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The Home Front

The Home Front . Section 2. Building Up the Military. 1917 army and National Guard combined had around 300,000 troops Many more were needed for war Progressives, who were still in power, believed a draft was a violation of democratic and republican beliefs

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The Home Front

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  1. The Home Front Section 2

  2. Building Up the Military • 1917 army and National Guard combined had around 300,000 troops • Many more were needed for war • Progressives, who were still in power, believed a draft was a violation of democratic and republican beliefs • Conscription- forced military service • Congress realized a draft was needed • Created a new conscription system called selective service • Selective Service Act 1917- required all men between 21-30 to register for the draft • A lottery randomly selected the order • 2.8 million Americans were drafted; 2 million more volunteered

  3. African Americans in the War • Nearly 400,000 African Americans were drafted • 42,000 served overseas as combat troops • African Americans encountered many challenges • Encountered discrimination • Encountered prejudice • Segregated units with white officers • Fought with distinction in the war • Many won praise from Marshal Henri Petain (French commander) and General John Pershing (U.S. Commander) • Entire 369th Infantry Division won highly prized French decoration, Croix de Guerre (war cross)

  4. Women in the Military • WWI was first war in which women officially served in the armed forces…only noncombat though • Prior to WWI women worked as auxiliaries to men • Most men were called to active duty • 1917 navy authorized the enlistment of women • By end of the war 11,000 women served in the navy • Women’s tasks: • Clerical duties (nurses) • Radio operators • Electricians • Pharmacists • Photographers • Chemists • Torpedo assemblers

  5. Cont. • Army refused to enlist women • Only women to actually serve in the army were Army Nursing Corps • Army nurses were the only women in the military to be sent overseas during the war • 20,000 nurses served in army during war; 10,000 overseas

  6. Organizing Industry • Congress created special boards to coordinate mobilization of the economy • Government didn’t control the economy, instead these boards did, emphasizing cooperation between big business and government • Goal was to ensure most efficient use of national resources to further the war effort

  7. The War Industries Board • War Industries Board (WIB)- job was to coordinate the production of war materials • President Wilson didn’t give the WIB authority over the economy at first, but by March 1918 he decided industrial production needed better coordination • Bernard Baruch was appointed to run it • WIB told manufacturers what they could and could not produce • Controlled the flow of raw materials, ordered the construction of new factories, and occasionally set prices, with Wilson’s approval

  8. Food and Fuel • Read this section • Understand the Food Administration • Victory gardens • Daylight savings time

  9. Paying for the War • Read this section • Understand how the government planned to pay for the war • Liberty and Victory Bonds

  10. Liberty Bonds

  11. Victory Bonds

  12. Women Support Industry • The war increased working opportunities for women • Filled industrial jobs that were vacated by men serving in the military • War-generated changed for women were not permanent • When men returned after the war women returned to their previous job or stopped working

  13. Great Migration • With the flow of immigrants from Europe cut off and large numbers of white workers being drafted, the war opened new doors for African Americans • Thousands of African Americans flocked to factory vacancies • 300,000-500,000 African Americans fled the Southern cities moving to Northern cities, the Great Migration • Altered racial makeup of • Chicago • New York • Cleveland • Detroit

  14. Selling the War • George Creel was in charge of selling the war to the people • He was the head of the Committee of Public Information CPI • He recruited advertising executives, commercial artists, authors, songwriters, entertainers, public speakers and motion picture companies to sway public opinion in favor of war

  15. Civil Liberties • Espionage- spying to acquire secret government information • Espionage Act of 1917- established penalties and prison terms for anyone who gave aid to the enemy • Penalized disloyalty, giving false reports, or otherwise interfering with the war effort • Post Office even hired college professors to translate foreign periodicals to find out if they contained antiwar messages • Sedition Act 1918- further expanded the Espionage Act, allowing officials to prosecute anyone who criticized the president or the government

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