Unit 6: Imperialism and WWI
Timeline
Trigger Words
Article 10 of the League Covenant
Article 10 of the League of Nations Covenant in the Treaty of Versailles bound signatories to protect the political independence and territorial integrity of all member nations. Of all the treaty conditions, it provoked the most opposition to ratification in the U.S. Senate. Birth of a Nation Producer D. W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" (1915) was an important breakthrough in cinema. It signaled a technological and artistic improvement in movie making and appealed to a more cultivated audience than earlier movies. The film was a sympathetic treatment of the Ku Klux Klan. dollar diplomacy Dollar diplomacy was a foreign policy associated with the presidency of William Taft. It reasoned that American economic penetration would bring stability and safety to underdeveloped nations (particularly in Latin America and Asia), and bring profit and power to the United States without the need to for actual U.S. control of the region. |
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem, New York, in the 1920s was the largest black city in the world and the cultural capital of African Americans. A multitude of talented black artists and writers found an audience, both black and white, for their artistic and literary expressions of black pride and other themes. Ku Klux Klan Southerners who objected to congressional Reconstruction policies founded several secret terrorist societies, the Ku Klux Klan was one of these. It was organized in Tennessee in 1866 and became a vigilante group dedicated to driving blacks out of politics by using intimidation and violence. nativist Nativists were those Americans who feared that large-scale immigration might alter the basic political and social character of the United States. |
Palmer Raids
Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, concerned that the United States was in danger of a communist takeover in 1919, ordered a series of roundups and raids on suspected communists. The raids, a product of the postwar Red Scare, clearly violated the civil liberties of many innocent people. Schenck vs. U.S. United States Supreme Court act that upheld the Espionage Act of 1917. It said that the defendant did not have the right to freedom of speech against the draft for World War I. Volstead Act This 1920 law defined the liquor forbidden under the Eighteenth Amendment and gave enforcement responsibilities to the Prohibition Bureau of the Department of the Treasury. |
8 January, 1918: President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen PointsWoodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points is a final attempt to get Senate to make the Treaty of Versillise the way he wants it and to get credit to the Republicans. Wilson states that he will fight for it until he gets the fourteen points approved.
The Fourteen Points are important because it is a last attempt to get what he wants and to make peace for the U.S. Wilson wants to make the Senate approve of his plan in order to end the war between the Allies and the Central Powers. ~Kayla M. Sedition ActStates that anyone who made statements with intentions to interfere with government military operations or simply stated disloyalty or profane words against the United States government overall could be fined more than $10,000 or be sent to prision for 15 years. If someone shows loyalty to a foreign enemy or advocates or teach something that would cause someone to be against the United Staets could also receive said punishment.
The Sedition Act is significant as a primary example of how civil rights were tested at the time of World War I. Many acts and laws that were almost unconstitutional. They tested the Bill of Rights, especially freedom of speech since many people who simply spoke out against anything were subject to imprisonment and or fines which totally contradicts freedom of opinions and expression. It was significant in demonstrating the damaging effects of war and just how desperate it made people through the unconstitutional acts released similar to this, such as the Espionage Act as well. It portrayed the disillusioned feelings of everyone--the government in fear of opposition, and people in fear of more chaos. -Ingrid C. |
Hay-Banau-Varilla Treaty
The Hay-Banau-Varilla Treaty was signed in 1903 by the United States and Panama as a means to establish the Panama Canal Zone, and likewise the construction of the Panama Canal. Named after the Panamanian and American representatives Philippe Banau-Varilla and John Hay respectively, this Treaty occurred after several attempts at its establishment and a revolt against Colombia to create the canal.
The Treaty finally allowed for the construction of a canal zone. This Canal brought rich trade to Panama, increasing their wealth, but also allowed for US ships to cross from Pacific to Atlantic and vice-versa much quicker. This advantage increased the Navy's effectiveness and enriched maritime trade. ~Aaron W. Zimmerman TelegramGerman Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann supposedly sent a telegram to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, essentially giving United States territory to Mexico, to try and get the Mexicans to be a thorn in the U.S. side for Germany interests. This telegram was intercepted by British spies in January, 1917, and soon inflamed the news and press organizations to a fever pitch.
Obviously, Germany offering to give Mexico US land in return for their allegiance did not help to win hearts and minds in the US. Tensions had been mounting, but the Zimmerman Telegram was the final injustice the American people needed to spring into action against the Germans and enter WW1. ~Daniel T. |