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Early 20th Century War EffortsA number of conflicts between the United States and foreign countries arose during the late 1800s and the early 1900s, and Texas played an important part in these conflicts. The first crisis with a foreign country was with the Caribbean island of Cuba. The island was then a Spanish colony. The conflict began in the late 1890s when Cubans revolted against Spain�s authority. American businessmen, who had major investments in Cuba, wanted the United States government to aid the Cubans in their bid for independence from Spain.
Texans also saw military action when the United States sent soldiers into Mexico to capture the notorious Mexican outlaw Poncho Villa. The Mexican revolutionary wanted to become president of Mexico. When the United States government officially recognized his rival, Venustiano Carranza, Villa organized border raids into New Mexico and Texas. President Woodrow Wilson sent troops to the border areas, and Texas Governor Oscar Colquitt sent the Texas Rangers. In the spring of 1916, United States troops, under the command of John "Black Jack" Pershing, invaded northern Mexico in an attempt to capture Villa, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts. After Carranza was ousted from power in 1920, Villa ended hostilities with the new Mexican government and retired to an estate until he was killed in 1923 by political enemies. Texas was also actively involved in World War I from 1917 to 1919. Approximately 200,000 Texans served in the armed forces during World War I. The number included 500 women nurses. Texas politicians also played key roles in the United States government during this time. Edward M. House was a close advisor to President Wilson. Thomas Watt Gregory was the United States Attorney General. Albert Sidney Burleson served as the nation�s Postmaster General. David F. Houston was the president�s Secretary of Agriculture. In preparation for the war effort, four major military training facilities were established in Texas: Camp Bowie, Camp Travis, Camp Logan and Camp MacArthur. In addition, pilots received flight training at Kelley Field in San Antonio and at other smaller air fields around the state. By the war�s end, more than 5,000 Texans had died in service for their country. Texans on the home front showed their support for the war in a variety of ways. They bought Liberty Bonds, worked for the Red Cross and conducted scrap metal drives. Women took jobs in factories to ensure wartime production continued. Citizens reduced their consumption of flour, sugar and meat in an effort to make sure those who were serving on the front lines had plenty to eat. There were some negative developments at home during the war. Black soldiers stationed at bases in Texas were subjected to strict segregationist policies and discrimination whenever they ventured out into the cities. In 1917, a riot erupted in Houston when a black soldier stationed at Camp Logan was arrested for interfering with the arrest of a black woman by Houston police. Another negative development of the war was the discrimination against ethnic German Americans by many Texans. At the end of the war in 1918, soldiers and civilians joined together in grand celebrations throughout the state. Many thought they had just witnessed the "war to end all wars." However, in less than 25 years the United States, including Texas, would again be involved in another world war.
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