America Over There in WWI

1917

April 2 - Wilson delivered his war message to Congress

• reasons: U-boat, Zimmerman telegram, help British, make the world safe for democracy
• passed by Senate 82-6 on April 4

April 6 - passed by House 373-50 and signed by Wilson

• mobilization began on the ramparts

Apr. 14 - George Creel's Committee for Public Information for propaganda

Apr. 16 - George Goethals Emergency Fleet Corporation for shipbuilding

May 1 - Army Expansion Act

• from 200,000 to 4,791,172 in armed forces
• 32 new cantonments and camps built - map - bg

• Camp Kearny (pictures), Camp Lewis on West Coast.
• each for 40,000 soldiers at a cost of $262m. (Panama Canal cost $375m.)
• 2,800,000 drafted - Selective Service Act May 19
• 42 Divisions sent to France - 2,084,000 men
• W. Sims' Navy of 500,000 convoyed 4.4m. tons to Europe
• Signal Corps films

May 16 - Sedition Act

• Eugene Debs, IWW's Big Bill Haywood

June 15 - Espionage Act

June 20 - 1st of 5 Liberty Loan drives

• raised $23b. of $32b. cost of war - rest from new taxes

July 28 - Bernard Baruch's War Industries Board

Aug. 1 - Pope Benedict XV peace appeal influenced Wilson

Sept. 17 - Inquiry group assembled to prepare 14 Points

Oct. 23 - 1st Division of AEF on Swiss border

• 1st U.S. soldiers died from German attack Nov. 3

Nov. 7 - Bolshevik Revolution - Lenin published secret treaties

Nov. 21 - Interallied Conference in Paris created "coalition diplomacy" of 18 nations

• U.S. to be "associate" power with separate army, command
• Gen. Pershing to lead AEF; Gen. Tasker Bliss on Supreme War Council
• U.S. to contribute 1m soldiers; battleship division
• standing committees for production, finance, transport

Dec. 18 - Congress passed 18th Amendment for prohibition

• ratified by states Jan. 29, 1919 - in effect Jan. 20, 1920

1918

Jan. 8 - Wilson announced 14 Points in speech to Congress

• #1 -"Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at"
• #2-5 - freedom of seas, trade, disarmament, end colonialism
• #6-12 - self-determination
• #13 - support for an independent Poland
• #14 - "general association of nations"

Jan. 10 - House passed 19th Amendment - ratified 1920

Jan. 15 - 1st Division of AEF at Ansauville

• 8 U.S. soldiers died from gas attack Feb. 26

Mar. 3 - Brest-Litovsk Treaty - Russia out of war

• Wilson considered Lenin a German agent, traitor
• "Force, force to the utmost"
• "the settlement must be final. There can be no compromise"

Mar. 21 - Ludendorff Offensive

• Germany shifted 40 divisions from East to West
• British line broke at St. Quentin and allies lost 40 mi.

May 28 - Cantigny - turning point - 1st AEF success

• Western front map

June 4 - Chateau-Thierry retaken - 1st battle that AEF forces played decisive role

July 15 - 2nd Marne began - Allied counterattack

• AEF took 15,000 prisoners at St. Mihiel in Sept.

Oct. - Battle of the Argonne

• Sgt. Alvin York killed 25, captured 132 on Oct. 8
• story of York's heroic return to New York 1919

Oct. 4 - Prince Max of Baden new German Chancellor

• made appeal to Wilson for armistice based on 14 Points

Nov. 11 - Prearmistice agreement signed to end war

Ramparts We Watch
America Goes Over
League of Nations fight

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