And central powers, helping both sides continue the fight. She sought to police and ethnic groups and yet faced criticism about how treated its own minorities. Good morning everyone. We will begin our conversation about neutrality. That will last over several lectures. This morning, we are going to really focus on what neutrality looks like and meant for the americans. Especially in the first half of the war. The thing that i want you to understand the most, this is very vital. It is a very different understanding of neutrality than we have today. Neutrality at the beginning of the war did not mean inactivity. It did not mean passivity. It most certainly it did not mean impartiality. If it does not mean those things, what on earth does neutrality mean . The definition of neutrality differs with each country. Some, like belgium will say that they never gave up their neutrality. They were invaded. But they always remained officially neutral. They were agreed as a neutral country. Others like switzerland will say i am neutral and to prove it, dylan, i will hold your wallet and kia i will hold your wallet. That proves i am neutral. In the United States, neutrality will mean that they will do business with you and have a willingness to do business with both germans and central powers and the allies is proof of the neutrality. A lot of people are surprised to learn that at the beginning of the war, the u. S. Traded with and maintained diplomatic relations with all of the belligerent nations. Some of those relationships were strained to be sure. One of my favorite examples was of the first and last Ottoman Empire ambassador appointed to the United States. A polish turk. He is appointed to d. C. And he is given one instruction on his departure from constantinople. You know from our work earlier this semester that constantinople is a hotly contested zone. They tell him to go to the states and all you have to do is be charming. All you have to do is have fabulous parties, be a fabulous guest and by all means, avoid any social or political tensions. Dublinksi who was never good at heeding instructions. He gets to d. C. Just as the crisis is happening in the Ottoman Empire. Armenians and other are being attacked. The ottomans thought that was pretty judgey. He so irritates Woodrow Wilson that Woodrow Wilson has his privileges as an ambassador revoked. How timely with our current news. If you dont behave, youre on your way out. He knew exactly how to annoy americans. But the africanamerican press said dublinksi pressed on americas spot. Native americans, African Americans. Until you stop segregation, you have no business about being violent or how to control our minorities. He left Woodrow Wilson on the brink of a complete connection. There were photos of him praying and singing with africanamericans and talking about how their plight and suffering were handled. What we see in the case of the United States is that the question of race will already be part of this diplomatic tugofwar. The germans will do the same. It will return. In the United States, what we get from the very beginning of the war are a lot of the same kinds of concerns that had been weighing heavily on european empires that we had been talking about. What were some of those concerns . That their own countries were full of dissidents who could set the place ablaze by pointing out the fishers in American Society fissures in American Society. What are we looking at . Women protesting in front of the white house, demanding the right to vote. Pointing out that american democracy is not perfect. Therefore, who are they more so as a neutral state, to go around the world and tell people what is right and what is wrong . What are the other dissident groups we have in the country . Just like in your book, we have workers who are galvanizing around the right to a safe working space, a fair living wage, reasonable working hours. We still worked 6. 5 days a week. Workers are a problem. Women are a problem. Can anyone hazard a guess at other groups that might be a problem . Jenny . Minorities . Minorities, africanamericans are a problem. They continue to say that we want our civil rights. We want the right to vote. We are in fact americans, we pay taxes, we on land. We want the right to go to school where we actually qualify. Africanamerican women are also wanting very much to have a vote. The most pressing problem for afican americans were lynching. Africanamericans would say we want this to end. Indeed, it must end immediately because every incident of racialized violence, they were many, they took on different shapes. Every one of those incidents places us too precariously close to have kaiser and other places treat their population. We have prohibitionists pointing out how immigrants are our problem populations. We have to many of them. We have to have roles, now borders, wanted medical screening to keep these undesirables from pouring in. We have to have rules, borders, medical screening to keep these undesirables pouring in. Italian, irish, catholics. This idea that the cauldron that is the United States is having its own kind of bubbling up of problems, native americans who are demanding citizenship, they dont have it at this time. These are worrisome enough that americans should focus on themselves in order to control the population lest what happens over there also ends up happening over here. Will democracy be enough to prevent what happened over there from also happening over here . One of the things that you are often taught in high school is that it is just plain wrong that americans how are isolationists in high school that is just plain wrong is that americans are isolationists. Through the 1920s, that now now now now from the 1890s to the 1920s is a window in which americans spread out from the United States in pretty spectacular ways. Some talked an american about an american imperialism being born. Certainly an imperial vision. From the 1890s, the u. S. Has now reached into hawaii, reached into cuba, reached into puerto rico and most significantly, reached into the philippines. All the way into asia. It isnt that americans are isolationists. They very much want to get into your house. They just dont want you to come into theirs. That is not isolationism. Now if we want to change other people, we just dont want them to have a say in who we want to be. So in those early years of the war we talked about this a few weeks ago americans have their attention completely trained on the americas. What is happening . We talk about what is happening on the canadian border. Canadians are getting ready to celebrate the war of 1812 and 1814. That is where activities are happening, on the borders. Who is going to pipe up the band the loudest to show that they are the place that matters more . In 1812 through 1814 and in 1914. Again, americans attention is trained on the mexican border. On because since at least 1910 mexico had been undergoing several revelations those revolutions had only intensified in nature and will grow closer to the american border. The source of the tension in many instances was americans who mexicans felt were too much of a presence in mexico, they owned it too much of the land, controlled too much of the capital and controlled and owned too much of industry, and industrial footprint in mexico. It is a very complicated set of revolutions. That internal set of conflictd in mexico is working its way closer to the american border. Hence, once again, being very concerned about american safety, american protectionism with respect to what comes through that southern border. What we know is that people also came through that southern border. The idea that a Central American migration pattern is really contemporary mrs. What was happening 100 plus years ago. The border was quite porous. It certainly opened and closed like a valve. It depended on American Labor needs. People were surprised to find out that a quarter of the workforce in chicago Meatpacking Industries are mexican. If you went skiing in colorado at this time, the ski patrol were mexicans and mexican americans. We have continued this myth that somehow, it is a population that is a new wave, that had been a pretty constant strain. One that americans have welcomed and vilified depending on political and economic expediency. That border was a tremendous concern in 1914. The concern there is also framed around that eugenics line was that we talked about, that social darwinist language we talked about. Immigrants bring disease. Disease is as much political and ideas like communism. Autocracy, socialism, catholicism. They also bring maladies. Part of the way that we make ourselves feel safer is to screen for these maladies. To tell ourselves that they are more inherent to one set of people and not another. That is the way we are spending our energy in 1914. Why is that so important a new both the southern border and the caribbean . Lets look at these constituencies. Since this was such an egregious, incendiary act to put on your for full support girdle, this was not the time to mince words. You will note that the language at the top of this barrier. Wilson claimed that he functioned from a higher moral stance that even his country. One of my favorite quotes comes from this french Prime Minister at the end of the war. He says after wilson gets up, he goes through all 14 points of his vision for world peace after the war. He says, even god only had 10. This is the picture of africanamericans marching down 5th avenue in new york. The banner reads; the first blood for american independence was here. Reminding the nation that africanamericans have been militarily part of defending this country at every turn. How can we continue to have laws that limit their Citizenship Rights . Laws that limit where they can go to school, who they can marry, how much they can earn, etc. It is fundamentally not independence. For much of the world, this political cartoon really captures this. Here is uncle sam here is uncle sam selling stuff. Europe has a long shopping list. They are asking how is my credit . How much can i buy from you in order to keep fighting . If you were to ask a german, a british person, what are the americans doing in 1914 . They would say fattening their pockets. Do not ever forget that the fattening of those pockets comes at the cost of european lives. That american greed and their willingness in particular to sell to anyone could ultimately result in the collapse of european empires. More so than europeans killing themselves. To come back to the question that tom asked many weeks ago how is it that the germans are always pinned as the bad guys . We can see even as early as 1914, we are starting to vilify the roles of even some neutrals. In this case the u. S. That they sell indiscriminately. In this political cartoon we see that there is an image of food, apples in the barrel, and it is important to remember that 1914 was a real boom time for the american economy. Like most countries, when the war first began there is a retraction. People are concerned and spend a little less. You do not have easy access to all the sources you would normally want to purchase right . The Stock Exchange was closed in new york just as it had closed in vienna and london and paris and berlin. But once by december, people start coming out of their caves again, americans realize that this war is an amazing boon for their economy. Because if nothing else, while the europeans are fighting each other they cannot produce things. The country that produced the best and most of things, germany, is especially unable to do so because it is fighting on tune too soon to be three fronts. We talked about the example of harmonicas in christmas of 1914 right . The holidays are coming and we need things. Those things are chocolate, toys for children, clothing remember most of the armies had not prepared for winter and the war spilling into winter. So now the americans are the ones who can sell all of their cotton. Sell all of their week. Sell their corn. And sell one of the first ways we see americans making money has to do with horses and mules. There is a robust trade in american horses, cattle and mules from the upper northwest through the midwest. Kansas for example, its economy goes through the roof because it has huge stock yards where all of these trains bringing in horses couldnt be sorted, screened for illness and then put on fast moving trains to chicago and across to philadelphia, new york and boston. Why are we moving so many horses . They need them at the front. Who needs them at the front . The british in particular. You will recall that i told you that the average lifespan of a horse is about two weeks. And that is a lucky horse. Were on the front. They are dying almost more quickly than we can get them over their. And the germans will say, they will have a robust Propaganda Campaign saying you are responsible for killing my son. Because the horse that you are sending over and making scores of money on, that horse is being used to pull artillery. To move cavalry even though cavalry was not doing much. For food. Right . So horses are vital. They are vital in terms of how the armies imagine themselves. But they are also vital for all the Different Things they can do in the war zone. The people who are shipping the most number of horses and at the same time saying they are neutral are the americans. Because americans have a healthy transportation system, railways, ports, the ports, people are also sending horses up from argentina and brazil and uruguay. They are coming down from canada. We are selling to germany on occasion but the horses have to make it past the british. We are selling to germans absolutely. When the germans float that sub that makes its way to philadelphia and is celebrated. That summary goes back to full of american products. Germans will see the successful nature of that trip as a continued partnership with american commerce. Why would the germans think the u. S. Potentially a good partner . For one thing, there were a lot of germans here. We talked about that right . About 25 of the population, by some estimates higher still, were either first generation or Second Generation german americans. The largest urban population of germans outside of berlin. They are in new york. Most cities on the east coast will have some version of a germantown. Right . So germany at the very least would say well my cousin will not let them go nuts and go after us so quickly. Right . We have a chance. We just need to convince them that we are pythons. Besides the irish do not care about the british, they are no friends of theirs. The irish will also join us. French canadians hate the british, we can get that started up to. So we have a pretty good chance of winning a media war if you will. Public sentiment. And for a time, that seemed to work. It worked because in part the germans or winning. But the moment the war starts it becomes at the very least a little more dangerous being german in america. We see in iowa and attempt to pass an english only bill making english the official language of iowa. United states has no official language. English is not the official language of the United States. In some parts of the United States like pennsylvania, they could just as well made german the official language. So much that it is spoken. Some parts of eastern ohio are very czech. All of a sudden, being seen speaking in german or singing german songs, those become suspect behaviors. Remember, the suspicions that we have for people who are not like us. Who may be genetically defective, racially defective, colonial a defective, that muscle can easily be rerouted to a new cause. So what we see in 1914, certainly in 1915, is that it becomes downright dangerous being german. Being suspected of being german. And doing, consuming, celebrating things, however broadly german. My favorite example of this is actually this set of images. We get reports in the United States and moscow of people going out on the street with their baseball bats, pounding to death little dogs because they represent the kaiser. The kaiser had to homicidal daschund. They become emblems of what is wrong with germans. Their animals are considered murderous. In a way of proving your position alex on that patriotism, club it. It is no longer sauerkraut, you are having freedom cabbage. Americans love rebranding food in times of war. Its not french fries, it is liberty fries right . So having a stein, thats what theyre called right . There are public stein crashing gatherings where you show that you are making real your distance from your ancestors by publicly crashing that. If you are german, those signs mean a lot. They stay within the family for generations. They represent your military background, your precious background. This public rejection of german this is very important. As with all things in this war, children always have a role. The little boy here pointing a gun at a dog. Note the shadow behind them. In so doing it is not animal cruelty, it is patriotism. It goes all the way back. This german was found to be suspect because he was allegedly speaking german in public. I believe it was in illinois. He had responded entirely too slowly to the call to enlist. Worst of all, he had raised the derelict question of why are we doing this again . His peers lost their minds, beat him up, tarred and feathered him and then clinched him. Now, lynching is not a practice uniquely reserved for African Americans. It is a practice that is also being soon seen against latinos in the u. S. Union workers. People who are gay or suspected of being gay. Non conforming in whatever way. That is suspect behavior. But now that we see the germans are being swept up and dealt with in a manner that we normally by this Point Reserve for African Americans, that tells us a lot about the level of vitriol that we get in the United States. Especially with respect to have or we see as worrisome lee different from us. Raising any kind of question about the war what is happening again . Who is fighting again . Where is the