Week 7 Outline

Week 7

America and the First World War

Monday: "The War to End All Wars:" America and the First World War
Wednesday: The War at Home
Friday: Cultural Reaction in the Twenties

DISCUSSION SECTIONS: The U.S. and the World: Isolation or Intervention?

READINGS:

1.The Scopes Trial: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/inherit/1925home.html
2.Documents: Woodrown Wilson's 14 Points; Congressional Debate on Immigration Restriction (1921)

ADDITIONAL INTERNET RESOURCES:

1.Henry Louis Mencken Site: http://www.io.com/~gibbonsb/mencken.html

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT:

America's involvement in the first world war was extremely controversial at home. There was much opposition to the war and much internal conflict. As a result, the war led to unprecedented internal repression. By the late twenties, most Americans thought that we had made a severe mistake to have gotten involved in WWI. The rise of Hitler, however, forced many to reconsider their positions on intervention vs. isolation. This issue continues today as Americans are deeply divided over the extent to which we should be involved in foreign conflicts in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

In class, we will have a debate, grounded in history, on America's role in the world today. When and under what circumstances should America be involved militarily abroad? What can be done to insure support of the American population for such involvement? What can be done to insure that such conflicts do not lead to a denial of civil liberties at home?

Your assignment is to prepare a one page outline for your participation in this debate. Under what circumstances should America commit troops abroad and why? Do we have human rights responsibilities in the rest of the world? Do we have a need/responsibility to maintain order and control throughout the world? How do we balance self-determination worldwide with our national interest? Does the nature of modern warfare affect these issues?

created: February 10, 2000
last updated: February 23, 2000