Mexico

In 1914 War almost broke out between the United States and
Mexico.
1916 Pancho Villa conducts a border raid in New Mexico to
provoke a war with the United States. The deaths of
American citizens infuriated Americans and Pres. Wilson
dispatched General (Gen.) Black Jack Pershing.
Pershing took the 10
th
Cavalry and other units to bring Villa
to justice. The mission was unsuccessful to capture Villa and
his men.
World War I
United States was an isolationist country. Americans were
apprehensive about becoming involved in the war.
3 events will lead to Americas involvement:
Zimmerman Telegraph
Sinking of the Lusitania
Sinking of an Italian vessel with the deaths of Americans on
both vessels.
W.E.B. Du Bois supports black involvement in the war effort. This
will come back to haunt Du Bois after the war is over.
Apprehension by some government officials in regards to black
participation in the war.

Black Troops & Officers
The Buffalo Soldiers of the 9
th
&
10
th
Cavalry as well as the 24
th
&
25
th
Infantry Regts. Were part of
the Regular Army at the onset of
WWI.
The military was segregated with
white officers commanding black
troops. Black troops were not
allowed to participate in combat
upon arrival in theatre.
No black officers commanded
troops during World War I. LTC
Charles Young though eligible to
command troops was not allowed
to.
White soldiers refused to be
commanded by LTC Young and
the Army forced him to retire.
Discrimination & Its Effects
Acts
Drilled without weapons
Lived in tents without
floors, blankets and bathing
facilities during the winter.
White soldiers failed to
salute black officers.
Black officers denied
admittance to Officers
Clubs.
Effects
Low morale and
performance among black
soldiers.
Due to poor tng , some
black performance in
combat was poor in some
units.
Most black troops served in
combat service support
units.
Discrimination & Its Effects
368
th
Infantry Regt.
2
nd
& 3
rd
BN deserted in
battle. White officers blamed
black officers for the actions.
White officers prejudice
responsible for the desertion.
Gen. Charles Ballou
identified white officers as
the problem for the desertion.
General Charles Ballou
White officers consistently
conveyed misinformation to
higher hqs.
Created trouble and
discontent amongst the
troops.
Ballou and other white
officers would not give
black troops a chance.
Du Boiss Disappointment
Du Bois and other black
leaders were disappointed on
how blacks were used in the
military during World War I.
Some labeled Du Bois a
sellout. Du Bois received a
great deal of pushback on his
support of the War.
What Du Bois did see on his
visit to France was that no
matter the fight in black
troops racism was very
prevalent.
Black soldiers oftentimes
were denied to fight in
combat by the War
Department.

Race Riots
During the early parts of the 20
th
century many whites held
onto Social Darwinism and white supremacy.
As the war effort ramped up in America, so did the disdain
and contempt from whites . Black men particularly in the
South angered many white men.
Racial violence not only occurred in the South but in the
North as well.
There were casualties on both races.
Race Riots
Atlanta, GA 1906
Springfield, IL 1908
East St. Louis 1917
Houston, TX 1917
Chicago, IL 1919
Elaine, AR 1919
Tulsa, OK 1921
Rosewood, FL 1923
Why ?
Whites wanted to keep blacks subjugated and in menial
jobs. Whites want to reinforce Jim Crow and segregation in
many of the cities that riots occurred in.
White mobs acted on perceived injustices done to white
women as in the case of the Atlanta riot, in East St. Louis, 2
white undercover white police officers were killed after a
white mob had went through black neighborhoods. Blacks
as in most race riots received the worst of it. An exception to
this was the The Houston Riot of 1917.
Tulsa & Rosewood
Two of the most infamous race riots occurred in Tulsa, OK and
Rosewood, FL.
As in many of the riots, a black man was accused of attacking a white
woman. Blacks protected their neighborhood of Greenwood but it
was not enough. Homes and business were burned to the ground.
One of the worst domestic violence acts in American history.
In Rosewood, the results were the same as in Greenwood. Blacks
again tried to defend their homes some whites were killed but the
majority of deaths were black residents.
Rosewood ceased to exist after the riot.
Some have called the time period from 1880-1959, The Negro
Holocaust but in reality it was whites who were trying to force black
subjugation and white supremacy.
Sources
Picture The World War taken at The World War I
Museum, Kansas City, Mo by RL Booker, Jr.
Picture- Colonel Charles Young taken from the book
American Negro in The World War by Emmett Scott, Chapter
12.
Booker, R.L., Jr. The Houston Riot of 1917. Texas State
University, 2014.
Primary Sources, America in Class from the National
Humanities Center.