The United States Since the Civil War

by Charles Ramsdell Lingley

But, stated in general terms, they seem the same on both sides. Never yet have the authoritative spokesmen of either side avowed the precise objects which would, if attained, satisfy them and their people that the war had been fought out.

The support of America in the war had long since become the great stake for which both sides in the conflict were playing, and the crisis of the game was at hand. On January 22, 1917, Wilson addressed the Senate and stated the results of his action. The reply of the Germans, he declared, had merely stated their readiness to meet their antagonists in conference to discuss terms of peace; the Allies had detailed more definitely the arrangements, guarantees and acts of reparation which would constitute a satisfactory settlement. He proceeded then to add that the, United States was deeply concerned in the terms of peace which would be made at the close of the conflict, and to enumerate some of those for which Americans would be most insistent: equality of rights among nations; the recognition of the principle that territories should not be handed about from nation to nation without the consent of the inhabitants of the territories; an outlet to the sea for every nation where practicable; the freedom of the seas; and the limitation of armaments. The interchange of notes had made two things clear; that the concern of the United States in the war was intimate, and that the people of this country would know definitely the purposes of the conflict before they decided to enter it.

On January 31, Germany announced an extension of her submarine warfare. A wide area surrounding the British Isles, France, and Italy, and including the greater part of the eastern Mediterranean Sea was declared to be a barred zone. All sea traffic, neutral as well as belligerent, the note warned, would be sunk, except that one American ship would be allowed to pass through the zone each week provided that it followed a designated, narrow lane to the port of Falmouth, England, that it was marked with broad red and white stripes, and carried no contraband. The President promptly broke off relations with Germany, sent the German ambassador home and appeared before Congress to state to that body and to the people the reasons for his decision. He recounted the substance of his earlier correspondence with Germany in regard to submarine warfare and recalled the promise of the German government that merchant vessels would not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives. He declared that the American government had no alternative but to sever relations, although refusing to believe that Germany would ruthlessly use the methods which she threatened, until convinced of her determination by "overt acts." Information of the move made by the United States was sent to American diplomatic representatives in neutral countries with the suggestion that they take similar action. Shortly afterward the President requested Congress to pass legislation enabling him to supply armament and ammunition to merchant vessels, and an overwhelming majority of both houses was ready to accede to the request. A small minority in the Senate, however, was able, under existing rules, to prevent Congressional action, although the President found authority in existing statutes and was able to proceed.[1]

Every important event in March, 1917, tended toward war between the United States and Germany. On the first day of the month the State Department made public a note from the German Secretary of State to the German minister in Mexico which suggested a German-Mexican alliance in case of the entry of the United States into the war. Germany was to contribute financial support to Mexico and the latter was to recover Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which had been lost to the United States many years before. Knowledge of this intrigue gave a distinct impetus to the war spirit in all parts of the country. On March 5, President Wilson was inaugurated for the second time and took occasion to state again the attitude of the United States toward the war. Although disclaiming any desire for conquest or advantage, and reaffirming the desire of the United States for peace, he expressed the belief that we might be drawn on, by circumstances, to a more active assertion of our rights and a more immediate association with the great struggle. Once more he stated the things for which the United States would stand whether in war or in peace: the interest of all nations in world peace; equality of rights among nations; the principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; the freedom of the seas; and the limitation of armaments. Later in the month information reached America that there had been a revolution in Russia, that the Czar had been compelled to abdicate and that a republican government had been established. The news was gladly heard in the United States as it seemed to presage the overthrow of autocracy everywhere. On March 22, the new Russian government was formally recognized by the United States and later a loan of $100,000,000 was made.

In the meanwhile the "overt acts" which the President and the American people hoped might not be committed became sufficiently numerous to prove that Germany had indeed entered upon the most ruthless use of the submarine. Seven American vessels were torpedoed, with the loss of thirteen lives, and many more vessels of belligerent and neutral nations were sunk, in most cases without warning. The President accordingly summoned Congress to meet in special session on April 2. When that body assembled he again and for the last time explained the character of German submarine warfare, charging that vessels of all kinds and all nations, hospital ships as well as merchant vessels were being sunk "with reckless lack of compassion or of principle." International law, he complained, was being swept away; the lives of non-combatant men, women and children destroyed; America filled with hostile spies and attempts made to stir up enemies against us; armed neutrality had broken down in the face of the submarine, and he therefore urged Congress to accept the state of war which the action of Germany had thrust upon the United States. Such action, he believed, should involve the utmost cooperation with the enemies of Germany—liberal loans to them, an abundant supply of war material of all kinds, the better equipment of the navy and an army of at least 500,000 men chosen on the principle of universal liability to service. An important part of the President's address was that in which he distinguished between the German people and the German government. With the former, he asserted, we had no quarrel, for it was not upon their impulse that their government acted in entering the war. But the latter, the Prussian autocracy, "was not and never could be our friend." Once more he disclaimed any desire for conquest or dominion:

We are glad … to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty.

The response of Congress was prompt and nearly unanimous. In the House by a vote of 373 to fifty, and in the Senate by eighty-two to six, a resolution accepting the status of war was quickly passed and proclaimed by the President on April 6.[2] His position was a strong one. His patience and self-control, to be sure, had been carried to the extreme where they seemed like cowardice and lack of policy to the more belligerent East; but they had convinced the more pacific West that he could not be hurried into war without adequate reasons. All sections and all parties were united as the country had never been united before. His insistence that the United States had no ulterior motives in entering the war and his constant emphasis on ideals and the moral issues of the conflict placed the struggle on a lofty plane, besides giving him and his country at that time a position of leadership in the world such as no man or nation had ever hitherto enjoyed. Moreover the evolution through which the President went, from adherence to the traditional aloofness from European affairs to throwing himself enthusiastically into the conflict, was an evolution through which most of his countrymen were passing. Every public address which the President delivered, every message to Congress, every request to the legislative branch of the government was read widely, disagreed to or received with enthusiasm in one quarter or another and discussed everywhere with interest and energy. The result was the education of America in a new foreign policy. It was no slight matter to discard the traditions of a century and a quarter, and the brevity and inconsiderable size of the controversy was the marvel, rather than its length and bitterness.[3]

America had need of her unity and her enthusiasm. The size of the conflict, the number of men that must be raised and trained, the quantity of materials required, the amount of money needed, and, above all, the mental readjustment necessary in a nation that had hitherto buried itself in the pursuits of peace—all these considerations emphasized the importance of the task that the United States was undertaking. Into Washington there poured a bewildering stream of offers of assistance; organizations had to be built up over night to take hold of problems that were new to this country; men found themselves hurried into tasks for which they must prepare as best they might, and under crowded working conditions, changing circumstances and confusion of effort that beggar description. In many cases, America could learn valuable lessons from European experience, and to that end commissions of eminent statesmen and soldiers were sent to this country to give us the benefit of their successes and failures.

An important step had already been taken in the creation of the Council of National Defense on August 29, 1916, an act which indicated a realization that the United States might at any time be drawn into the European struggle. The body was composed of six members of the Cabinet, with the Secretary of War as chairman, and was assisted by an Advisory Commission composed of seven experts in the various industries that would be most essential to the prosecution of the war. The Council furnished the means of coordinating the industries of the country and getting them into touch with the executive departments of the government. State councils of defense were likewise organized to arouse the people to the performance of their share in the nation's work, to circulate information and to assist the several agencies of the federal government. A National Research Council mobilized the scientific talent of the country and brought it to bear on certain of the problems of warfare. A Naval Consulting Board examined inventions offered to the Navy Department. The Committee on Public Information furnished condensed war news to town and country papers, circulated millions of pamphlets explaining the causes of the war and upholding America's purposes in it, and directing speakers who aided in campaigns for raising money and educating the people in their duty during the crisis. The War Industries Board developed plans for the production of the multifarious supplies needed. The United States Shipping Board took hold of the problem of building sufficient ships to transport troops and cargoes, and to replace vessels sunk by submarines. By means of a Committee on Labor the laboring men gave their support to the conduct of the war and agreed to delay controversies until the war was over.

The exhausted condition of the supplies of food among the Allies, and the size of the armies which America decided to raise, made the Food Administration one of importance. At the time when the United States entered the war there was a dangerous shortage of food in Europe due to the decrease in production and to the lack of the vessels necessary to bring supplies from distant parts of the world. The problem centered mainly in wheat, meat, fats and sugar. The demand upon the United States was not only large but increasing. Accordingly, legislation was passed on August 10, 1917, which made it unlawful to destroy or hoard food; it provided for the stimulation of agriculture; and it authorized the President to purchase and sell foods and fix the price of wheat. Wilson appointed as the chief of the Food Administration Herbert C. Hoover, whose experience with the problem of Belgian relief enabled him to act promptly and effectively. Hoover's one great purpose was to utilize all food supplies in such a way as would most help to win the war. He cooperated with the Department of Agriculture which had already started a campaign for stimulating the cultivation of farms and gardens on all available land. Food administrators were appointed in the states and local districts. Speakers, posters, libraries and other agencies were utilized to urge the people to eat less wheat, meats, fats and sugar in order that more might be exported to the Allies. Millions of housewives hung cards in their windows to indicate that they were cooperating with the United States Food Administration. "Wheatless" and "meatless" days were set apart. These voluntary efforts were supplemented by government regulation, and dealers in food products were compelled to take out federal licenses which enabled the Administration to control their operations and to prevent prices from going to panic levels. The Food Administration established a Grain Corporation which bought and sold wheat; it placed an agency in Chicago to buy meat for ourselves and the Allies; it called a conference of the sugar refiners, who agreed to put in its hands the entire supply of that commodity. In a word, by stimulating voluntary efforts and by means of government regulations, the Food Administration increased production, decreased consumption, and coordinated the purchase of food for the army, the navy, the Allies, the Red Cross and Belgian relief. The Food Administration was hardly established before it became necessary to organize a Fuel Administration to teach economy in the use of coal, to stimulate production, adjust disputes between employers and employees, fix prices and control the apportioning of the supply among the several parts of the country.