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Selective Service Act - Instituted a draft to build up U.S. military forces. Passed in May 1917, the act required all men aged 21 to 30 to register for military duty.
Espionage Act - Passed in 1917, the act enumerated a list of antiwar activities warranting fines or imprisonment.
Schenck v. United States - Charles Schenck was convicted of violating the Espionage Act when he protested the Selective Service Act and the WWI draft. Schenck appealed the conviction and claimed that the Espionage Act violated his first amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the Espionage Act and said that the government could restrict speech that presented a "clear and present danger" to the United States. This case is one of the primary examples of the U.S. government restricting civil liberties during wartime.
Fourteen Points - Woodrow Wilson’s liberal and idealistic peace program. His plan, outlined January 1918, called for unrestricted sea travel, free trade, arms reduction, an end to secret treaties, the territorial reorganization of Europe in favor of self-rule, and most importantly, the creation of “a general association of nations” to protect peace and resolve conflicts.
Treaty of Versailles - Signed in June 1919 at the end of World War I. President Woodrow Wilson had hoped for a generous peace settlement to promote democracy, peace, and liberalism throughout war-torn Europe instead of simply punishing the Central Powers. The treaty proved more vindictive against Germany than Wilson would have liked. It punished the Germans severely, forcing them to assume all blame for the war and to pay massive reparations. Other elements of the treaty included demilitarization of the west bank of the Rhine, the creation of new nations to grant autonomy to oppressed geographic and ethnic groups, and the formation of the League of Nations.
League of Nations - Woodrow Wilson’s idea for a collective security body meant to provide a forum for the resolution of conflict and to prevent future world wars. The League’s covenant was written into the Treaty of Versailles. The U.S. Senate, however, voted against joining the League, making it a weak international force.
Henry Cabot Lodge - Leader of a group of senators known as “reservationists” during the 1919 debate over the League of Nations. Lodge and his followers supported U.S. membership in the League of Nations only if major revisions were made to the covenant (part of the Treaty of Versailles). President Wilson, however, refused to compromise, and the treaty was rejected. The U.S. never joined the League of Nations.