190.342 MidTerm: Monday March 5, KRGR 205

Lecture 11: Aborted Internationalism, 1913-1919

A) Wilson Administration Intervention
His presidency was a turning point in American History
-essentially a failure, however
-failed to hold on to American exemplarism
-also failed to hold on to American Multilateralism

Roosevelt and Wilson hated eachother soooo bad
TR wanted Taft to be the next president, got him the republican nomination
-went off on a safari, came back, decided that Taft wasn't doing a good job, formed his own third party, split the vote, got Wilson the presidency

TR and Wilson HATED eachother
-TR called wilson the "Byzantine Logothete"
-why?
-wilson was an incredible follower of the Roosevelt Corollary
Veracruz, April-Nov 1914
Veracruz was Mexico's main port
-wilson was obligated to invade and hold the port for this time when commercial interests were threatened
Punitive Expedition, 1916-1917
US intervention in the spanish civil war was really blatant
-Pancho Villa crossed the border into NM, attacked a town
-Wilson sent a punitive expedition down into mexico
-resounding failure, just united mexico against the US
Cuba, 1917-1922
big US occupation and intervention
Dominican Republic, 1916-1924
same here
Haiti, 1915-1934
Longest occupation here

B) World War I

Wilson was NOT the unilateralist that TR was
-Wilson didn't see war as nicely as TR did
-Wilson saw things differently from TR
-TR was just a proponent of force
-Wilson has Morality/Law
-Morality is the basis for Law, Law enforces Morality
-When WWI breaks out, Wilson admonishes the people to be 'impartial in thought as well as in action'
-we should HELP the rest of the world
-American exemplarism here
-we should help mediate and END the carnage in Europe
-made no move to assign blame
-Final goal was to bring the two warring sides to mediation to ensure peace
American reasons for non-intervention
-if USA enters the war, it becomes sullied
-loses moral high ground
-militarization will have to occur
-banned loans to belligerents
-'money is the worst kind of contraband'
-banned even components of weapons of war

During WWI, Britain has unilaterally imposed a blockade around Europe
-no trade going to germany
-Wilson protested this action
-this action was a problem, because America couldn't be above the fray if it could only trade with one side
-British used the 'Rule of Visit and Search' to search boats that were coming into the continent
-Germans couldn't do this, their submarine crews weren't big enough
-they were just sinking the ships. this is BAD
-Wilson stands up for Neutral Rights
-has the idea that Americans (as neutrals) could travel on ANY ship unmolested
-Germany says that it just can't do this, US doesn't have the right to unilaterally change the rules of war
-America starts a policy of 'strict accountability' in response

SoS William Jennings Bryan

SoS Robert Lansing

Lusitania
Biggest of the German whoopsies! (May 7, 1915)
-German submarine sent a torpedo into it
-it's known now that the Germans were justified in sinking it, it was carrying contraband
-there were 1,198 fatalities
-including 128 of 197 Americans on board
at this point, SoS William Jennings Bryan resigned
-resigned in protest of even the stern diplomatic measures Wilson was going to take
-REALLY didn't want war of any kind
TR was the other side of the coin
-essentially declared war on behalf of the people, bitching out Wilson in the process

There was another big German mistaken attack
-the Arabic was sunk in August 1915
After this, the Kaiser instructed the U-boat captains not to attack any more ocean liners

Gore-McLemore Resolution

C) "He Kept Us out of War"
Wilson went into the party convention in 1916, that was his unofficial slogan
he carried california by just 2000 votes, that was enough to swing the electoral college to his side, that's game
Roosevelt scorned Wilson's offer of mediation to Europe
-thought that it would invite Europe to do the same in the event of war in the Americas
-we shouldn't get involved in European diplomacy, cause that invites Europeans to get involved in US diplomacy
Peace without Victory
Jan 22, 1916, delivers this speech to the senate
-victory was peace FORCED upon the loser
-'only peace between equals can last'
-victory will set the track for a war of revenge
-we don't want a balance of power, but rather a community of power
we have to get OUT of the balance of power
-otherwise we'll be drawn back into war again and again

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
russia had just collapsed due to revolution
-germans thought that now they could effectively break the blockade and blockade britain in return
-they thought they could starve out britain through unrestricted submarine warfare before the US could mobilize

Zimmerman Telegram
Wilson immediately broke off relations with Germany, needed a smoking gun to get the US to go to war
-the telegram essentially said that if mexico joined with germany in the war, germany would give them back texas and cali
-british leaked this to the US press
-wilson calls a special session of congress
-"Right is more precious than Peace"
-property can be paid for, but with unrestricted submarine warfare, you lose lives, and lives CANNOT be paid fore
-called unrestricted submarine warfare as a war against "all mankind" (these enemies are traditionally pirates, wilson's accusing them of piracy)

"The World Safe for Democracy"
Another choice quote from Wilson's speech
-saw democracy as the answer to all programs
-the only answer to the problems of democracy is more democracy

D) Post-war
whee we win the war whatever
The 14 Points
a few points were particularly... pointed?
-point 2- Absolute Freedom of Navigation
-this is a traditional prerogative claimed by the US, going back to the founding fathers
-point 14- a "mutual association of nations"
-this was the League of Nations, essentially

The treaty of Versailles

The League of Nations
came from the treaty of Versailles
-Wilson goes back to the Senate, expects it to be ratified, whatever
-America really really needs to join it, in order for it to be effective in any way
-Senate immediately opposes it, led by TR
Article 10
This was the biggest problem
-insisted upon 'binding collective action'
-a form of world government
-infringes on US sovereignty
Wilson went on a speaking tour to push for support of this position
-'we are discredited if, having fought this war, we don't prevent it from happening again'
-America is NECESSARY to the peace of the world
-only America has the MORAL and MATERIAL prerequisites for securing and maintaining peace

Henry Cabot Lodge
said that the league compromised US freedom of action
-represented an entangling alliance
-SOVEREIGNTY was the biggest issue here
-america's foreign policy will be decided by AMERICANS
-said that it meant the END of the monroe doctrine, this was a problem.