World War I: The Home World War I: The Home FrontFront

By Neil Hammond

World War I: The Home World War I: The Home FrontFront

• When the US entered the war Wilson claimed it was “to make the world safe for democracy”

• When the US declared war, progressives controlled the Federal Government…they applied progressive ideas to fight the war

• When the US entered the war in 1917, the army and National Guard together had slightly more than 300,000 troops. Although many men volunteered after war was declared, many felt more soldiers needed to be drafted

Selective ServiceSelective Service All men between 21 and 30

registered. A lottery randomly determined the order that people were called before a local draft board

The thousands of LOCAL draft boards were the heart of the system. Progressives believed local people, understanding community needs, would know which men to draft.

Eventually 2.8 million were drafted. 2 million volunteered

Organizing IndustryOrganizing IndustryTo efficiently manage the relationship

between the federal government and private companies, Congress created special boards to coordinate the mobilization of the economy

These boards emphasized cooperation between big business and government

WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD . It’s job was to coordinate the production of war materials…by 1918 it had lots of powers…it told manufacturers what they could and couldn’t produce

Food & FuelFood & FuelPerhaps the most successful agency was the

Food Administration. Its Goal = increase food production while decreasing civilian consumption

No rationing…Herbert Hoover encouraged Americans to save food on their own. “Food Will Win the War”…”Hooverize”…Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays, Porkless Thursdays. Americans were encouraged to grow “victory gardens”.

The Fuel Administration…introduced daylight savings time tried to manage the nation’s oil and coal

Paying for the WarPaying for the War

• By the end of WWI the USA was paying $44 million a day! World War I cost the US $32 billion

• The government raised the money several different ways: Income taxes were raised, new taxes were placed on corporate profits

• But the US had to borrow money from US citizens…”Liberty Bonds”

Mobilizing the War EffortMobilizing the War Effort• Congress established the National War Labor Board to

make sure strikers didn’t disrupt wartime production

• NWLB frequently pressured industry to grant important concessions to workers, including wage increases, an 8 hour work day, and the right of unions to organize & bargain collectively. In exchange, labor unions agreed not to strike

• As a result, membership in unions increased by more than 1.5 million between 1917 and 1919

Increased OpportunitiesIncreased Opportunities

• The war increased workplace opportunities for women– These included factory jobs and jobs in shipping and

railroad industries– After the war, most of these women returned to their

previous jobs or stopped working

• With the flow of immigrants cut off and large numbers of white workers drafted, the war also opened new doors for African-Americans

• Great Migration– Between 300,000 to 500,000 African-Americans left the

South and settled in Northern Cities of Chicago, NY, Cleveland and Detroit

Ensuring Public SupportEnsuring Public Support

• Progressives also believed that government needed to shape public opinion and build support for the war

• Committee on Public Information

• Had to sell the war to the American people• Pamphlets, posters, “four minute talks”

The War and Civil The War and Civil LibertiesLiberties

• Espionage Act (1917)– Illegal to help the enemy, give false reports, interfere

with the war effort

• Sedition Act (1918)– Made it illegal to speak out against the war

• Wartime fears led to attacks on German Americans, union leaders, Socialists and Pacifists– Fear / paranoia led to mistreatment of German-Americans– Sauerkraut > Liberty Cabbage– Hamburger > Salisbury Steak– Many schools dropped German– Ads encouraged Americans to spy on their neighbors

Case Studies Case Studies • Charles Schenck

– The Supreme Court, in a pioneering opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, upheld Schenck's conviction and ruled that the Espionage Act did not violate the First Amendment. The Court maintained that Schenck had fully intended to undermine the draft because his flyers were designed to have precisely that effect. The Court then argued that "the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done." While in peacetime such flyers could be construed as harmless speech, in times of war they could be construed as acts of national insubordination. The Court famously analogized to a man who cries "Fire!" in a crowded theater. In a quiet park or home, such a cry would be protected by the First Amendment, but "the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."

Case Studies Case Studies • Eugene Debs

– He was found guilty on September 12. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and disenfranchised for life.

– He appealed to the Supreme Court– In Debs v US, the Supreme Court basically upheld

the Schenck decision– He was freed by Warren Harding in 1923, but he

was NOT pardoned

Case Studies Case Studies • Eugene Debs

– Imprisoned for 10 years– He appealed to the Supreme Court– In Debs v US, the Supreme Court basically upheld the Schenck

decision– He was freed by Warren Harding in 1923, but he was NOT

pardoned

A Climate of SuspicionA Climate of Suspicion• Fear / paranoia led to mistreatment of

German-Americans– Sauerkraut > Liberty Cabbage– Hamburger > Salisbury Steak– Many schools dropped German

• Mobs also attacked labor activists, socialists and pacifists