America and the First World War. USA in the First World War

When gigantic outbreaks broke out in Europe fighting, the US government immediately declared its neutrality and maintained this status until April 1917. Similar situation was explained by several factors. These include the deeply rooted isolationist tradition in the minds of ordinary Americans and the elite, according to which the United States should avoid direct involvement in European conflicts. The relative weakness of the military component of American power also acted in favor of maintaining neutrality. Their armed forces, especially ground army, were clearly inferior to all the great powers.

But the main thing is that neutrality was extremely beneficial to the United States. Huge military supplies to Europe allowed the United States to turn into a global creditor by the end of the war, brought enormous profits to American corporations, and helped solve or at least significantly mitigate the severity of many social problems. While the war depleted its main competitors on the international stage, the United States, while not yet participating in the war, steadily strengthened its position as one of the leading world powers.

By the end of 1916, the attitude of the American leadership towards what was happening in Europe began to change. Having won the presidential election for the second time in November 1916 under the slogan “Keep America out of war,” Wilson began to be inclined to believe that Germany’s victory in this war would not correspond to the state interests of the United States. Using every possible means, Wilson began to prepare public opinion to the fact that it is extremely aggressive behavior Germany and its disregard for the rights of neutral states force the United States to seek adequate measures to protect its interests. After the monarchy was overthrown in Russia in February 1917, it became clear to the American leadership that the position of the Entente had become seriously complicated, and if America was interested in the success of this bloc, it should move on to providing direct assistance to the Entente. Germany's transition to unrestricted submarine warfare, in which civilian merchant ships could be sunk without warning, provided Wilson with a good opportunity to explain the reasons for the US entry into the war: they were forced to do so by the behavior of Germany, flouting the laws of the civilized world, and it was precisely to protect them that America would fight .

The United States entered the war in April 1917. However, before American troops moved into direct combat (this did not happen until the spring of 1918), the Wilson administration had to solve a whole range of difficult problems. The first block of questions was related to the implementation of mobilization measures. The second concerned the measures necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the economy in emergency conditions wartime. Very quickly it became obvious to the US authorities that without strict regulation various aspects economic life, it is impossible to ensure a stable supply of the US armed forces with everything necessary and not cause an aggravation of social problems. The federal authorities took upon themselves the regulation of food markets, raw materials and fuel, as well as labor relations. For the first time, the question of the role of the federal government in the sphere of socio-economic relations was raised with such urgency and substance. Since then, this issue has constantly been at the epicenter of party political struggle, with Democrats, as a rule, advocating a more active role for the federal authorities in this area, and Republicans advocating for limiting it.

The entry of the United States into the war undoubtedly improved the Entente's prospects for victory, at least in Washington there was no doubt about it, just as they were convinced that America was called upon to play main role V post-war settlement. In January 1918, Wilson made a public presentation of American plans post-war structure peace. This program went down in history under the name “Wilson’s 14 Points.” The central place in it was occupied by the proposal to create a League of Nations - a universal international organization designed to ensure stable and sustainable development post-war system international relations. Naturally, it was understood that the United States would play a key role in it.

First World War ended in November 1918 with the defeat of Germany and its allies. Now the victorious powers had to determine the parameters post-war world. These issues were resolved during the most intense struggle that opened in January 1919. Paris Peace Conference. For the USA, its results were controversial nature. Although at the conference the American delegation managed to prevent the full implementation of the plans of Great Britain and France and achieved approval of some provisions of Wilson’s program (first of all, the League of Nations was created), the president was unable to fully implement his large-scale plans. The ambiguity of the results of the Paris Peace Conference for the United States predetermined the extremely tense nature of the struggle in Congress on the issue of ratification of the signed peace treaties.

Although the United States was actively involved in World War I for only nineteen months, from April 1917 to November 1918, the mobilization of the economy was extraordinary.

More than 4 million Americans served in the armed forces, and the US economy had vast reserves of raw materials and ammunition.

The war in Europe, of course, began long before the United States entered. Many Europeans went to war thinking that victory would be easy. However, when the war began, it became clear that the consequences of the war would be colossal. By the time the United States entered the war, Americans knew that the cost of victory would be high. What prompted the United States to enter?

One factor was that Americans in general, some ethnic minorities were an exception, felt more close relations with Great Britain and France than with Germany and Austria. By 1917 it was clear that Britain and France were nearing exhaustion, and there was popular sentiment in the United States of America about the need to save traditional allies.

Also important is the urgent need for the United States to trading rights. Soon after the war began, Britain, France and their allies established a naval blockade of Germany and Austria. Even food was contraband. The Wilson administration bitterly declared that the blockade violated international law. American companies used representatives from neutral European countries such as Sweden as intermediaries. Of course, the Americans argue, international law protects the right of one neutral player to trade with another. Britain and France responded by extending the blockade to include the Baltic states.

When the British, who provided most of the blockading vessels, intercepted an American ship, the ship was escorted to a British port, the crew was well served, and there was a chance of damages being paid if the interception was found to be a mistake. The situation was completely different when the Germans switched to “submarine warfare” tactics. German submarines attacked without warning, and the passengers had little chance of escape. For many Americans, this was an unprecedented violation of the laws of war. The Germans had to use submarines because their land fleet was too small to win british navy, not to mention creating an effective counter-blockade.

The first victim of German submarines

The passenger steamer Lusitania was sunk on the seventh day of its voyage from New York to Liverpool in an area where German submarines were active. At 14:10, the largest ocean liner of the Cunard Line was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20.

Immediately after the first explosion, a more destructive second explosion was heard. Judicial commissions in the UK and the USA concluded that the liner was attacked by two torpedoes. U-20 commander Walter Schwieger claimed that he fired only one torpedo at the Lusitania. There are many versions explaining the origin of the second explosion, in particular damage to steam boilers, a coal dust explosion, a deliberate detonation or spontaneous detonation of illegally transported ammunition in the hold. However, the British military command denies the transportation explosives on the Lusitania.

At the time of the attack, the Lusitania was traveling at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h). After the torpedo hit, the liner almost immediately lost control and over the next 10 minutes moved by inertia, which complicated the evacuation from the sinking ship. The launching of lifeboats was difficult due to the strong list. Of the 48 boats, only 6 were successfully lowered.

The liner sank 18 minutes after the attack, killing 1,197 people. The sinking of the liner and the death of 128 American citizens became an important propaganda reason for the US leadership to enter the First World War.

Mobilization

The first and most important mobilizing decision was to increase the size of the army. When the United States entered the war, the army had reached 200 thousand people, which could hardly have had a decisive influence on the conflict in Europe. However, on May 18, 1917, a mobilization project was developed and the size of the army was quickly increased. The United States was initially expected to mobilize an army of 1 million men. However real numbers turned out to be much higher. There were a total of 4,791,172 Americans in World War I. Some 2,084,000 reached France and 1,390,000 took part in the fighting.

Once the size of the army was determined, the demands on the economy became obvious, although the means to meet them were not: food and clothing, weapons and ammunition, training places and vehicles. The fleet also had to be expanded to protect American shipping and troop transport. Contracts immediately began to flow from the army and navy to private sector. The result, of course, was a rapid increase in federal spending from $477 million in 1916 to a peak of $8.45 billion in 1918—12% of U.S. GDP.

Even though the army would consist of millions of people, the increase in these numbers would not place an unsustainable burden on the US economy. The total workforce increased from 40 million in 1916 to 44 million in 1918. This increase allowed the United States to place large military contracts in the industrial sector, where the number of workers increased from 27.8 million in 1916 to 28.6 million people in 1918

Real wage increased sharply in the industrial sector during the war, perhaps by 6 or 7%, and this increase, combined with the ease of finding work, was sufficient to attract additional labor. Many of the men drafted into the armed forces were leaving school and entering the workforce for the first time anyway.

The agricultural labor force fell slightly from 10.5 million in 1916 to 10.3 million in 1918, but Agriculture included many low-productivity jobs, and overall agricultural output was stable. Indeed, the all-important category of food grains showed significant increases in 1918 and 1919.

Financing the war

Where did the money come from to buy all this ammunition? Then, as now, there were three main ways to raise money:

- tax increases,

- borrowing from the population,

— start of the printing press.

IN Civil War the government simply printed the famous dollars. In World War I it became possible to "print money" in a more roundabout way. The government could sell the bonds to the newly created Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve would pay for this by creating a deposit account for the government, which the government could then use to cover its expenses. If the government first sold bonds to the general public, the money creation process would be even more circuitous.

In the end, the result will be the same as if the government simply printed dollars: the government would pay for the war with newly created money. Experts paid little attention to the possibility of printing money. The reason may be that the gold standard was sacrosanct. The real choice was between raising taxes and borrowing from the population.

Most World War I era economists believed that tax increases were the best solution. Here they followed a tradition that stretched back to Adam Smith, who argued that taxes needed to be raised to communicate the true cost of war to the public. During the war, Oliver Morton Sprague, one of the leading economists of the time, argued that borrowing from the public should be avoided. In his view, it was unfair to drag people into a war and then expect them to return home and pay higher taxes to finance the interest and principal on war bonds.

Most people, however, believed that there should be a balance between taxes and borrowing. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo believed that funding the war effort at 50% taxes and 50% bonds would be appropriate. Funding more from taxes, especially progressive taxes, would frighten the wealthier classes and undermine their support for the war.

In October 1917, the US Congress responded to the call for higher taxes with the War Revenue Act. This act increased personal and corporate income tax rates and established new excise taxes, windfall profits, and luxury taxes. The tax rate for income of $10 thousand was 1.2% in 1916, after the passage of the law it increased to 7.8%. For incomes of $1 million or more, the rate was 10.3% in 1916, in 1918 it was already 70.3%. This step contributed to an increase in treasury revenues from $930 million in 1916 to $4.388 billion in 1918. However, federal spending increased from $1.333 billion in 1916 to $15.585 billion in 1918. A huge budget deficit was created, which had to be financed by military release bonds.

Short-term borrowing was adopted as a temporary measure. However, to reduce the pressure on the Treasury and the danger of a sharp rise in short-term rates, it was necessary to issue long-term bonds, so the Treasury created the famous Liberty Bonds. The first issue was thirty-year bonds, which yielded 3.5% after fifteen years. There were four issues of Liberty Bonds and one issue of short-term Victory bonds. As a result, the sale of these bonds raised more than $20 billion into the country's budget for military purposes.

Poster encouraging the purchase of war bonds

To strengthen the Liberty Bonds market, Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo launched a series of nationwide campaigns. Huge rallies were held at which famous actors, such as Charlie Chaplin, convinced crowds to buy Liberty Bonds. The government also attracted famous artists to draw posters encouraging people to buy bonds.

During the war, America became a base for European allies, leading to a surge in domestic investment and production that turned the country into a major global lender and energy exporter almost overnight.

American exports of agricultural goods quadrupled, agricultural incomes rose from $3 billion to $9 billion, land prices rose, banks began to appear everywhere. The same thing happened in industry. Steel production, for example, rose from 30 million tons per year to almost 50 million tons during the war.

IN total in the six years since 1914, the country's GDP grew from $40 billion to $92 billion, which implies a fantastic growth rate of 15% annually.

These figures reflect strong inflationary processes, especially because the United States lent its allies great amount money. The amount amounted to almost 15% of GDP, or $2 trillion in today's equivalent.

And the Federal Reserve's operating model has changed dramatically. Just six months before Ferdinand's assassination, Congress had given no legal authority to the Fed to buy government bonds or to operate on the open market to finance government debt. This is partly due to the fact that there was nothing much to buy. At that time, the US national debt was only $1.5 billion, or 4% of GDP.

At the same time, the free market, which was not controlled by the Fed, whose function was to provide liquidity, quite successfully regulated rates and other parameters during any shocks.

The panic of 1907 clearly showed that speculative bubbles, which play a major role in the onset of crises, were well treated by the free market.

During World War I, the US national debt grew from $1.5 billion to $27 billion. This would not have been possible without emergency war amendments, which allowed the Fed to issue debt. As a result, this scheme marked the beginning of today's monetary system central planning.

Almost everyone was actively buying war bonds national banks. And to do this, the Federal Reserve Banks lent against war bonds, because without this process the banks simply would not have found the billions of dollars.

Transformation of the financial system

The War of Peace forever changed international economic situation U.S.A. United States for a long time were a debtor country. However, the United States emerged from the war as a net creditor. In 1914, investments in foreign countries amounted to $5 billion, and total foreign investment in the United States was $7.2 billion. Americans were net debtors of $2.2 billion. By 1919, investment in foreign countries had grown to $9.7 billion, while total foreign investment in USA fell to $3.3 billion: net lending position amounted to $6.4 billion.

Before the war, the center of the world capital market was London, and the Bank of England was the most important financial institution in the world. However, after the United States entered World War I, operational control of the Allied forces was carried out from New York, as a result of which the role of the Federal Reserve increased significantly.

USA in World War I

On August 1, 1914, the First World War began in Europe, in which two coalitions collided: the Entente countries (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and some others) and the bloc of central European powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria). The main reason war became a struggle for the redivision of the world.

Having own interests abroad, the United States has repeatedly demonstrated its strength to the world. For example, on December 16, 1907 in circumnavigation A squadron of 16 US warships departed and returned to their home port of Hampton Roads on February 22, 1909. The squadron crossed Pacific Ocean, visited Australia and New Zealand, Japan, passed through the Indian Ocean, climbed the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea and headed home through Atlantic Ocean. The sailors traveled 46 thousand miles. The first round-the-world military campaign was supposed to demonstrate to the world the power of the OPTA and at the same time serve as a demonstration of good intentions towards the political allies of the power. However, America was in no hurry to enter a world war. Firstly, the contradictions between the United States and other powers have not yet reached the extreme that leads to military action, and secondly, the majority of the population shared the opinion that America should not interfere in the affairs of Europe, just as Europe should not interfere in the affairs of America . Third, the United States was not prepared for a large-scale war. The American army was traditionally formed on a voluntary basis, numbered about 100 thousand people and was poorly trained. Finally, American politicians were firmly convinced that the war would end literally by the end of the year and there was no point in sending people to Europe, especially since the country did not have the necessary fleet for this.

On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the British-owned Lusitania, the world's largest passenger liner. Of the 1,800 passengers, 1,200 drowned. Of these, at least 128 were US citizens. The message caused a storm of emotions in the United States. Despite the harsh notes of protest, the Germans repeatedly attacked American ships. President Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) was a proponent of American non-intervention in the war that engulfed the Old World, but the actions of the Germans forced him to announce the US transition to a policy of “armed neutrality” (February 26, 1917). It meant a break diplomatic relations between two states.

Germany did not rate the US combat capability very highly, given the obvious reluctance American politicians plunge your country into military conflict. Nevertheless, Germany began to incite Mexico and Japan to war against the United States. In your hands American intelligence documents were obtained from which it followed that in return for supporting Germany in the war against the United States, Mexico would be helped to return territories annexed by the United States. At the same time, it was Mexico that was entrusted with negotiating a military alliance with Japan. Given the complicated situation, on April 6, 1917, the United States announced its entry into the First World War against Germany.

For the first time in US history, a law on universal conscription was passed. The country announced the registration of reservists - adult men under the age of 45. However, not all those who registered were sent to serve, since the law provided for a drawing of lots. The reservists who had the chance to serve formed an army of 4.8 million people, but less than half, 2 million Americans, were sent to Europe (in total, 56 million people took part in the war). Simultaneously with the formation of the army, collections of monetary donations for military needs began.

Commander American troops In Europe, General John Pershing (1860–1948), nicknamed Black Jack, was appointed. According to legend, upon landing in France, he uttered the historical phrase: “Lafayette, we are here.” According to another version, these words belong to the American Colonel Charles Stanton, who uttered them while visiting Lafayette’s grave. By entering the war, the Americans seemed to be repaying a historical debt to the French, who helped them win independence. Pershing had two armies under his command.

At first, the actions of poorly trained Americans displeased the Entente generals, but the United States insisted on fighting in Europe on its own, only with the support of allied artillery, aviation and tank units. After some time, the Americans began to fight more confidently and, together with their allies, pushed the Germans back to the borders of Germany and forced the enemy to capitulate.

On November 11, 1918, the First World War ended with the victory of the Entente. At Compiegne, Germany signed a ceasefire. In the United States, this event was celebrated twice, since four days earlier the newspapers had mistakenly reported the end of the war. However, there could no longer be any doubt, since President Wilson officially announced this in his speech to US Congressmen. The final peace treaty was signed at Versailles only on July 28, 1919. The treaty branded the Germans as an aggressor nation, placing full responsibility on them for inciting global carnage. Germany pledged to pay an indemnity of $130 billion. It was also deprived of its colonies, and the country's right to have armed forces was limited. The time has come to sum up the sad results for the winners.

The losses suffered by the Americans were relatively small: 104 thousand human lives- 48 thousand were killed on the battlefields and 56 thousand died from wounds and diseases. By comparison, a total of 26 million people died during the war, half of whom were civilians. The United States spent $32 billion on military operations. One of the most dire consequences The war turned out to be the emergence of a “lost generation” - young people broken by the horrors of war, who experienced terrible mental trauma, which is why they were unable to further realize themselves as individuals.

The war dramatically changed the balance of power in the world. It provoked a wave of revolutions: the Bolshevik government came to power in Russia, and the other two collapsed European empires- Germany and Austria-Hungary. War devastation and revolution weakened Europe, while the US entry into the war caused a new surge in the development of the American economy. The military budget adopted by Congress provided for gigantic investments in industry: in 1917–1918, over $35 billion was invested in it. In addition, during the war, the Entente countries placed huge military orders in America, which grew rich on the so-called “blood money”. The grief and suffering of some turned into success for others: during the war years, 17 thousand new millionaires appeared in the United States.

As a result of the war, the United States became a power that aspires to world leadership and seeks to prevent further military conflicts. The US government demonstrated confidence that the concluded war was the last in human history. Back on January 5, 1918, speaking in the Senate, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his program for maintaining peace. It contained fourteen provisions and is therefore called the “Fourteen Points”. Wilson's plan for the peaceful coexistence of nations included:

1) transition from secret to open diplomacy;

2) freedom of navigation and trade;

3) eliminating obstacles to international trade and creating equal conditions for all parties involved;

4) reduction of armaments in all countries of the world;

5) objective resolution colonial conflicts taking into account the interests of the population of the colonies;

6) non-interference of foreign powers in the internal affairs of Russia;

7) granting Belgium sovereignty in full;

8) the return to France of Alsace and Lorraine, annexed by Germany during the Franco-Prussian War;

9) revision state borders Italy;

10) creation independent states on the territory of the former Austria-Hungary;

11) restoration of statehood of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula and providing Serbia with access to the sea;

12) granting state sovereignty to the Turkish component of the Ottoman Empire;

13) the creation of an independent Polish state with access to the Baltic Sea;

14) the creation of the League of Nations - an organization of states that, through its activities, would guarantee peace for all times.

However, in putting forward this wise plan for reorganizing the post-war world, Wilson was primarily concerned with America's interests. Soon an addition to the “Fourteen Points” appeared - a commentary marked by an anti-German and anti-Soviet orientation, which actually provided for the redivision of the world through the redistribution of German colonial possessions and dismemberment Soviet Russia. Thus, the principles guaranteeing peace provoked the creation of new centers of tension. And soon the “peacekeepers” authorized the participation of the American army in the Entente campaigns against Russia - US troops operated both in the Murmansk area and in Far East. Military expeditions to Russia were launched without congressional authorization, which caused discontent within the United States. Under pressure from some congressmen and mass protests by citizens in support of Russia, the troops had to be returned to their homeland. However American government did not want to recognize the new Russia.