Mobilizing America: World War I Home Front Efforts

1. World War I The Home Front

2. Organizing The Economy • Congress created wartime agencies to coordinate mobilization and ensure the efficient use of national resources • War Industries Board (WIB)  coordinate the production of war materials • Told manufacturers what they could produce, allocated raw materials, ordered construction of new factories, and set some prices • Food Administration  Responsible for increasing food production and reducing civilian consumption • Victory gardens  families would grow their own food and conserve food

3. Paying for the War • United States had spent about $32 billion by the end of the war • Congress raised income tax rates, placed new taxes on corporate profits, and created a new tax on the profits of arms factories • Government borrowed over $20 billion through the sale of Liberty and Victory Bonds

4. Mobilizing the Workforce • National War Labor Board  created in 1918 • Headed by Taft and Frank Walsh, it attempted to mediate labor disputes that might lead to strikes • Pressured industry to improve wages, adopt an 8-hour day, allow unions to organize and bargain • In exchange, labor leaders agreed not to disrupt war production with strikes or other disturbances

5. Women Support Industry • Employers became willing to hire women to do what was previously considered men’s work • Almost 1 million women joined the workforce • Worked in factories, shipyards, railroad yards, and served as police, mail carriers, and train engineers • When the war ended, women were expected to go back to the home

6. Great Migration Begins • Henry Ford sent agents down into the South to recruit African American workers for his factories • They were promised higher wages and plentiful work if they moved north • Massive population shift became known as the “great migration” • African Americans in the north generally experienced more political freedom and equality

8. Mexican Americans Head North • Political turmoil in Mexico encouraged many people to leave the nation for America • Between 1917 & 1920, over 100,000 Mexicans moved to the US • Provided labor for ranches and farms • Others moved further north and became factory employees in cities such as St. Louis, Omaha, and Chicago • They faced hostility and discrimination in their new home

9. Selling the War • Committee on Public Information Created by President Wilson to “sell” the war to the American people • Recruited advertising executives, public speakers, artists, authors, songwriters, entertainers, and motion picture companies to help influence the public’s opinion of the war • Four Minute Speeches  short patriotic talks delivered in many public venues

10. Loss of Civil Liberties • Espionage Act of 1917  Made it illegal to aid the enemy, give false reports, or interfere with the war effort • Sedition Act of 1918  Made it illegal to speak against the war publically • These acts allowed officials to prosecute anyone who criticized the government • Courts ruled that the government could restrict speech when the words constitute a “clear and present danger” • Wartime fears lead to attacks on German Americans, labor activists, socialists, and pacifists

11. Building the Military • Selective Service Act of 1917  Required all men between the ages of 21-30 to register for the draft (forced military service) • A random lottery would determine the order in which they were called before a local draft board • Almost 2.8 million men were drafted due to this act

12. Volunteers for War • Approximately 2 million men volunteered for military service • Some saw this war as their opportunity for a great adventure • Morale remained high among American troops, which helped lead to victory • More than 50,000 soldiers died in Combat • 60,000 died from disease, mostly from the Influenza epidemic of 1918-19 • Influenza epidemic spread around the world, killing an estimated 25-50 million people

13. African Americans in the War • 400, 000 African Americans were drafted, and 42,000 served overseas • Encountered discrimination and prejudice in the army • Served in racially segregated units, serving under white officers • African Americans from the 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions received praise for their heroics on the western front

14. Women Join the Military • World War I was the first military conflict in which women were allowed to serve in the armed forces • Women served as clerical workers and nurses • Navy allowed women the rank of yeoman, while the Army refused to enlist women at all