18.+The+Emergence+of+America+as+a+World+Power

=Topic Outline: 18: The Emergence of America as a World Power =

﻿ a) American imperialism: political and economic expansion:

 * start of American imperialism - early 1900s
 * before it was mostly domestic expansion - the new manifest destiny pushed the US to expand outside
 * seen in the Spanish-American War --> Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico.
 * Foreign policy was expanding, involvement with trade was increasing - China, involvement in wars and conflicts, etc.
 * US was becoming power hungry

b) War in Europe and American neutrality:
World War I was a tricky one for America, Wilson was pushed out of his neutrality during WWI. America had **economic ties** to England and the other European allied forces. They had the power to trade with whoever, but it would have been bad business to trade with the Triple Alliance. Germany also pushed the US to getting rid of their neutrality, with the **Luistana** (bombing of ship with US citizens on it). In the **Soviet Union, a revolution** of the government was going on. Due to this, the USSR dropped out from WWI, the US was extremely happy about this - they did not want to join forces with the USSR. The final push to disregarding neutrality was the **Zimmerman Telegram** - a telegram intercepted in American, from Germany to Mexico, promising them the land they lost to America during the war, if they joined their alliance.

c) The First World War at home and abroad:
Entering into the war, America made sure to be prepared. The **Selective Service Act** was passed in 1917, when Roosevelt called on Wilson to start a draft. The draft brought nearly 3 million men, plus 2 million who joined voluntarily. These 5 million men formed the **American Expeditionary Force** in order to go overseas. America had to pull together to fund the war. To finance the fight, they created **“liberty bonds”** to sell to the American people. The government also created the **War Industries Board**. The WIB was in charge of coordinating government purchases of military weapons. Wilson also did all he could to stop opposition to the war. He passed the **Espionage and Sedition Acts** in order to stop opposing critiques of the war and the government. Abroad, the war was vicious. Mass killings occurred with the **new war technologies** (faster machine guns, etc.)

d) Treaty of Versailles:
Wilson went into the postwar negotiations with a clear set of points - **14 points actually**. They fell into __3 categories: 1) 8__ __specifications for re-negotiating country borders; 2) 5 principles to govern international conduct; 3) proposal for the league of nations.__ Wilson was pretty much cheated of his fourteen points during this treaty with "the big four" in Paris. He pushed for his points, but in the end, only one main point passed - **the League of Nations**. Wilson was also cheated of this one at home, the league would not pass in Congress. The treaty provided for Germany to pay $56 billion in **reparations** to the allied powers.

e) Society and economy in the postwar years:
The economy took a huge plummet after WWI. America went into a **recession** in 1920. The economic bubble burst due to inflation rates. From 1920 to 1921, the GNP declined by 10%, 100,000 businesses went bankrupt, 435,000 farmers lost their land. American society was consumed by the **Red Scare**. **Antiradicalism** was a huge movement in America. The government performed raids (**the Palmer raids**) across the country, searching for weapons and explosives. This witch hunt hinted at the anti-communist craze to come.