0:13

Imagine it's late evening on Saturday, February

0:16

Twenty Fourth, Nineteen Seventeen and your the

0:18

Special Advisor for the State Department. You've

0:20

just rushed over to the White House

0:22

with for type sheets of paper in

0:25

your hand Information you are certain and

0:27

will knock the world off. It's Axis.

0:31

Almost breathless you enter President Woodrow Wilson's

0:34

office Mr. President Thank you for seeing

0:36

me on such short notice! Wilson

0:39

beckons you to take a seat. At

0:41

Santa. Extremely urgent when you telephoned yesterday

0:43

as we've just received this from the

0:46

British. it's a message from the German

0:48

Foreign Minister to the German ambassador in

0:50

Mexico City. The British intercepted it and

0:53

decoded it. President

0:55

gives you a disbelieving look as

0:57

you hand him the papers. He

0:59

repositions his spectacles and then begins

1:01

to read. His eyes flip back

1:03

and forth and is now falls

1:05

open and his eyes widen Exist

1:07

genuine. Our ambassador and London

1:09

and experts in the State Department believe

1:12

it is. Yes, the Germans are offering

1:14

to let Mexico take back the Southwest

1:16

if they declare war on us. That's

1:19

right, sir. I doubt the Mexicans would

1:21

entertain the offer, but it's proof of

1:23

Germany's hostile intentions. The President's nostrils flair

1:25

and anger. This is an outrage. I'm

1:28

doing everything I can to avoid war,

1:30

even as they continue to sink our

1:32

ships. And in the meantime they plot

1:35

this how do you wanna response or

1:37

President goes quiet. It's clear

1:39

he's trying to contain his rage

1:41

and not let anger cloud his

1:43

decision. The American people must be

1:45

informed of this treachery. Are you

1:47

suggesting we make this public? Yes,

1:49

I am in. The sooner the

1:51

better. You

1:54

know this means that all the Presidents efforts

1:56

to keep the Us out of the war

1:58

could be finished. He looks. at

2:00

the prospect, but he seems determined to

2:02

move forward. So you take a deep

2:04

breath. Seems that war with

2:07

Germany is now inevitable. Okay,

2:13

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WONDERY, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this

3:41

is American History Teller's Our History

3:43

Yours. Appreciate

3:53

it, everyone. Hit thewants. Hit

3:59

the In 1917, Germany

4:01

resumed its submarine attacks on American

4:03

ships delivering supplies to Britain and

4:05

France. And in February,

4:08

Britain shared with the U.S. an

4:10

intercepted telegram written by German Foreign

4:12

Minister Arthur Zimmerman. Zimmerman's

4:14

telegram was intended for the German

4:16

ambassador in Mexico, and it contained

4:18

an explosive revelation. Germany

4:21

was inviting Mexico into a military

4:23

alliance against the United States. These

4:26

provocations backed President Woodrow Wilson into

4:28

a corner. Since the

4:30

outbreak of fighting in Europe, Wilson had sought

4:32

to remain neutral, but with American

4:35

territory and countless lives at stake,

4:37

he was now finally beginning to heed

4:39

calls for intervention. The president

4:42

was under no illusions. Preparing the United

4:44

States for war was a formidable task.

4:47

The nation's military was undermanned and

4:49

outmoded, and if Wilson was

4:51

to shore up public support for the war,

4:53

he'd also have to suppress dissent, even

4:56

if that meant curbing civil liberties. This

4:59

is episode two. The Yanks are

5:01

Coming. On

5:05

March 20, 1917,

5:08

President Woodrow Wilson entered the cabinet room at

5:10

the White House to hear what his top

5:12

advisors had to say about how he should

5:14

handle Germany's latest aggressions. The mood

5:16

was grim. In the past

5:18

week, German U-boats had sunk three American

5:21

ships, and the public was furious about

5:23

the Zimmerman telegram. Wilson

5:25

had managed to keep the U.S. out of

5:27

the war for two and a half years,

5:29

but now any hope of maintaining American neutrality

5:32

seemed lost. But still,

5:34

Wilson stubbornly hoped to find some way

5:36

to avoid U.S. entry into the conflict,

5:38

even though now it seemed unavoidable. He

5:41

asked his cabinet to put aside their emotions

5:43

about the recent German outrages and think about

5:45

the bigger picture. He noted

5:47

that Russia's Tsar Nicholas II had just

5:49

been ousted by a democratic revolution. It

5:52

was unclear if Russia would continue to fight

5:54

for the Allies. Wilson also

5:57

noted the reports of growing discontent

5:59

inside Germany. Food shortages and

6:01

massive casualties had left the German people

6:03

weary of the war. He

6:05

worried if the U.S. got involved now, it

6:07

might only strengthen their resolve to fight on.

6:10

But one by one, every Cabinet member

6:13

told the President they believed the time

6:15

for neutrality was over. The

6:17

Cabinet also encouraged Wilson to present

6:19

the war to the American people

6:21

as a global fight to defend

6:23

democracy against autocracy, an argument strengthened

6:25

by Russia's new democratically-leaning government. But

6:28

the Cabinet was divided over what exactly the

6:30

U.S. contribution to the war should be. Some

6:33

members worried that the army was too small and

6:35

weak to be any real help on the battlefields

6:37

of Europe. Instead, they suggested the

6:40

U.S. focus on providing financial and economic

6:42

support to the Allies. After

6:44

listening to the view of every Cabinet member, Wilson

6:47

thanked them and left without giving any clue as

6:49

to whether he was ready to take America to

6:51

war. The President wrestled with

6:53

this decision for the next two weeks. While

6:56

he was down, he still hoped to remain

6:58

neutral, but he knew the national mood had

7:00

shifted and eventually he accepted reality. It

7:03

was time for war. On

7:08

the evening of April 2, 1917,

7:11

President Wilson left the White House in a

7:13

limousine accompanied by his new wife, Edith. He

7:16

was headed to the Capitol to ask

7:18

the nation's elected representatives to authorize a

7:21

declaration of war against Germany. Through

7:23

the window of the limousine, he could see

7:25

crowds of supporters standing in the rain waving

7:27

flags. But Wilson knew the nation

7:29

was on edge. Pacifist

7:31

protesters were also out in force

7:34

wearing white armbands and chanting anti-war

7:36

slogans. And in the

7:38

Capitol, some of these protests became violent.

7:41

Earlier that same day, a fight had

7:44

broken out between pro-peace activists and Republican

7:46

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. The

7:49

67-year-old Lodge had become a leading critic

7:51

of Wilson's policy of neutrality. He

7:53

viewed the war as a fight for democracy

7:55

and felt strongly that America belonged in it

7:57

after learning that Wilson And Ted were the only

7:59

ones to be in the Senate. the to ask

8:02

for permission to declare war largest spent a day

8:04

urging his fellow republicans to back to President. Outside

8:07

a committee room large was confronted by

8:09

a band of activists led by thirty

8:11

six year old Alexander Ban Bart. Bands.

8:14

Aren't was a Swiss, American and Princeton

8:16

graduates who had become a committed campaigner

8:18

in the Pacifist movement. He'd idolized

8:20

Wilson since his Princeton days, but now

8:22

fear the President was about to make

8:24

a terrible mistake. And. On

8:26

seeing the pro War launch bands are

8:29

charged over and demanded he vote against

8:31

the war. Andras used and

8:33

center snared. Bands. Are called

8:35

launch soured and large dismiss been

8:37

barred as alive. The. When Been

8:39

barred, made a move toward Lot. The frail

8:42

Senator stunned everyone by delivering a punch that

8:44

not a younger man flat on his best.

8:47

While. Large had managed to hold his

8:49

ground. The Secret Service feared that anti

8:51

war activists might endanger the President's office.

8:54

And assassination attempt couldn't be ruled out.

8:57

So. As Wilson headed to the capital that

8:59

he thinks his limousine was accompanied by the

9:01

cavalry who position their horses around the vehicle

9:03

to seal the President. And. On

9:05

the roof of the cattle, Army and

9:07

Navy sharpshooters stood ready to take out

9:09

any threat. Despite. A

9:11

concern. President Wilson arrived without

9:13

insist. And it has passed. A

9:16

He entered the House of Representatives to deliver

9:18

the most momentous speech of his career. The.

9:21

Chamber was pissed with the entire

9:23

congress, each Supreme Court, justice and

9:25

every diplomat in Washington Dc except

9:27

the German diplomatic staff who are

9:29

back of their embassy burning secret

9:31

documents and case war was declared.

9:34

As the chamber sell client, Wilson took a

9:36

deep breath and began the speech he had

9:38

hope never to does. He

9:40

told the Chamber that America's coral was

9:42

with the Kaiser's government, not the German

9:44

people, And he stressed that most

9:46

German Americans were loyal. But. He followed

9:49

that with a warning. That. If any were

9:51

found to be disloyal, stern repression would

9:53

follow. Then. Wilson declared that

9:56

for the United States, this was not

9:58

a war of conquest. he made

10:00

clear that the goal was to safeguard

10:02

the world for democracy, stating, It

10:04

is a fearful thing to lead this

10:07

great, peaceful people into the most terrible

10:09

and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself

10:11

seeming to be in the balance. But

10:14

we shall fight for the things which we

10:16

have always carried nearest our hearts for democracy,

10:18

for the rights of those who submit to

10:20

authority to have a voice in their own

10:23

governments, for the rights and liberties of small

10:25

nations, to such a task we

10:27

can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything

10:29

that we are and everything that we have.

10:32

When Wilson finished, the chamber responded

10:34

with cheers of approval. And

10:37

as the president left the Capitol, the

10:39

crowds of supporters gathered outside shaking his

10:41

hand. Even Alexander Banvard,

10:43

the pacifist campaigner sucker-punched by Senator

10:46

Lodge, was won over. On

10:48

hearing Wilson's reasoning for joining the war,

10:50

he dropped his opposition and resolved to

10:52

support the president instead. And

10:55

not everyone, and certainly not every member of

10:57

Congress, had been won over. Imagine

11:03

it's April 4th, 1917 in the

11:05

U.S. Senate chamber and you're a

11:07

Republican senator from Wisconsin. Unlike

11:10

most of your party, you are still opposed

11:12

to the U.S. joining the conflict overseas. With

11:15

a vote just minutes away, you're determined

11:17

to reject Wilson's request for permission to

11:19

declare war on Germany. But

11:21

as you wait for the roll call, you

11:23

can see fellow Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge

11:25

storming over. He looks annoyed, so

11:28

you rise to your feet as he approaches. Senator

11:30

Lodge, I trust you are not about to assault

11:32

me. Word is you have a mean right hook.

11:35

No, of course not. But I have come

11:37

to try and persuade you to change your mind. You're

11:39

wasting your breath. Besides the mood and this room is

11:41

clear. With or without my vote, the Senate

11:44

will support the war. Your vote still

11:46

matters. It's important we're united on this. How will

11:48

it look to the young soldiers in your state

11:50

to know they're heading to a war that your

11:52

own senator opposes? I thought you said this was

11:54

a war for democracy. And it is. And

11:57

defending my right to disagree is part of the fight.

12:00

Besides, if you're so concerned with democracy, start

12:02

with the Allies. France is the

12:04

only true democracy among them. Japan is ruled

12:06

by an emperor. Russia's new government is barely

12:08

a month old. Great Britain is run by

12:10

a monarch in a chamber of unelected lords.

12:14

Maj throws up his hands in frustration. Well, damn

12:16

it, what do you propose we do? Continue

12:18

cowering as German U-boats bring terror to

12:21

American sailors? If we go to war,

12:23

we'll be the subject to even more U-boat attacks. The

12:25

British left Germany with no choice. Their

12:27

blockade is illegal. We should

12:29

continue applying pressure on both Germany and

12:32

England to behave within the bounds of

12:34

international law. If we go

12:36

to war, think of the lives that'll be lost.

12:38

Millions of French and British soldiers already lie rotting

12:40

in the trenches. Do we really want our sons

12:42

and brothers to lie beside them? Senator

12:45

Lodge stares at you for a moment, and

12:47

shakes his head and returns to his seat. A

12:50

few minutes later, true to your word, you

12:52

cast your vote against the declaration of war.

12:55

But it is no use. Only five

12:57

other senators vote with you. You

12:59

know the president's request will be granted, and

13:01

you shudder to think of the bloodshed to

13:03

come. Two

13:08

days after Wilson's speech, the Senate gathered to

13:10

debate his request for a declaration of war.

13:14

During the debate, Republican Senator Henry

13:16

Cabot Lodge urged Democrats and Republicans

13:18

to put party differences aside and

13:20

come together to support America's entry

13:22

into the war. But he

13:24

also warned that as it stood, the U.S.

13:26

Army lacked enough troops and resources to be

13:29

an effective fighting force. While

13:31

Britain and France had more than 12 million

13:33

troops, the United States had just 133,000. Fewer

13:37

men than had been killed in just three days

13:39

during the Battle of the Marne. And

13:41

the death toll at several later battles far

13:43

surpassed that. For over a

13:46

year, the president had talked about preparedness for

13:48

the war, but little progress had actually been

13:50

made. So Senator Lodge believed

13:52

it was imperative that the U.S. rapidly grow

13:54

the size of the Army, and

13:56

almost everyone in the Senate agreed. When

13:59

the vote came... 82 senators voted

14:01

to approve a declaration of war. Just

14:04

six senators opposed, including Wisconsin Senator

14:06

Robert La Follette. Two days

14:08

later, on April 6, 1917,

14:11

the House of Representatives followed suit, voting 373 to

14:13

50 in favor of

14:16

war. President Wilson had won

14:18

the support he needed. The United States

14:20

was now officially at war with the

14:22

German Empire, but it wouldn't be

14:24

joining Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan

14:27

as a member of the Allies. Instead,

14:29

the U.S. announced it was joining the

14:31

war as an associated power. This

14:34

meant the U.S. did not have to work in lockstep

14:36

with the Allies. The military insisted they

14:38

would retain their sovereignty, and American troops

14:41

would not be subject to the orders

14:43

of European powers. Additionally, the

14:45

U.S. had only declared war against

14:47

Germany, not the other members of

14:49

the Central Powers, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and

14:51

the Ottoman Empire. But

14:53

limiting the country's America was at war

14:55

with did nothing to alleviate the concerns

14:57

raised by Senator Lodge about America's readiness

14:59

to fight. The intensity of

15:01

trench warfare had ignited a technological

15:04

arms race among the European powers.

15:06

When the war began, tanks didn't exist,

15:08

but now Britain and France were sending

15:11

hundreds of these metal machines onto the

15:13

battlefields in hope of breaking through German

15:15

defenses. Artillery guns also

15:17

fired powerful shells further and more

15:20

precisely than ever before. The

15:22

Germans were armed with flamethrowers, and the

15:24

French had developed light machine guns. In

15:27

addition to all this deadly mechanical

15:29

weaponry, the use of poison gas

15:31

was also widespread. These advances

15:33

brought a new era of terror to the

15:35

battlefield and sent us to the soaring. Not

15:38

even the skies above could escape the war. For

15:41

the first time, aircraft also played a

15:43

critical role. In addition

15:45

to planes used for reconnaissance and

15:48

artillery spawning, airships dropped bombs on

15:50

cities and other targets, and biplanes

15:52

strafed ground targets and engaged in

15:54

aerial dogfights. Soon, the

15:56

first anti-aircraft guns were also being

15:58

deployed. But this rush

16:01

of military innovation had so far

16:03

bypassed the United States whose army

16:05

wasn't just undermanned, it was also

16:07

stuck in the pre-war era of

16:09

riflemen and cavalry. To Wilson and

16:11

US military leaders, it was clear that millions

16:13

of American men would need to be recruited

16:16

and trained to fight. The country

16:18

needed to modernize its weaponry at the same

16:20

time. There were non-military challenges

16:22

too. The US now had

16:24

a pivot to mobilize industry and transport networks

16:26

to supply the needs of the military. And

16:29

that meant domestic food supplies needed to

16:31

be conserved and secured. There

16:33

was also a pressing need to find ways

16:35

to deal with potential threats from German spies

16:37

and domestic militants who opposed the war. And

16:40

all of these challenges required money. Somehow,

16:43

the US Treasury would have to raise billions

16:45

of dollars to finance the conflict. America

16:48

had yet to fire a single shot.

16:50

But already, the demands of war threatened

16:52

to overwhelm the government. To

16:54

rise to the challenge, an entire

16:56

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16:59

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18:54

On April 13th, 1917, with

18:57

America now at war with Germany, President

18:59

Woodrow Wilson turned his focus to the

19:01

battle at home by taking bold steps

19:03

to ensure public support. Executive

19:06

Order 2594 created

19:08

a propaganda and censorship agency called

19:10

the Committee for Public Information. It

19:13

was part of a flood of new

19:15

wartime policies, laws and federal agencies designed

19:17

to prepare the U.S. for war. To

19:20

head the Committee, Wilson tapped a 40-year-old

19:22

journalist from Missouri named George Creel. Creel

19:25

had begun his career as a reporter in

19:27

Kansas City, before hopping freight trains to New

19:29

York where he wrote jokes for newspapers. After

19:32

returning to the Midwest, Creel built a

19:34

reputation as a progressive columnist and worked

19:36

on Wilson's 1916 re-election campaign. But

19:40

as the nation crept towards war, senior

19:42

people in the military began to advocate

19:45

for strict censorship of war criticism. Creel

19:48

felt that silencing dissidents wasn't the way to

19:50

win the hearts and minds of the American

19:52

public. So he wrote to President

19:54

Wilson and proposed an alternative, a

19:56

government agency that would sell the war to the

19:58

nation, much like an ad. agency would sell

20:01

a product like soap or soda pop. Creel

20:04

believed that by using the techniques of

20:06

advertising and journalism he could, as he

20:08

put it, weld the people of the

20:10

United States into one white-hot mass instinct.

20:13

Then he could harness that patriotic fervor to instill

20:15

in the public the will to win the war.

20:18

Creel was ultimately proposing a government

20:20

propaganda machine and President Wilson embraced

20:22

the idea. He immediately ordered

20:25

the creation of the Committee for Public Information

20:27

and put Creel in charge of it. And

20:30

as chairman of the committee Creel moved

20:32

fast. He knew the war was

20:34

about to change daily life for every American

20:36

and without sustained public support there would be

20:38

no hope of victory. So

20:41

his first targets were the newspapers.

20:43

He formed a team to send

20:45

them a deluge of government-approved war news.

20:47

For newspaper editors it was a

20:49

lifeline. Their readers craved updates

20:51

about the war but their reporters

20:53

were being denied access to military

20:55

personnel and munitions manufacturers in the

20:57

name of national security. So

21:00

with their own journalists struggling to

21:02

deliver stories editors filled their papers

21:04

with reports provided by Creel's committee.

21:07

And newspapers were just the start. Creel

21:10

soon had multiple teams fighting the information

21:12

war on every front. They published

21:14

school books promoting American ideals while trashing

21:16

Germany and blocked the export of movies

21:19

that portrayed the US in a bad

21:21

light. The committee's artists churned out

21:24

posters depicting monstrous German soldiers

21:26

with bloodied hands coming for

21:28

America's women. They also

21:30

created a powerful symbol of the American

21:32

war effort when they released posters based

21:34

off a bridge line I want you

21:36

for the US Army. The

21:38

committee also deployed hundreds of recruits

21:40

to deliver rousing speeches of public

21:42

venues. Known as the four-minute

21:44

men they would show up at cinemas

21:46

during the intermission or at church events

21:48

encouraging the audience to do their patriotic

21:50

duty. They urged Americans to conserve

21:53

food by observing meatless Tuesday or wheatless

21:55

Wednesdays and encourage them to buy Liberty

21:57

bonds to help fund the cost of

21:59

the war. But in addition

22:01

to churning out this wartime propaganda,

22:03

Creel's committee also monitored the contents

22:06

of hundreds of non-English newspapers around

22:08

the country, especially the

22:10

German ones. The United

22:12

States' entry into the war with Germany had left the

22:14

nation's 2.8 million German

22:16

Americans caught between heritage and country.

22:19

Many German-language newspapers had favored the central

22:21

powers over the Allies since the start

22:23

of the war. Now they

22:26

had to distance themselves from Germany to avoid

22:28

being shut down or censored. Many

22:30

also lost advertisers, leading several newspapers to

22:32

close their doors before the war was

22:35

over. But Creel's committee wasn't

22:37

their only worry, because they

22:39

were also being watched by America's new

22:41

secret police. Imagine

22:46

it's the summer of 1917 and you're

22:49

visiting St. Louis, Missouri. You

22:51

were born in Germany, but now you live and work

22:53

in Kansas City. Today you're taking a

22:55

break from your job at an ice manufacturer to

22:57

see the size of St. Louis. A friend from

22:59

Warwick recommended you visit the zoo. And

23:02

as you stroll into the city center, you spot a

23:04

men's clothing store and wander over to see what's on

23:06

display. But just then, someone taps

23:08

you on the shoulder. You

23:10

turn to see a serious-looking man holding

23:13

out a badge. Excuse me, sir, I

23:15

am an operative in the American Protective League.

23:17

We're a secret service of volunteers endorsed by

23:20

the Department of Justice. Our job

23:22

is to defend America from enemy aliens, and

23:24

that's you, isn't it, pal? What's

23:26

an enemy alien? I'm sorry, English is

23:28

not my first language. Don't give me

23:31

that. An enemy alien is someone like you.

23:34

Born in Germany, but now living here pretending

23:36

to love America. Well, yes, I was

23:38

born in Germany, but I am certainly not an enemy.

23:41

The operative smirks, and you regain

23:43

your composure. Hold on, have you

23:45

been following me? We have agents everywhere.

23:48

One of our informants told us of your little trip.

23:50

What are you doing in St. Louis? I'm just

23:52

visiting. I wanted to see the city, maybe

23:55

the zoo. I've done nothing wrong. Oh, really?

23:57

Then explain why you're standing in a no-alien

23:59

zone. Since the

24:01

war started, cities have been designating

24:03

areas where German nationals can only

24:05

go by permit. But you didn't

24:08

see any signs saying that this was one of those areas. You're

24:11

not sure what powers, if any, this American

24:13

protective league has, but you're not keen to

24:15

find out. Look, sir, I

24:17

didn't mean to violate any rules. I'm unfamiliar with

24:19

St. Louis. As I said, I'm just a tourist.

24:22

But you didn't think to learn where you can and can't

24:25

go before just wandering around? Yes,

24:27

sir, I should have done that. And

24:29

I am very sorry it was a silly mistake. But

24:32

believe me when I say that whatever my

24:34

national duty, America is my home now. The

24:37

operative eyes you for a while, then puts his badge

24:39

away. Very well, then. I'll let

24:41

you off the hook this time. But I

24:43

suggest you get the first train back to

24:45

Kansas City, before I find a good reason

24:47

to have you arrested. You

24:51

nod and hurry away toward the station. But

24:54

it's not the encounter with his operative that unnerved

24:56

you the most. Only

24:58

three people knew you planned to be in St.

25:00

Louis today. All colleagues from work,

25:02

people you've known for years. Your

25:04

heart sinks as you realize those you

25:07

thought were your friends are

25:09

now reporting your every move. The

25:15

American Protective League formed in April 1917, just before

25:17

war was declared. Its

25:21

founder, Albert Briggs, a Chicago advertising

25:23

executive, felt the federal government's intelligence

25:25

service was under-resourced and wanted to

25:27

help clamp down on German espionage.

25:31

But the league wasn't part of the federal

25:33

government. It was a secretive

25:35

private organization that had been granted semi-official

25:37

status by the Department of Justice. And

25:41

once so sanctioned, the league set

25:43

to work recruiting 250,000 agents and

25:45

informants, tasking them with rooting out

25:47

disloyalty in more than 600 American

25:49

cities. But despite

25:51

the gravity of their mission to protect

25:53

America from enemy aliens, agents were

25:55

simply volunteers, who paid a membership fee of

25:58

75 cents to receive the free money. a

26:00

batch. Officially, agents of the

26:02

protective league had no police powers and

26:04

were not allowed to carry firearms or

26:07

make arrests. Nevertheless, some members

26:09

simply ignored these restrictions, carrying

26:11

out illegal searches or delivering vigilante

26:14

justice. In Denver, members

26:16

of the protective league punished a man who

26:18

refused to kiss the American flag. They

26:20

put a noose around his neck, tied it to

26:23

a truck, and dragged him by the neck

26:25

through the streets. Others who didn't

26:27

donate to the Red Cross or were

26:29

considered un-American were tarred and feathered or

26:31

beaten in the streets. Despite

26:33

being illegal, few of these incidents resulted

26:36

in the arrest of a protective league

26:38

member, and even when they did, jurors

26:40

often hesitated to hand down a guilty

26:42

verdict, fearing it could make them the

26:44

league's next target. And the

26:47

league didn't stop with Germans either. Their

26:49

watch list also included trade

26:51

unions, socialists, and pacifist groups.

26:54

Soon, members of the league

26:56

would focus on another target,

26:58

too, draft dodgers. On May

27:00

18, 1917, Congress gathered to debate

27:02

what was said to be the

27:05

most controversial piece of wartime legislation

27:07

yet, a bill introducing military conscription.

27:09

When President Wilson declared war, he instructed

27:12

the army to recruit a million men,

27:14

but after six weeks, just 73,000 had

27:17

volunteered. Wilson knew this was

27:20

nowhere near enough troops. In France,

27:22

the Battle of Arras that spring had left 159,000

27:24

soldiers from across the British Empire dead, wounded, or

27:28

missing. On average, 5,000 soldiers

27:31

were dying on the Western Front every

27:33

day, and at that rate, America's volunteers would

27:35

be wiped out in a matter of weeks. This

27:38

left the U.S. government with little choice but to

27:40

enact a draft. So Secretary of

27:42

War Newton Baker persuaded the president to back

27:45

the introduction of the Selective Service Act, which

27:47

required all American men between the ages of

27:49

21 and 30 to register

27:52

for military service. But both

27:54

Wilson and Baker were nervous about the move.

27:57

Americans had not been conscripted since the

27:59

Civil War. And at the

28:01

time, the Union Army's draft law had allowed

28:03

the wealthy to pay their way out of

28:05

service, provoking fury and riots in northern cities.

28:08

To avoid a similar debacle, the Wilson

28:10

administration ensured the Selective Service Act did

28:12

not give people the option to buy

28:15

their way out. The administration also

28:17

knew many citizens distrusted the federal

28:19

government, which they saw as remote

28:21

and disconnected from their daily lives.

28:24

So it offloaded the task of

28:26

deciding who'd be sent to war

28:28

to thousands of local selection boards

28:30

composed of influential businessmen and civic

28:32

leaders. But still, conscription

28:34

remained controversial for a variety of

28:37

reasons. Despite the

28:39

army being segregated, some southern Democrats

28:41

opposed the idea of drafting African-Americans.

28:44

Mississippi Senator James Vardeman argued that

28:46

making black men soldiers, even in

28:48

non-combat units, would embolden them and

28:50

leave the region's plantations short of

28:52

workers. Other Democrats opposed

28:54

conscription on principle and argued that there

28:56

was little difference between a conscript and

28:59

a convict. But the

29:01

Republicans had already decided to give the

29:03

Selective Service Act near unanimous support, ensuring

29:05

it would sail into law. Nevertheless,

29:08

Secretary Baker knew that simply passing a

29:10

law did not guarantee that the American

29:12

citizens would embrace the draft. There

29:15

was no threat of a German invasion

29:17

to rally around, and the idea of

29:19

compelling people into service felt at odds

29:21

with American ideals of individual liberty. To

29:24

his concerns about a possible public backlash,

29:26

Baker set June 5th as the draft

29:29

registration day and held his breath. And

29:32

as that day approached, George Creel's Committee

29:34

on Public Information stepped up its efforts

29:36

to convince the nation to do their

29:38

duty. Local selection

29:40

boards organized parades, pageants, and festivities

29:42

to make registering for the draft

29:45

feel like a moment of celebration.

29:48

But there was an undercurrent of danger, too. There

29:50

was talk of organized resistance to the draft in

29:53

major cities and the rural counties of the South.

29:56

Police stood ready to arrest anyone who tried

29:58

to disrupt the registration process. The

30:00

American Protective League was also on the watch

30:02

for any hint of opposition, and

30:05

in several states, national guardsmen were on alert,

30:07

ready to put down any trouble on the

30:09

big day. But ultimately

30:11

fears of mass apathy or resistance

30:14

were overblown. On June 5, approximately

30:16

10 million American men headed to

30:18

their local selection boards to register

30:20

for the draft. While

30:23

the law did allow draftees to

30:25

claim conscientious objector status, fewer than

30:28

1% requested it, and many of those

30:30

who did agreed to serve in non-combat roles.

30:33

But despite the encouraging turnout, not everyone

30:35

was ready to fight for their country.

30:38

An estimated one in ten men failed

30:40

to register, becoming draftee dodgers. The

30:43

authorities and the public dubbed them slackers,

30:45

and within weeks they were being hunted.

30:48

Secret Service and American Protective League agents

30:50

teamed up with local police to hold

30:52

slacker raids where squads would roam the

30:55

streets to catch suspected draftee dodgers. These

30:58

squads would storm into saloons, dance halls,

31:00

sporting events, workplaces and pool rooms, demanding

31:02

men of military age show them the

31:05

blue cards that proved they registered for

31:07

the draft. Anyone without

31:09

a card would be jailed. In

31:11

the meantime, the U.S. Army now needed to

31:13

work out how to get the millions of

31:15

young men on the draft register trained, armed,

31:18

and transported to the battlefront of Europe. But

31:21

even with more soldiers, the United States

31:23

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31:25

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31:27

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the afternoon of May 24, 1917,

33:24

General John Pershing entered the Oval Office with

33:26

Secretary of War Newton Baker at his side.

33:29

Pershing was there to be formally named

33:31

Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, as

33:33

the U.S. forces on the Western Front

33:35

were to be called. Pershing

33:38

had a distinguished military career, having been one

33:40

of the first officers to lead an all-black

33:42

regiment to fight Native Americans on the frontier.

33:45

He'd also led successful campaigns in

33:47

both Cuba and the Philippines during

33:50

the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars. During

33:53

their brief meeting in the Oval Office that

33:55

day, Pershing got little direction from Wilson who

33:57

said nothing about how U.S. forces were to

33:59

cooperate. with the Allied armies. Wilson

34:01

simply told the General he had full confidence

34:03

in him. A few days

34:06

later, Secretary of War Newton Baker offered

34:08

Pershing a little more guidance. Pershing

34:10

was to cooperate with the Allied forces,

34:12

but the United States military had to

34:14

remain a separate and distinct force. Armed

34:17

with these brief instructions, Pershing and his staff

34:19

left for France on May 28, 1917, but

34:24

on arrival he soon realized America would need

34:26

even more manpower than anticipated to make a

34:28

difference in the war. Based

34:30

on his calculations, Pershing cabled Washington

34:33

and asked for one million men,

34:35

but only nine days later he cabled

34:37

Washington again. He changed his

34:40

mind. One million was too few.

34:43

He needed three times that. Pershing

34:46

knew that these men still needed to be drafted,

34:48

and before they could be sent overseas they would

34:50

need training. The best he could hope for

34:52

now was to get 500,000 troops prepared

34:54

and shipped to Europe by the end of 1917. But

34:58

just training that many was still going to be

35:00

a major undertaking. So soon

35:02

construction teams all over the United States

35:04

set to workbuilding training facilities and barracks

35:06

to house the troops. These

35:09

facilities were erected so fast that in

35:11

some instances the conscripts found themselves living

35:13

in tents while helping the construction. Equipment

35:17

was also in short supply. U.S.

35:19

factories were struggling to keep pace with

35:21

wartime demand, a task made harder as

35:24

workers began being called up for military

35:26

service and new restrictions were placed on

35:28

immigration. The resulting labor

35:30

shortage forced employers to seek out

35:33

alternatives, and they soon began to

35:35

recruit more African-American workers and women.

35:38

Large numbers of African-Americans had already

35:40

begun to migrate from the South

35:42

to Northern and Midwestern cities seeking

35:44

better jobs and less racist oppression.

35:47

The war only accelerated the trend.

35:49

Still, many African-Americans found that they were

35:52

not welcomed with open arms. In

35:54

many cities, white workers opposed working

35:57

alongside black workers, and some turned

35:59

to violence. On July

36:01

2, 1917, in East St. Louis, a

36:03

mob of more than a thousand white

36:05

residents went on a rampage attacking black

36:08

families and burning their homes. This

36:10

massacre left around 100 African Americans dead

36:12

and as many as 6,000 homeless. In

36:16

response, 10,000 African Americans marched

36:18

in New York in silent

36:20

protest. But it wasn't

36:22

just an influx of African American workers that

36:25

changed American industry as the U.S. geared up

36:27

for war. Facing a lack

36:29

of labor as young men went

36:31

off to battle, traditionally male workplaces

36:33

began to hire women from positions

36:35

like operating cranes, driving trucks, and

36:37

building ships. But even

36:40

as these women began to fill the ranks and

36:42

power production, U.S. factories could not

36:44

meet demand from the military. The

36:47

backlog in orders for uniforms and

36:49

boots stretched into months. And

36:51

the U.S. Army did not have enough guns to arm

36:53

their soldiers either. So instead

36:55

of training with rifles, many men found

36:58

themselves practicing for war armed with broomsticks.

37:01

By the time they reached France, as

37:03

many as 40% of the troops had

37:05

not yet fired a standard-issue army rifle.

37:08

But despite their lack of training, U.S.

37:10

troops were a welcome sight for Allied

37:12

commanders. On June 24, the first 14,000

37:14

U.S. troops arrived in France. With

37:18

the Americans now in the fight, Germany's

37:20

defeat seemed more certain. Then,

37:23

as the summer went on, the initial

37:25

dribble of U.S. troops became a steady

37:27

stream. For the first few

37:29

months, the American Expeditionary Forces spent their

37:31

time setting up bases, being drilled in

37:33

trench warfare by British and French instructors.

37:37

But as summer turned to fall, the

37:39

first American soldiers headed to the front

37:41

lines. Imagine

37:45

it's just before dawn on November 3, 1917.

37:50

You're a soldier in the 1st Division of

37:52

the American Expeditionary Forces. You're

37:54

in the trenches in northeastern France, just a

37:56

few miles from the border with Germany. Stand

37:59

on tiptoe. Carefully raise your head to

38:01

peek over the trench wall. In

38:03

the gloom, you can make out No Man's

38:05

Land. The roughly hundred yards of land that

38:08

separates you from the enemy. It's

38:10

eerie. A pockmarked wasteland of

38:12

barbed wire, mud, unexploded shells, pools

38:14

of fetid water, and the decaying

38:17

bodies of the fallen. Then

38:19

at the far end, you can see the German

38:21

trenches. A lone sniper

38:23

shot pierces the air. You duck

38:26

back into your trench. Well, that was close. You

38:28

are an idiot. You turn to

38:30

see your friend Johnny, a fellow First Division soldier.

38:33

He's leaning against the muddy trench wall,

38:35

rolling a cigarette. Hey, I almost got

38:37

shot there. That's exactly my point, idiot.

38:40

Didn't you listen when they told us the quickest way to die

38:42

here is to stick your head up above the trench? Yeah,

38:45

I heard that, but I'm sick of staring at nothing

38:47

but these dirt walls. I wanted to get

38:49

a glimpse of what it was like up there. Besides,

38:52

that instructor was a sourpuss. All

38:55

doom and gloom. It's no wonder they haven't beaten the Germans

38:57

yet. Johnny strikes

38:59

a match and lights a cigarette. Or

39:04

maybe they've just been here long enough to know what's

39:06

what. I mean, look at this place. Nothing

39:09

but mud and rats. And Jesus,

39:11

Mel. Maybe that Brit wasn't joking when

39:13

he said the best thing you could hope for is a bullet

39:15

in the rear. You frown,

39:17

because sure, it's bad, but having Johnny complaining

39:19

doesn't help. Well, look, I came here to

39:21

fight, teach the Kaiser a lesson. I'm tired

39:24

of waiting around. That's not what they trained

39:26

us for. At least they gave you

39:28

a gun to train with. I was twirling around a

39:30

broomstick. I only got a gun the day we

39:32

left for France. Just like the song.

39:35

What? Just like the song.

39:37

Over there. Over there. Oh,

39:39

yeah, I guess. You pause and think

39:41

about your brief glimpse of no man's land. You

39:44

know, it's creepy up there. Up where? No

39:47

man's land. It's a little shadowy like

39:49

there's ghosts or something. I know

39:51

my eyes were full of me, but I swear

39:53

I saw something move out there. You saw something move?

39:56

Johnny springs up and crawls his rifle. Before

40:00

you can react, the noise of grenades and

40:02

guns is a trench

40:04

ring. The Germans are already right on to the

40:07

border. The

40:11

German raid near the French village of

40:13

Batlemont was the first time U.S. troops

40:16

faced direct combat. The fighting lasted

40:18

an hour, and by the time the Germans

40:20

returned to their lines, they had taken several

40:22

prisoners with them. Three American servicemen

40:24

died in the fighting, becoming the first

40:26

U.S. soldiers to fall in battle during

40:28

the war. The next day,

40:30

General Pershing arrived in Paris for a

40:32

morning meeting with David Lloyd George, the

40:34

British Secretary of War. The

40:37

mood was solemn. American troops were

40:39

arriving in growing numbers, but both Pershing

40:41

and Lloyd George were worried about Italy.

40:44

Before the war, Italy had made a

40:46

defensive pact with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but

40:48

when the fighting began, it declared itself

40:50

neutral. Then, in April 1915,

40:52

the Allies persuaded Italy to join

40:54

their side by promising to give

40:56

it parts of Austria-Hungary and the

40:58

Ottoman Empire once the Central Powers

41:00

were defeated. Italy's entry

41:03

into the war had boosted the Allies' forces

41:05

by more than five million men, but

41:07

now, in late 1917, Italy was informal. Austria-Hungary

41:11

had just inflicted a major defeat

41:13

on the Italians at Caporetto. More

41:16

than a quarter million Italian soldiers had

41:18

been taken prisoner, and Italy's prime minister

41:20

was forced from office. Italy's

41:23

continued commitment to the war was now

41:25

looking shaky. And there was

41:27

also another issue for General Pershing and

41:29

Lloyd George to chew over that morning,

41:31

the coordination of American and Allied troops.

41:34

Britain and France wanted the American forces

41:36

rolled into their armies. They felt

41:38

the U.S. was wasting valuable time and

41:40

resources trying to build their own divisions,

41:43

as the U.S. troops were inexperienced, badly

41:45

equipped, and untrained. Even General

41:47

Pershing had to concede that without British

41:49

and French support, the American Expeditionary forces

41:52

couldn't function. But his orders

41:54

were clear. The American army was

41:56

not to be absorbed into the Allied forces.

41:59

This was was in part because Pershing

42:01

doubted the Allies' tactics. For three

42:03

long years Britain and France had been

42:06

sending hundreds of thousands of men to

42:08

their deaths and getting nowhere. The

42:10

ongoing battle in Passchendaele, Belgium, only

42:13

seemed to underscore the futility. Since

42:15

July the British had been trying to break

42:17

through the German defenses there, but

42:19

the offensive had failed, leaving more than a

42:22

quarter of a million British soldiers dead, injured

42:24

or missing. Pershing had no

42:26

intention of allowing the British and French to

42:28

use American soldiers as more cannon fodder. But

42:31

he and Lloyd George did agree that the

42:33

Allied forces needed to get better aligned. So

42:36

three days later, on November 7, 1917, the

42:39

British, French and Italian governments agreed to

42:42

form a Supreme War Council. Soon

42:44

after President Wilson approved American participation

42:46

as well. This council would

42:49

coordinate the war effort, but the armies

42:51

of each nation would remain separate and

42:53

under their own leadership. But

42:55

even as the council prepared for its

42:57

first planned meetings, the tide of the

42:59

war turned in Germany's favor. First,

43:02

Austria-Hungary inflicted another crushing defeat

43:05

on Italy. The Italians were

43:07

now threatening to drop out of

43:09

the war entirely unless the US

43:11

also declared war on Austria-Hungary. The

43:13

news from Russia was even worse. Back

43:16

in the spring, Germany had helped

43:18

the exiled Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin

43:20

return to Russia. They

43:22

hoped as leader of the Bolshevik revolutionaries, he

43:24

would cause enough trouble to force Russia's new

43:27

democratic government to pull out of the war,

43:29

and they were right. On

43:31

November 7, Lenin and the

43:33

Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government and

43:35

seized power. Now it was

43:37

just a matter of time before Russia withdrew from

43:39

the war. And when it

43:41

did, Germany's battle-hardened forces on the Eastern

43:44

Front would be free to turn

43:46

west toward France, just as American forces

43:48

were headed straight into the fight. Wilson

44:00

presents his plan for a new

44:02

world order. General Pershing considers letting

44:04

Paris fall as Germany stages a

44:06

massive spring offensive and more American

44:08

troops land in Europe just in

44:10

time. Wondery

44:15

Plus subscribers can binge American History

44:18

Tellers early and ad-free right now.

44:21

Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app

44:23

or on Apple Podcasts. And if you

44:25

enjoy American History Tellers, be sure to

44:27

give us a five-star rating and leave

44:29

a review. I read every one of

44:31

them. I also have two other Wondery

44:33

podcasts you might like, American Scandal and

44:35

Business Movers. Follow American History Tellers on

44:37

the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever

44:39

you get your podcasts. You can binge

44:41

all episodes of American History Tellers early

44:43

and ad-free right now by joining Wondery

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Plus in the Wondery app or on

44:47

Apple Podcasts. And before you go, tell

44:49

us about yourself by completing a short

44:52

survey at wondery.com/survey. And to

44:54

find out more about me,

44:56

including my other podcasts, go

44:58

to notthatlindseygram.com. That's

45:01

notthatlindseygram.com. American

45:06

History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced

45:09

by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. Audio

45:11

editing by Tristan Peraga. Sound

45:13

design by Molly Bach. Music by

45:15

Lindsey Graham. This episode is written

45:18

by Tristan Donovan of Yellow Ant.

45:20

Research by Louisa Byrne, Marina Watson,

45:22

and David Walensky. Edited by Dorian

45:24

Marina. Produced by Oliva Rizanski.

45:27

Our production coordinator is Desi Blalock.

45:29

Managing producer Matt Gant. Senior

45:31

managing producer Ryan Lohr. Senior

45:34

producer Andy Herman. Executive

45:36

producers are Jenny Lauer-Bekman and

45:38

Marsha Louis for Wondery. The

45:47

wait is over. So far

45:49

you're not losing. The only thing you're losing

45:51

is my patience. Quickly, I see that. Bing!

45:54

The queen of the courtroom

45:56

is back. I didn't do

45:58

anything. I wouldn't know the truth if

46:00

it came up and slapped you in the face. I

46:03

see it's not intimidated by anything.