Chapter 24The Home front-WWI

The U.S. Prepares for War As "doughboys" left for France, Americans

at home mobilized [mobilized: to organize people or resources for action, such as war]—organized the nation's resources—for war.

Actors helped publicly- raised money and entertained troops

Women went to work- › Although the number of women in the

workforce stayed about the same throughout the war, the number of occupations in which they worked rose sharply

› typists, cashiers, salesclerks, and telephone operators. Women worked in plants, assembling explosives, electrical appliances, airplanes, and cars. Many took jobs in the iron and steel industry

Mobilizing Public Opinion in Favor of War

pacifist: a person who opposes all wars, usually on moral or religious grounds› Henry Ford’s Peace Ship› Some just opposed to all wars- U.S. set an example by

staying out› Woman’s Peace Party: an organization, established

by a group of pacifist women in 1915 in response to World War I beginning in Europe, that called for arms limitations and mediation to take the place of combat in Europe

› conscientious objectors-someone who opposes war for religious or moral reasons and therefore refuses to serve in the armed forces. Didn’t serve= go to jail

Mobilizing Public Opinion in Favor of War

The Government Uses Propaganda to "Sell" the War › Committee on Public Information:

a government agency created by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917, during World War I, to promote pro-war propaganda to the American public] (CPI). hired reporters, artists, movie directors,

writers, and historians to create a massive propaganda campaign

Movies, posters, books, leaflets- in different languages

Four-Minute Men- made 4 minute speeches(written by CPI) in favor of the war

Mobilizing Public Opinion in Favor of War

Patriotic Fervor Sweeps the Country › loyalty parades

families waved flags and wore patriotic costumes. Marchers shouted slogans like "Keep the flag flying" and "Down with the Kaiser."

› Conserved Materials› anti-German hysteria

Employers in war industries fired German American workers

Can’t play German music, read German books, or teach German in schools

sauerkraut became "liberty cabbage" and liverwurst, "liberty sausage

Transforming the Economy for the War Effort Americans Buy Liberty Bonds to Fund the

War › World War I cost the United States about $35.5

billion. About one fourth of that cost came from taxes,

which increased drastically during the war. October 1917, Congress passed the War

Revenue Act, It also reduced the level of taxable income to $1,000. As a result, the number of Americans paying income

tax increased from 437,000 in 1916 to 4.4 million in 1918.

› The government raised the rest of the money through the sale of bonds bond: a certificate issued by a government or

company that promises to pay back borrowed money at a fixed rate of interest on a specific date

Liberty Bond: a government-issued bond sold during World War I to raise money for the Allied war effort

Transforming the Economy for the War Effort

New Government Agencies Organize Industry for War › July 1917, War Industries Board (WIB)

created to direct industrial production› had the authority to tell factories what

goods to produce and how much to make.› Less material in clothes= shorter skirts,

need for metal= no corsets› worked to ensure the cooperation of

unions in the war effort

Transforming the Economy for the War Effort Food and Fuel Help Win the War

› Food Administration set up to oversee production and distribution of food and fuel Lead by Herbert Hoover raised crop prices to encourage

farmers to produce more food and began a campaign that urged Americans to conserve food and reduce waste.

Slogan:"Food will win the war” Meatless Mondays and Wheatless

Wednesdays “Victory Gardens” “heatless Mondays." "gasless Sundays“ Daylights savings time introduced

Fighting for Democracy on the Home Front

World safe for democracy- but U.S. still segregated

Support or Not Support? Employers in northern cities

desperately needed workers› Great Migration: beginning during World

War I, the mass movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and Midwest in order to take jobs in industry.

Enforcing Loyalty Among All Americans

Immigrants Face Forced "Americanization“› Most immigrants, like most Americans,

supported the war.› Nevertheless, rumors of enemy agents

sparked anti-immigrant sentiments› American Protective League- self-

appointed patriot group› Intolerance also led to attacks on German

Americans

Enforcing Loyalty Among All Americans

The Government Cracks Down on Dissent › Fear of espionage: the use of spying to gather

information Espionage Act: a law passed by Congress in

1917 to make it illegal to spy, interfere with government foreign policy, or resist the military draft. also gave the postmaster general broad powers to refuse mail delivery of any materials that might encourage disloyalty.

Sedition Act: a law passed by Congress in 1918 to make it illegal to say anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or the war effort Hundreds of people were arrested for offenses such as

criticizing the draft or wartime taxes.

Enforcing Loyalty Among All Americans

Socialists and Wobblies Speak Out Against the War› Wobblies: a nickname for members of the Industrial

Workers of the World (IWW), an anticapitalist labor organization founded in 1905 Many arrested, and a few even lynched

› In all, the government arrested and tried more than 1,500 people under the Espionage and Sedition acts. Approximately 1,000 were convicted

› Supreme Court Holds it constitutional in Schenck vs United States: the 1919 Supreme Court case that declared that Charles Schenck's propaganda efforts against the military draft were illegal under the Espionage Act of 1918 and were not protected by his First Amendment right to freedom of speech