“Over There”U.S. Enters World

War IPeriod Six

October 18, 2007

WARM-UP

• How do you feel about our current situation in Iraq?

• When of age will you volunteer or serve in some way or do you object to our nation’s involvement in Iraq?

Eddie Rickenbacker• Best known as a World War

I fighter ace and recipient of both the Medal of Honor and Croix de Guerre.

• He was also a race car driver, automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation.

Selective Service Act

• Enacted in 1917, that required men to register for military service.

• 24 million registered and about 3 million were called up.

Selective Service Act 2007Sec. 453. Registration• (a) Except as otherwise provided in this title (sections

451 to 471a of this Appendix) it shall be the duty of every male citizen of the United States, and every other male person residing in the United States, who, on the day or days fixed for the first or any subsequent registration, is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six…

• …The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any alien lawfully admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (66 Stat. 163; 8 U.S.C. 1101), for so long as he continues to maintain a lawful nonimmigrant status in the United States.

Military Service Around the World

• 29 countries require Mandatory Military Service:– Germany– Greece– Iran– Israel: Mandatory for both men & women– Poland– Russia– Switzerland: Largest militia army

MOBILIZING FOR WAR

• 24 million register, 3 million called up.

• 8 month training period took place partly in the United States and partly in Europe.– 17 hour days on target practice,

bayonet drill, kitchen duty, and cleaning up the grounds.

– Weapons in short supply: Rocks instead of grenades, Poles instead of rifles.

African Americans in the Army

• African Americans who signed up were put into segregated units.– 400,000 signed up.– Not allowed to serve in Navy or Marines

• Most were assigned to non-combat duties.

African Americans in the Army

• Henry Johnson & Needham Roberts: – 1st Americans to receive France’s

highest military honor: the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War).

• Exception:– All-black 369th Infantry regiment

saw more action on front lines than any other American regiment.

Henry Johnson

Needham Roberts

Women in the Military• Army Corps of Nurses

– Allowed women to enlist, but denied them army rank, pay, and benefits.

• Navy:– 13,000 women accepted

as nurses, secretaries, and telephone operators with full military rank.

MASS PRODUCTION

• U.S. had to find a way to transport men, food, and equipment over the ocean.

• Task made more difficult by German submarine activity.

• U.S. fleet needed to be expanded.

EXPANDING THE NAVY• Four crucial steps:

– Exempted shipyard workers from the draft and gave others a “deferred” classification, delaying their participation in the draft.

– U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined in a public relations campaign to emphasize the importance of shipyard work.

– Shipyards used fabrication techniques.

– Took over commercial and private ships and converted them for transatlantic war use.

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR• Conscientious Objector:

– A person who opposes warfare on moral grounds.

• 3,500 men obtained legal conscientious objector exemptions.

• Reasons for objection varied on philosophical, moral, and religious grounds.

ALVIN YORK• Alvin York:

– Redheaded mountaineer and blacksmith from Tennessee.

– Sought exemption as a conscientious objector on moral grounds.

• Bible says: “Thou Shalt Not Kill.”

– Changed his mind.• Decided it was morally acceptable to fight if the cause was just.

– On October 8, 1918:• Helped kill 25 Germans and capture 132 prisoners.

REVIEW• Who was Eddie Rickenbacker?

• What is the Selective Service Act?– Name a country that makes military service mandatory.

• How were African Americans treated?

• What were women allowed to do?

• What is a conscientious objector?

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT• Write a letter as a conscientious objector or as

a soldier writing home.– As a conscientious objector, you need to address

the letter to the Draft Board explaining why you are opposing warfare and on what moral grounds.

– As a soldier, you need to explain life on the battlefield and what you are encountering.

• DUE MONDAY, OCTOBER 22nd