key narrator throughout much of this docudrama. He is sending his regrets this evening. U. K. , to go back to the but is doing well, and we look forward to welcoming him back to the National World war i museum and memorial sometime very soon. Sexton is the inaugural candor endowed chair in constitutional democracy at the university of missouri. For the past 20 years been at oxford university, but you all in this hometown crowd might also like to know that now at the university of missouri, he originated at the university of kansas, so regardless of what side you are on, please greet again, as cand some great questions. [applause] and you might have seen dr. Jennifer keene on the american experience. She has been a key figure in much of the u. S. And the global admiration of the First World War. Thehas been working with 19141918 encyclopedia project. She is the current president for the society of military history, and she is the professor and chair of the department of history at chapman university. Tonight, to introduce ease of the discussion topics we have mentioned, we will plan experts from a new docudrama podcast from chrome radio about the u. S. Entry into world war i called enter the peace broker. The drama was generally was using contemporary diaries, letters, and newspaper reports, enter the peace broker brings americas journey into world war i vividly alive. Ascover a compiling compelling story of duplicity, intrigue, and power politics. For those of you interested in listening more to this because we knows that sounds really good, it is free via itunes and includes introductions from consultants to the production. Chrome radio is recording this evenings discussion, the podcast will be in due course. So lets get started. I would like to introduce our first clip and excerpt from the docudrama. This comes from the opening. It is february 1915. Since the been at war previous august, and colonel house, president wilsons righthand man, is on his way to london on an unofficial peace mission. Gentlemen, if you please. The daily mail february 2, 1915. The crew of the steamship sunk by german summary u21 saturday has returned home. Hissubmarine commanded , and all of sea them have been spotted in st. Georges channel. , commenting on the attack, said the german people will hear the news with great pleasure. As anglin seems to place her main hope on the starving out of germany. As a deal with us, so we must deal with them. February 6, 1915. On board the lusitania, it looked as if we might perish, so fierce was the storm. Despite our great size, the ship tossed about like a cork in the rapids. As we approached the irish coast, our captain decided to voice to the american flag. This created much excitement. A finethe lusitania is ship, we dont claim it as one of our own. The captain had become greatly alarmed at the possible threat of a german submarine and raised the flag in order to reduce the chance we would be torpedoed. Because of his concern, he mapped out a complete program for the rescue of passengers and launching of lifeboats, etc. But under the stars and stripes, we are arriving safely. Thanks be to god. General edward house has reached britains shores. President s righthand man, his advisor, though he has no ministerial position. Whether he is really a criminal or not a kernel or not a colonel or not is not certain. , thell talk to politicians great and the good. He can talk to me if he cares to. When mr. Edward house is staying with you, house, president wilsons man, just arrived. A meeting with lord northcliffe might be high up on his agenda. Wantl tell him that we all peace, but not at any price. A negotiated peace sounds like defeated talk to me. We will win in the end, i am certain we will, and my newspapers are playing a crucial role in securing victory. Lora the United States was divided in 1914 as to who they were supporting. They were supporting both sides and yet neutral at the same time. Jay, could you set the scene for us for 1914 in the u. S. . Prof. Sexton theres divisions in 1914. Im glad to hear in kansas city theres no longer divisions between ku and missou. [laughter] stage in 1914 . Obviously the outbreak of an epochal, transformative conflict in europe is going to change the world. America is going to try to not get involved and is not going to be able to insulate itself from the contagion. The context is not just international. It is also domestic context in the United States. 1914, the tail end of a decades long process of ,ndustrialization, urbanization transformation of the nations demography from immigration. Ofs is the great peak period immigration in American History, the three or four decades before 1914. Inis not a single entity 1914, and that is essential to understanding what happens thereafter. To make two more points about what is important in 1914, what do we need to know before we start thinking about the United States and its entanglement in this great conflict . The first thing we need to know is about americas Foreign Policy. I woulds Foreign Policy characterize in this period as one of indecision, one of conflicting impulses, conflicting traditions. There is no single American Vision of how this very , andlistic, diverse gargantuan nation should interact with the wider world. That is really important. In fact there has been great debate about how america should interact with the wider world not just in 1914, but going back. I think the key thing you would need to know is about 1898. The spanishamerican war, the moment in which the United States formally joins the club of him. When european powers when it Imperial Club of european powers when it defeats spain, extending american influence in the caribbean. It is projecting at how her, but this is deeply contentious and projectinghome its power, but this is deeply contentious and divisive at home. There is indecision and debate at that point. 1914,st thing to say is setting the stage, it is a moment of great uncertainty across the globe. You not only have the war in europe breaking out. Revolutione mexican entering a new accelerated phase. Mostis probably one of the important things to know if youre going to study the United States in this period, and very few know today apart from saying poncho vi lla is their favorite mexican restaurant. It is right on the border, raising all sorts of questions about how the United States should begin to assert its newfound power. Lora jennifer, could you tell us a little more about the state of the armed forces in 1914 . Dr. Keene i want to first say that i am from california, so i am neutral in this misery debate missouri debate. [laughter] a lot like wilson is neutral in 1914. I think it is important to understand the state of the American Military and 19 four teen in part to understand 1914 in part to understand his neutrality and how the american geopolitical situation had changed as a result of the spanishamerican war. When we think about the army and the navy that america had, it has the army and the navy that the kind ofhandle responsibilities it envisioned having as a result of this transformative moment at the turnofthecentury. We needed an army that could guard the border with mexico, that could undertake some sort of Police Action in the caribbean, that could occasionally be used in domestic disputes. We had a navy that was primarily focused on the pacific in terms of thinking about guaranteeing our control over our Pacific Island possessions. In 1914 webly know, had a relatively small peacetime army, and of course the National Guard. One of the big debates between control over the military force in the United States, will it primarily be federally or statecontrolled. And saying, why werent me more prepared in 1914, i would make the case that in 1914 we had military we needed for the responsibilities we had to find for ourselves. I would just add one other point in terms of thinking about wilson and his decision about neutrality, which i think i have been implying was in a sense a practical decision. It would have been difficult to conceive of getting immediately involved in 1914. But he has another practical problem, become position of the people of the United States. I think one of the most telling phrases in his neutrality what the United States says and do will depend on what the American People say and do. He understands in 1914 he does not have a Public Opinion unified around a notion of entering this conflict. Lora and it is a really international, Domestic Group we have at that point in time, but it is a nation of immigrants. We have a lot of conversation about immigrants today. 100 years ago was awfully similar as well. Could you speak to the u. S. As a community of immigrants from europe that might have torn their loyalties in 1814 . Prof. Sexton this is one of the key points. If anything, we talk about immigration today and the percentage of the population of the United States that is foreignborn today is still not reached its historic peak, which is right around at the turnofthecentury. T is just shy of 15 that is coming on the heels of a earlier waves of immigration, which should not be forgotten. Two of the most important ethnic immigrant groups in the great war were those that arrived in the mid19th century, and that is of course the irish and the germans. They are going to be very important, but what is also important to realize is that the majority of them had been in this country now for 70 years. We are talking secondgeneration, sometimes thirdgeneration. The wave of immigrants that arrived right before the great , most ofs out in 1914 them are from europe as welcome, but from different parts of europe. Southern europe, places like italy and greece, and from eastern europe, including russia come a ukraine, large jewish populations, catholics, all sorts of diverse immigrants coming to the United States, first or second generation. When wilson is talking about trying to put his finger on the pulse of american Public Opinion, i think this is a big part of it. It is not the only difficulty inputting the finger on the pulse because theres all sorts of conflicting identities and tribal loyalties in the United States that we still have today. Things like partisan affiliation , geographic locale. Are you from the midwest, from kansas city, from a port city on the oceanic coast . All of those things are the prisms through which people view the great war as it breaks out. It is a pluralistic, diverse society. There is no single american response to the war, and that is the essential background for the difficulties confronting the wilson administration. Dr. Keene i would add to this portrait of thinking about immigrants being such a key factor of American Life in 1914 that part of the trends jay was mentioning about the world really becoming a smaller place because of communication revolutions that this is also a way for immigrants to stay more connected to their homelands, and especially the families that were still there. You could had generations that had been there for two or three that had not lost touch from where they came from or with the relatives they still had in the old world. I think this is an important thing for us to appreciate what we do think about how americans responded to neutrality and the diversity of responses. If we had to have one unifying way that americans respond in 1914 and 1917, it is through humanitarian aid. No matter what immigrant group you are talking about, those immigrants are mobilizing within their communities to send aid back to the communities from which they originate. Part of this is political and part of it is having a difference of opinion about who is to blame for the war and who is fighting for what. But a lot of it is about personal connections that you have. , a huges war unleashes humanitarian crisis, refugee crisis, widows, orphans, these are personal connections made to these communities, and americans respond. In that sense we are divided, but yet united in this kind of desire to help make the situation better. Believe that that becomes an Important Foundation upon which wilson is able to build with his idealistic language that the United States can in fact make a difference. Lora here at the National World war i museum and muriel we have as museum and memorial we had a set of letters writing back to a German Family trying to find out how things are going and the like, as well as those efforts of humanitarians on all sides, those trying to aid on the allied, those aiding the central powers, and there are some phenomenal posters that americans are putting forth to try to rally the effort. I am so glad you brought up the humanitarian effort because for so Many Americans, what we know and wes the lusitania think about that poster, but there are so many more diverse stories. Prof. Sexton one of the key points there is that when we think about wars and Public Opinion, we tend to think, who do you support . Are you with them or with them . In addition to this confusion, i would say one way of characterizing american Public Opinion is that nobody wants the war. They want relief. They want humanitarian objectives. The mediation attempts we have just heard, diplomatic extension of that very attitude. Lora Woodrow Wilson is elected in 1916 underneath the slogan he kept us out of the war, which is going to be what our second excerpt from the docudrama is about. Here in this second episode, it is november 1916, and wilson has just been reelected. [cheering and applause] on the streets and squares they were filled to overflowing. Results were displayed everywhere by electric lights and cinematograph. Wilsons reelection to the presidency seemed less than certain, but then the situation began to change. Results gradually came in from the west. Memoir of edith wilson, november 10. Woodrow had been called and undisturbed throughout, but i could see the strain was beginning to tell on him. Great crowds at the station. A lady rushed forward, presented me with a fragrant cluster of violence, and said happiest wishes to you and your husband, the next president of the United States. for the first time i felt confident that despite all reports to the contrary, woodrow had been reelected. November 15, wilson addressed the country was rate nicety. Under his administration, they have enjoyed teeth unbroken and Prosperity Peace unbroken and prosperity. In his second term he possesses greater freedom of action. The germans suppose that mr. Wilson would be defeated. They branded him as the most hated man in germany, and proposed to indulge in a ruthless submarine campaign during the last four months of his term on the insulin assumption that he would have neither the power nor the will to challenge german action. Now that they find mr. Wilson reelected, they are confident that he will remain neutral, whatever germany chooses to do. But they reluctantly confess that president wilson remains president wilson. He does, and we are content that it should be so. However, he may be president wilson with a difference. [indiscernible] good. That was pretty that deserves a round of applause. [applause] i promise the next time that happens, when you step up and do the soft shoe, that is going to be even bigger and better. Mece you were so kind to set up for that nice transition, could you explain just a bit why it was that wilson won the election of 1916 . Prof. Sexton the most obvious answer is you get the most votes in the electoral college. [laughter] but not by a long shot. Have interestingly, we public memories of these contested come a very close president ial elections, and it seems like 1916 very rarely is one of those, but it is absolutely one of those. It comes down to a few thousand votes on the west coast in california that trickle in. I think we heard about that in the statement. Why does wilson win . He wins those key swing states. The big one and this period remains what it is always in the late 19th century and remains to this day, which is ohio, which is revealing why he wins that state. In the bigger picture, i think one thing you have got to zoom in on is the visions is divisions within the ranks of the republican party. This is a continuation of the theme we saw in 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt ran on the Bull Moose Progressive Party ticket, splitting some of the republicans, opening the door for a democrat to win, the first democrat since Grover Cleveland act in the late 19th century. The democrats and wilson are building a coalition. This is not the new Deal Coalition yet, but there are important of it there are portents of it. Immigrant communities catholics, Wilson Building on that come expanding the democratic vote, and wins a greater percentage of the popular vote in 1916 that he had in 1912. That i hear the trend is 1914, 1917 is a lot like 2017, though a little bit different. Safety news fake news, anything the back in that era . Was propaganda in effect . Dr. Keene clearly wilson set out in 1914 that it depended on who won the hearts and minds of americans in the debate of how america should respond to the war. We saw from the beginning german and british propagandists really taking that message to heart. Thinking about how they could persuade americans to see things through their points of view. The lusitania is a perfect example of this am aware you can see both sides really speaking to the American Public. The germans claiming that lusitania was carrying american, flying an flag when it shouldnt be, that it agreed to take these men and women and children into a war zone with full awareness that this was a dangerous undertaking , versus the british, who argue ,hat this is just bloodthirsty on humanitarian, uncivilized americans are being inundated with propaganda as we would have to say that in this propaganda war, the british are winning. They understand american psyche better and there are some Public Opinion blows that germany can never recover from. We think of lusitania but we also think of the moment when the price report was released. This is the divorce report that details the eyewitness atrocities that the german army committed when innovative elgin. We also have the execution at edith canal. Things, together at the same moment all highlighting women and children as the true victims of these german atrocities, this is really hard for germany to ever recover from it with reasoned arguments about International Law and why it should we they should be allowed to use submarines and this is to legalistic an explanation and contrast. In 1916, where the u. S. Armed forces ready for work likes 1916i made a point that in 1914 we had the army and navy we needed and now by 1916 you can see there is also some movement crystallizing in the United States, both the Preparedness Movement that argues we should be making some preparations in the event that we need to fight in this war and equally strong thoughthat saw and moved to strengthen the military as a slippery slope that would inevitably get us important toit is understand how strong both these movements are when we look at what the u. S. Does in 1916 when it does make some small, incremental steps in the military but these are compromised measures. Planneda small increase in the regular army to get us up to 175,000 men. Still, nothing dramatic and we have increased supervision of the National Guard to improve their training. Importanthe most thing we do is we create the council of National Defense which allows the government to start serving its economy and its Economic Resources. As we know, the Economic Resource they will that will be any one way we fight this war. As you argument of these in this evening, maybe knowingly or unknowingly you actually passed right by the kansas city metal reserve, the Federal Reserve was just a newly formed organization, how important was u. S. Spending to the allied war effort and the changes that were happening at the time . The funding is absolutely essential. The first thing to say is picking up on the point about military preparedness, also, the Federal Reserve board, the Federal Reserve act a few years before the war started, in those instances, what you have is not just the United States developing institutions and forms of political economy that service its immediate needs, i agree with that point that it is also the product of longrunning traditions and there is the longrunning tradition, the aversion to a standing army, to a professional military, that that was in semiunamerican and that needed to be guarded against at all cost. The same thing about the centralization, the fighting, if anything it is Even Stronger and american tradition, particularly within wilsons own Democratic Party, there are many of these populists like william jennings, that means name right might ring about. There is longrunning forces that was and is running up against, in terms of funding, we see a huge change in where the United States since on the International Financial markets. So throughout American History, going back into the colonial. , the United States had been the great black hole for capital, it just sucks in foreign investment, it is a rapidly developing economy. Are signs that is beginning to change, that the United States is beginning to export capital in the decades before the great war but the great war rapidly accelerates that process. Between 1914 and 1917, the United States transitions from being a debtor nation to a creditor nation. This is important for two reasons, the first is because it entangles the United States on the british and french effort in ways that does not with the germans. The same dynamic we were hearing about, it plays out in the hardheaded world of finance. I think the second reason why this is significant is because there is no going back after 1917, there is no going back, the United States is invested in the cause, those investments will persist after the war, it will shape american foreignpolicy in the 1920s, it will shape the course of the Great Depression in the 1930s and as a consequence it will shape the origins of the Second World War and the cold war institutions that developed thereafter. This is a longrunning thing that shapes both the great war itself and the long history, a very important thing, never we talk about finance, everyones eyes gloss over. The student im used to to first start snoozing. Let me tie you that this is really important. Nation, weeat debtor are reverting back to a norm, this is a contentious political issue about where the United States sits on Global Financial markets and Commodity Markets so that we can well understand why it is so important to be that way. Scenario of humanitarian needs pouring into europe and then pouring into europe, a lot of this money is now coming back to the United States and it is that the United States outofdate recession and creating jobs at a market for agricultural goods that in a sense, this notion that we are also profiting from the war and the morality of that becomes an important public issue as well. Dont forget that 1913, not just the Federal Reserve created somethingbrain or approximating a central brain for the Financial System but also a reduction in tariffs. Reducing tariffs, breaking down some of those terror was, opening up the economy and for those very reasons this is a Real International moment for American Economic history. Third exit from the docudrama, it is just what you guys were talking about, the march of 1917, wondering whether or not we should declare war and in particular, is the newly reelected president Woodrow Wilson wondering whether he should ask congress to declare war. March 20 7, 1917, meeting with the president , he wondered whether he should ask congress to declare war. Where state that were already exist and requests the necessary means to carry it through. I advised the latter option. If you put a declaration of war up to congress, it might well be in and ramones debate. Acrimonious debate. I told him he should meet the challenges so that when the his reputation, and input is not reduced and he is able to do the great work that would follow. I took the liberty to see just him that he might not be wellsuited to be the immediate task. Fine, too civilized, to cultivate it. It needs a man of coarser fiber, brutal,to conduct a egress, successful war. He agreed. March 30, perfect weather but woodrow thought he must work on his message to congress. We closed the door and gave orders that no one was to disturb him. We longed alone. London, my accusation is this, the american and the sea he sued soothed the American People and encourage them to either pike, sat them down and comfortable chairs and that just stay there. Hasarch 31, woodrow continued work on his war message, as usual, except in shorthand and in correcting it in a combination of shorthand and longhand and then making a fair copy on his typewriter. Meanwhile, i like to the workload by decoding some messages that had come in. Waso the belligerence, he offensively condescending, conceived a vision of him as president peacemaker, now, at last, he has been pushed into action. Now, his big idea will be to show how he led the people into a glorious war in defense of democracy but the plain truth is this whole rigid business has been a catalog of errors. April 1, the message is finished. This is a man who likes to shut himself away, engage in what he calls thoughts. Worldr current of the never ventilate his mind as he maintains his inactive position for as long as public sentiment allows. He is not a leader, he is not a peacemaker, he is a stubborn phrase maker. Atapril 2, congress convened 12, new in. We reached the capital, the crowd was almost as large as our inauguration day. In the gallery, every seat was taken. Woodrow kamen, everyone rose to the feet and my heart seemed to stop beating. He delivered the speech, there was utter silence until he pronounced the words we will not choose the path of submission whereupon chief Justice White and an accident that results are got up and cheered. The response from the floor and the galleries was deafening. Woodrow wilson, the last president to not work as a speechwriter. He used eight words that changed american foreignpolicy forever. War, he changed the direction of the United States and set it on the path that we are still on today. In 1917, to what extent do you think the American Public really believes that we were getting into a war because of uboats or the Zimmerman Telegram . We were talking about other sentiment and other things that americans were also drawn to at the time. View, we like to simplify our history and picking one Pivotal Moment where it all and especiallyes something as important as a declaration of war, it is a comforting way to tell our history so we can look at ships going down, the main gets attacked, pearl harbor, this explains very compact decisions about us fighting her wars, it is my view that the zimmerman , these were not things that dramatically changed anybodys minds, they reaffirmed views that people already had. The majority of people had already turned to favoring allies over germany, but those people that had not made those transformations were also not persuaded by these events either, there were a lot of people that looked at the Zimmerman Telegram that were against entering the war and believed this was not a credible threat, there is no way germany could make good on this. They also that unconditional summary warfare as aimed at stopping british shipping from the United States, if we were going to plunge britain for violating International Law the same way we were punishing germany, they would be no problem. They were in persuasive events, they were just cumulative events that convinced wilson that the time to move was now, that a german victory with threaten this National Security of the United States and also it was the moment at which he embraced i would argue that one of the things that he gives us not just nice phrases for us to repeat what he gives us this enduring faith that we embrace the 20th century and the war is the way to make a world better place, through work, you can accomplish the things and i think this has been a recurring theme that we have seen ever since the First World War. 1917, how united was the United States toward this war effort . Is a good question, a difficult question to answer in absence of the polling data that we had today. There was no question that the divisions which we were discussing earlier persisted. War, and thatto for several months since 1917 when you have all the acceleration of these events happening which i agree is the key military affect, this one thing, it sets up the work, it is the community of effect and harry puts those who are opposing war or intervention on the defensive. It is very difficult to sustain that argument over time and it gets more difficult in early 1917. That being said, there are still divisions, you bet. If you look at the vote in congress on the war message, they are fairly decisive, there are a few dissenting votes in it is a decisive vote. The opponents of intervention had drawn a line in the sand a little bit earlier and the local example is senator stone from missouri was it wasnt like, he was for wilson in 1912, it opposes those will war message in the run up to 18 of april 1917. In particular, the big issue, the last emperor congress and the centers of this time was the decision to our most merchants six merchant ships which was an admission that thewould be involved in war. Stone turned back, he supported wasnt in april of 1917, he falls into line but this unity within the Democratic Party and more generally will persist, we can see it in all the legislation of what you declare war, there are so many other issues you have to decide, finance, resource mobilization, all those things will be deeply contentious. One other thing to say is that it is interesting to hear that live about the x confederate and the cathartic moment of sexual reconciliation and how that was interpreted or how older americans, even younger americans in 1917, what is seen, what was happening through the prism of the American Civil War which still casts such a shadow over everything that was happening in the United States, we open talk about the spanishamerican war of 1898. It was interesting to hear that was still has all americans interpreted 1917. I would head onto this that it was hard to parse out all segments of Public Opinion because we had imperfect measures, it is important to realize that wilson himself was concerned that there still remained a significant antiwar constituency in the United States, thats look at some of the first things he proposes which is press censorship. This is something that congress refuses to offer us but he wanted. The compromise, they have the espionage act in 1917 was will be strengthened dramatically in 1918 with this sedition act. This idea that we will have to silence those people who voted against the war, who spoke out against the war, that they will no longer be able to express those opinions, not because their opinions matter but because they may in fact influence other people as we fight a long, bloody, difficult war that people expect to take several years, the sense that he is not 100 sure he has the country behind him. I think it is really demonstrated in his immediate attempt to centralize that kind which we have not seen a government try to do since much earlier in our nations history. One of the key people behind walter. This was the u. S. Ambassador to london, he had some really beautiful writings in 1914. As we will hear in the final clip of our docudrama, it is now april of 1917, the u. S. Has just declared war and this is walter hines page, the u. S. Ambassador to london. Johnny get your guns. Taken on the run, on the run. Me, them calling you and every son of liberty. Make your daddy glad to have had such a lad. The american embassy, london, war will invigorate us, it will lick us up. It will shake us up. We need to this war. Just as much as the germans need taking down. Isolation, end our it will make us less mysteriously hospitable to every kind of immigrants. It will reestablish our true heritage. It will revive our manhood, it will make us a great, seafaring nation like written. Five or 10 years from now or center, the dead will be forgotten. The suffering will be a mere memory. Recover theirl blum. Life will go on much as before. But america can learn from the war, it can become greater, stronger, we should cultivate those manly qualities required in wartime. We can result to be true to our traditions and ancestry. We can free ourselves from our isolationist landlubbers thinking, build ships, ships and more. Ships, foodtroop ships. Auxiliary ships as well, wooden ships, steel ships, big ships, ships without number. We can sell them to the end of the oceans and dominate the world both in trade and in political ideology. As well as ships, as well as Expeditionary Forces and loans to the allies at the low rate of interest, we must make the moral issue clear. Wrongs that have been done to us but injury has also been done to our ideals. If we value democracy and the world, this is the chance to further it. No more dreams about peace and conferences and leads for the enforcing of other end of it intellectual diversions. This is war. We must fight it. That quote might be a far cry from the symposium we held here two weeks ago. But an important man in our history and certainly in informing Woodrow Wilson and he outlines some similar essential point in that piece, looking at the right of state control, definitions of masculinity and citizenship and i dont know if you caught it but he also talked about the importance of ships. Could one of you talk about the u. S. Navy and his contribution in his economic measures with shipping . I did know this was going to come up, i am writing a book about shipping lines. Im just going to cut to the chase, the gentleman, the ambassador, what he is talking about is the american shipping industry being a midget at this time. Inhad grown rather quickly the first decades of the 20th century. But it is a real concern. He would still be disappointed to look at this ledger book to know that half of the u. S. Troops that were sent to france in 19171918 went on british ships, i think that is what he is getting at. The other thing to note about this, that masculine language and how war would sometime this somehow revitalize a flagging american manhood, this is the , the apathy of the suffragette movement, women will get the constitutional amendment to vote in 1920. This is not just an american phenomenon, it is happening around the world and britain at the same time. His comments addressed to that. Let me make one more point. ,e often think about wars especially in this country of United States as accelerators of social dress, i think that is rooted in our vision of the the constitutional basis of civil rights, though it would take a long time to fulfill that, we think of that because of the Second World War which really facilitated social change, we want to have the Civil Rights Movement succeeds, you have two of started in the Second World War. I wondered if the First World War as a provides the alternative lesson that war can orelerate social regression to not put a value on it, it can enforce embolden those who oppose the expansion of rights, one of the great legacies of the First World War, immigration restriction in 1921, the emergence of white supremacy, the ku klux klan, there effigies of in the next 20. The red square, that anticommunist hysteria, that is all a product of the passion we just heard that is all linked to the First World War, was accelerate change regardless of which direction. I dont think what does anything, i think people in war do things. That theeresting movements you mentioned, female suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, you can take a little bit about content is objection and how having a right to object to serve in the military based on principle rather than your affiliation, these are all three movements that are used during the First World War and these are movements that in many ways in the environment that we were talking about earlier, they could have easily just as appeared because they were the centers. Not always from the purpose of fighting the war but certainly from the idea that they should be setting their special grievances aside and only be thinking about the war. Many of these activists that you see happening during the war is war andy see in opportunity to strategize in a different way and also to recruit new members into their organizations, you might not have seen the significance or the moment is now for us to move on these issues. I think that in some ways, everything you said is completely true about the regression in terms of the overall tenor of the country when it comes to certain rights, but if we think about the critical organizations like the naacp that would be so critical throughout the 20th century, 1909, the naacp is a brandnew organization, it is tiny. It is the First World War that gives it a National Presence and is able to recruit soldiers and activists and many different communities into its ranks so it is always interesting to think about the way that people are responding to war which in my wed determine what direction had in. We can look at world war ii as a great moment eventually but what about japaneseamerican internment. There are always these conflicting ideas. We called selective service, what we were think about is this quote that were has this kind of elevates thet moral tenor of the country because sun we have another purpose to commit ourselves to. I think through conscription and other selective service, which in many ways argues that the entire nation is subject to call from the government to serve the nation in times of war and the sense of not even having to think anymore about whether you support or do support the war. Do support america and your responsibility as a citizen, there is this civic religion that gets developed during the war that people find very appealing. One of the great things the great ironies of the First World War and all the social changes that we are referring to, regardless of how they play out, it is how quick the United States is experiencing the First World War is relative to the european experience. There is a great acceleration of change but there is not necessarily the resolution you would see in the European Countries and the other experiences. Individuals, that is in part how this museum exists, things thatl these went overseas and men sent back souvenirs to their loved ones, they brought back with them the trappings of being a doughboy, some serving inside the United States but many serving overseas and from those experiences, how were americans received in europe and by the europeans . Then france, which is where majority of soldiers went, they were seen as saviors, they were certainly seen as an infusion of numbers and energy and enthusiasm and material abundance that was going to be in many respects the decisive factor in terms of the allied thatry, there is no doubt american soldiers felt welcomed in france, a methane it didnt have some disagreements but they certainly felt welcomed by french civilians of french soldiers. I think that regard became usual overtime. In the beginning, american soldiers were trained to look with disdain at the europeans, that they had some fighting defensively, they didnt know how to win the war, if you look at the individual doughboy and their experiences with french and british soldiers, they will tell you a completely different story where they can into respect what the allied armies had accomplished and what i find interesting in setting the american soldier experience is look at the way the commanders will talk about the war afterwards, they are the ones saying america won this war. If you look at the doughboy themselves when they write those letters home and on november 11 or november 12 and they can finally tell their families what they had been through because this was elected, they talk about it the way we talk about stories which is a coalition victory. , we wereayed our parts are part of a great victory, not solely responsible for it. The end of the first world foreign,a burst of european and global interest in the United States, fascination, what is this massive country to mobilize such power on such short notice, what does the president of this country mean when he issues 14 points . What is selfdetermination main, what is it mean for those living within european empires within Colonial Systems in the 1920s . All of the worlds of wilson, the and of the nine states and its history, the genie is out of the bottle after the First World War. It might have been even earlier but it is a burst of fascination and this propels the United States and lays the foundation for some of its future cultural and soft power but also some of the disappointment that foreign observers often have with united to it, it hasnt lived up ideas, wilson didnt stand by all his 14 points at the peace treaty versailles and so forth. It is a really important moment for the United States and its visibility around the world. One more thing, this is just the dawn of technological innovation , hollywood cinema, all these things are going to fall on the heels of a story that we just told and are really important for how the United States relates to foreign people thereafter. A lot of been doing the questioning and asking this evening and this is an audience and has many familiar faces many experts and i would invite you whether you feel like you are an expert or not to come ofn and ask some questions anyone on the panel in regards to our conversation or about this option because i feel like that was an offer. Feel free as youre coming down, you can go ahead and stand at either side and our first question is going to come from this gentleman right here. This is for professor sexton. The other professor talked about the military deployments and the way the military was quickly deployed for his role as part of the war. What about our Foreign Service, our diplomatic record, do think it was correctly deployed to as we saw the u. S. Military change to get ready in 1718, did article medically do the same as countries like japan get more and more important in the work . That is a fantastic question about americas Foreign Service, astigmatic or, traditionally the United States had a very inept Foreign Service, they had a very small state department, there was a great story in 1890s about the longestserving clerk in the state department was bicycling down the road in observern dc and one looked into another and said there goes our state department right now. It is about the size and the power of that. There are very important reforms in the late 19th century and again in the early 20s. This professionalize the Foreign Service which brings some kind of administrative oversight regulation to it. I would say that the story mirror is more or less what we were hearing about the military, it has expanded since 1898, he does his job better, is it ready, is it prepared in this. To take on a much larger responsibility as it would in the mid20th century, probably not. There was an infrastructure in place through the Education System also linked to and immigration in those lingering ties we were hearing about. Back . Come from the side right here, thinking for a pass any presentation tonight, my question relates to my understanding which i believe is correct which is at the moment, we declared war, it was not yet a foregone conclusion that we would send Ground Troops to europe, and we could have made it an economic war, we could and asde it a naval war, some point, julie at the decoration of work, somebody made a decision that we would send Ground Troops to europe. Hear how thiso came about and if there was opposition to it. Thank you. This was a really shortlived notion that we were only going to accelerate our financial material and not really have to raise significant numbers of troops to go. People were our new allies. My cell interrupt you really quickly. Can we turn jennifers macron . The first people were our new and they made it clear that not only did they expect large american numbers to come but they also hopes to take control of them and bring them into the forces so that they could get to the battlefields even faster. The other important element was he didnt take the reins of the joint process, they were going to be some crazy volunteers like roosevelt were negotiating from the side. There was also the political if you turn the i wase back on, head that is a very shortlived notion. The realities became very clear. Demandedary situations that the moses point of view moreit was going to be efficient and politically expedient. Letting volunteers raise giments. Ents res i believe that some of those comments by congressman were in the disingenuous. To abuse people that would say yes, of course america should be germany but i dont want to go fight in france. Was thesome of that political coverup. I promise there was going to be a little soft shoe and it would be my. There would be of the soft shoe over here. This gentleman is going to ask a question and this wireless microphone is going to come on over to you. Thank you very much for the discussion this evening, what gets me as someone who is interested in the understand u. S. Neutrality. I dont the was neutrality. When i look at wilson from 1914 all the way through tonight to 1917, he supported the british blockade and the british was ade basically starvation blockade of germany. They start germany. They start germany after the First World War for about six months after the First World War, you still had the blockade going on. My question is with all of the rhetoric of wilson, how neutral was he . Alan thicke a first ad. I agree and of course, the point that you just made very eloquently and hardly was the point that was made by Many Americans at the time, many within wilsons own clinical party and indeed within his own cabinet. I agree with you. Gete the questions reframed. If wilson is inclined and this these american strategic thinkers are inclined, if interests,in their why dont they move quickly . Im not sure it is clear client clearcut. To return toint is the domestic political constraints, one thing that we did not talk about today but is very important is that the tradition of and with phobia in the United States, particularly within wilsons own party, this is the party of the average americans who hate england, noticed your grandfather. Drivers. I bigger part. Then the sort of feelings i am talking about, the constraint on wilson, it is not just from the irish but it is particularly from that agrarian populist wing of his party, this is a great problem. It takes time to work those things. I think that inconsistency is also an american tradition. For example, we are talking about we can think about why there is no outrage about the starvation that is going on in germany and think back to the and you dont have the same sort of visual, personal connection that people are able to make about suffering because that imagery is not be distributed in the United States. To arrogantso point american newspapers in 1915 and 1916 and they are saying that it is terrible what is happening to belgium women and children. It is also terrible what belgium did in the congo. Was all the outrage and the humanitarian aid when those stories were coming back to the United States. The idea of calling out americans for their inconsistency in terms of the application of these principles and who they decide is the villain and the victim, i think there are many conversations what on which is exactly you said, we are calling wilson. Ut on exactly those issues now we have time for tumor questions and it just so happens that we have two my gentleman at the microphone so we will start here and we will end with you. Definitely an intellectual, and academic. As a historian, he must have understood the great cultural , the demographics of europe were so very where so many ethnic and lynn was to grips lived sidebyside and were interwoven within a small geographical area, what did he withy hope to accomplish the pending of the 14 points . I think that in the 14 points, the context at which it is written is born to understand. Important to understand. It can be read as an appeal to russia when we think about sections we tend not to read about the all preamble which is as much about russia as anything. It can be seen as an overture for germany about this being a reasonable is, this is not a piece that destroys you. I think that it can also be seen as an appeal to many of these immigrant groups within the United States who have now developed their own interest in the outcome of this war. Even within the United States, newidea that there will be opportunities for nationality with any hungarian empire to not independence, these are appealing concepts. Respect,hat in lots of he is thinking and his in his larger political terms rather than trying to hack the have the 14 points be a specific blueprint for what the piece will look like. When he gets to versailles, think of inquiries, he brings along with him teams of academics, experts and all of those things that you mentioned who really are going to dig deep and hammer out the details and he is not just an academic, he is a progressive, he has that progressive expertise that there is data you can find that could solve problems that may be just dont have those kinds of answers. Points, a fantastic document because there is somebody different ways you can interpret what wilson is really trying to accomplish. I would argue that redrawing the map of europe is the least important goal that he has been crafting that document. I agree with all of that. Let me pose one issue here. Intend to think of wilson large part because we call it the wilsonian century and, we link him with what happens there after on all the problems to which you refer about the reconfiguration of the geopolitical chess or in the mid20th century. They think of wilson as forwardlooking. There is also a backward looking element of wilson to as your question about historians, someone who takes lots of information in the past, who is of his greatest heroes, it has a little picture above him. He is looking back at his simple time as well as anticipating a more complex time, he is looking back to a few fundamentals of what makes an International System work. I think we have to remember wilson in his time and we to park orject him because the world is going to change in ways that wilson doesnt anticipate and frankly in way that wilson would not have been comfortable with. Pressure after such a fantastic evening, you get to rap is up with the last question, are you ready . All threethank you to of you, this has been really interesting and entertaining as well. I am curious, dr. King, you mentioned that the doughboys were widely received as liberators, they were welcomed with open arms, my understanding is that there was a lot of debate as to whether they would be introduced into the conflict as reinforcements to fill in gaps on the line or whether they would be introduced as separate regiments as separate units under u. S. Command. Im wondering, with that copied over how they would be introduced, does Say Something about the u. S. Relationship, does it Say Something about the question of national five, does it say more about the pride of the generals themselves who are debating this and how does it obligate that question of the degree to which the open armed embrace happened when they arrived . I think that is a great question, you laid out a lot of the elements of that debate in terms of what to do with american soldiers. At the high levels, you have this debate going on with the purging is going to steadfastly stand by the principal that an American Army needs to be american that, it bites in american sectors, this will be important for Woodrow Wilson to be able to demonstrate a clear contribution of america to the victory and this will at the peace table, convince others that he has a right to really have major say in the piece. So they will do that except when he doesnt do that. Is thet i mean by that war takes on some momentum of its own, yes, in principle, the American Army will remain independent, yes, every american soldier except those that arrived with the very rare and will spend a significant amount of Time Training the french and british army. So right away, there is a certain amount of amalgamation. Nearly every american soldier before september of 1918 had their First Experience in line along french and british soldiers. The major american battles in the fall our coalition battles, they go into battle with french support. For African American regiments, the entire work is embedded in the french army. I could go on and on. There is plenty of moments at which purging has to compromise this principle both because of what is happening on the battlefield and the inability of trainedis army to fully fully trained in 1918. His imaginings are that the major batters battles will come in 1919, he expects to be up to speed on these things and able to fully operate independently but as we know, the war and before the American Army ever gets to that point. The United States, this issue of how it is going to relate in terms of military command structure, hows it going to relate politically and dramatically to its new war allies . It is revealing that thecause but annot an ally associate power, it is an associate power, it is part of but not quite, very revealing contrast to the Second World War. It really does lend some credence to this idea that world war i is that my marker on the road to something that happens later in the United States, but i not only commit itself to allies would take leadership in so doing and it is ambivalent on how to do so, that indicates a person, he wants autonomy, military autonomy but i think the key point is doesnt he think he will be doing this in 1919 . Was going to end, at least the american myth military assumes it does. At the time or soon thereafter, i think many were hoping that it would be the war that would in fact end all wars and if you want to find out more of the reasons why it wasnt, i was it just to go back to something that jennifer to said earlier, look back at the individual stories as a humanitarian, those who had less humanitarian drive, after the First World War, we challenge of the story here at the National World war i museum and memorial, we let you to walk through our galleries, we do hold the most of world wartion artifacts, we just dont tell the american story but the whole story because were still a nation of immigrants and we look to tell that. We also have some amazing educators who are here. It has truly been a pleasure to sit here with both of you, we are so glad that q is on the mens. I know he would have enjoyed this immensely as well as that toes of scotch you have for him. Next time, if you enjoyed this evening, i hope you will join us for our annual symposium. Starting tomorrow, we will begin our conversation, 1917, america joins the work and if you are not able to join us, check that out online, you will find many of those videos soon to come, check it out at our website, ww and ifworld award. Org you are not future type but the isk type, i would suggest jennifer spoke, the books we give to our interns when they first come, we require them to read the american soldier experience. There will be a book signing afterwards that we would encourage you to stop by and ask hearer questions, i also there will be a great book about ships coming soon. So check it out on amazon, come back here, we might be putting out that news in our newsletter remember to find us at the world war. Work i hope to find you all again soon right here in this auditorium. Thank you all so much for being here, have a good night. Urologic American History tv, 48 hours of programming on American History every weekend on cspan3. At cspanon twitter history for information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news. Cspan, where history unfolds daily. Created as aan was Public Service by americas Cable Television companies. That is brought you today by your cable or satellite provider. American history tv is on cspan3 every weekend, featuring museum tours, archival films and programs on the presidency. The civil war and more. Here is a clip from a recent program. All, we sent out 14 torpedoes, only four came back. It was bad. Again, as our planes came back, many had failed to make it. I think there were 20 something altogether at the end. They were unable to come back. Could feel that we were losing something great. You mentioned among the fires, two of them, two of the most successful and famous and i remember them quite well. He was a skipper of the bombing six group. Attack on the carrier for some strange reason, there was a mixup that occurred in public 28 or 29 plans and only heee headed attacked and just made a perfect and landed in one of the most vulnerable spots on a carrier. The bomb went down through the flight deck. It detonated in the hangar deck and what should they have there but if a couple met of japanese torpedo planes all guest up, it was just aeeth holocaust way to happen and that is what happened. Is on the presidency, to missouris extent how dwight d. Eisenhowers western upbringing had interest and imposed his personal code of behavior. And, his actions as a military and political leader, the 34th president was born mr. Reeves is a Deputy Director and supervisory archivist at the Dwight Eisenhower president ial library and museum. This is 40 minutes. We are pleased to have our own tim rives here. He is my go toguy for all information on archives and Records Administration related Records Administration related questions. I rely on him greatly