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/* World War I */ improved
The drumbeat of war in Europe was starting in the early 1900s, and America would eventually be drawn into it. The roots of this European conflict were in the Triple Alliance, which was a ''secret'' military alliance between Italy, German and Austria-Hungary between 1882 and 1914. In the meantime, the "Triple Entente" was formed in 1907 between France, Great Britain and Russia, in which they allied themselves with each other based on several treaties. These alliances led to World War I.
The spark was the assassination in Bosnia of Archduke Ferdinand in June 1914, and war between the two alliances soon began. The secret promises by among many countries to defend each other caused them to be pulled into the war, making this the first genuine world war in history.
The United States was not involved until 1915, when a German submarine sunk the Lusitania. That was a British passenger ship carrying many Americans, 128 of whom died. The American public was outraged.
Congress began to prepare for war. In 1916, it passed the National Defense Act, which was a military preparedness program that expanded the army, increased the size of the National Guard by four timesfourfold, and set up "ROTC" programs for college students to earn tuition in return for military service. It gave the president the power to mobilize the National Guard in the event of a national emergency such as war.
In 1916, another German submarine sunk an unarmed steamer called the "Sussex". Then Germans issued the "Sussex Pledge," which vowed to stop sinking unarmed boats. They could not keep their pledge, and began sinking ships again in 1917.
Obviously not everyone agreed with the war or the draft. But Congress passed laws to censor dissent. It passed the Espionage Act in 1917, which imposed fines of $10,000 and jail time of 20 years for any person thought to be aiding the enemy, and authorized the U.S. Postal Service to ban any material found to be treasonable. The Sedition Act, passed in May 1918, made it illegal to speak out to discourage the purchase of war bonds.
When citizens challenged these limitations on the right of free speech, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Congress and against the First Amendment. In ''Schenck v. U.S.'' (1919), the Court upheld the prosecution for any speech that created a "clear and present danger" to the national interest of enlisting soldiers. In ''Abrams v. U.S.'' (1919), the Court sustained convictions under the Espionage Act for leafletting against American opposition to the communist revolution in Russia. Finally, in ''Debs v. U.S.'' (1919) the Court upheld an indictment (criminal charges) against someone for speaking out against military recruitment of soldiers. Today advocates strong supporters of free speech decry all of these rulings.
'''Debate: Was it wrong for Congress and the Supreme Court to limit free speech during World War I?'''
Congress limited economic freedoms in the name of war also. The Lever Act of 1917, for example, authorized the president to set the price of wheat. This was used later by Hoover to combat the Great Depression. Congress also passed the Trading with the Enemy Act in 1917, which gave the president the power to stop financial transactions in wartime. It is now used to restrict travel and trade with Cuba.
Hoarding was a crime. One story in the New York Times announced how a couple had been arrested and charged with the "crime" of having a $1000 in -worth of extra food in their home. Congress did not want people to buy more than they needed.
Labor disputes in the United States during the war were handled by the National War Labor Board , which President Wilson established in April 1918. He placed former President Taft and also Frank P. Walsh in charge of this important commission, with the goal of settling labor conflicts. The Overman Act, also passed in 1918, gave the President extraordinary powers to coordinate govt government agencies in wartime.
In October 1917, near the end of World War I, there was the communist (Bolshevik) revolution in Russia. This would cause the United States and the world many problems later in the 20th century, and is still a problem today in some countries like Venezuela, Cuba, China and North Korea.
An armistice with Germany to cease fighting end World War I did not come until late 1918, and the peace treaty was not signed until 1919, but it was clear by January 1918 that the end was drawing near. A joint session of Congress convened then for an address by President Wilson, in which he outlined his "Fourteen Points" for peace and for the future of the world. His address, which contained ideas known as Wilson idealism, took the progressive movement's principles of democracy, self-determination and free trade and proposed imposing that on the world. He also urged against any more secret agreements by nations that started World War I. Specifically, Wilson's "Fourteen Points" included a guarantee freedom on the high seas, facilitation of international trade with few or no tariffs, a reduction in military arms, and an end to colonialism, a ban on secret treaties, restoration to Russia of territory taken during the war, and a return to France of the Alsace-Lorraine territory taken by Germany.
Most of all, President Wilson proposed a "League of Nations" to govern the world in the future. The Senate refused to join the League of Nations, but later the United Nations replaced it and the United States did join that.
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed which required the surrender of German territory, massive reparations (payments) by Germany to France and England, Allied occupation of Germany and an admission of guilt by Germany. Historians later view this treaty as being having been too harsh on Germany and a major cause of the rise of Adolf Hitler and World War II.
The Treaty largely rejected Wilson's Fourteen Points but did embrace the League of Nations. But the U.S. Senate then refused to ratify the Treaty!
