unit 6: world war i (1914 – 1920) the homefront!
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Unit 6: World War I (1914 – 1920)
The Homefront!
Bell Ringer: America Joins the Fight1. The ____ system was developed by the U.S. and used to
protect troop/ supply shipments at sea?a. Rocking Chair b. Convoy c. Cradle
2. He commanded the A.E.F.?a. Alexander b. Patton c. Pershing
3. U.S. troops of the A.E.F. were called _____?a. Dough Boys b. Soulja Boys c. Home Boys
4. The armistice that ended WW I was signed on _________, 1918.a. Oct. 18th b. Nov. 11th c. Dec. 4th
The Selective Service Act (1917)
• The draft authorized men 21-30 (later 18-45) to register for military service.
• Lottery numbers were assigned and cards were issued.
• 24 million registered and 2.8 million were drafted.
Financing the War• 1915 – Total U.S. budget =
$1 Billion.• WW I cost the U.S. $32
Billion!• Liberty Bonds raised $23
Billion.; new taxes paid rest. • Ran by William Gibbs
McAdoo (Treasury Secretary)
• Most bought by banks and financial groups; a few individuals bought them. Cheapest could be bought for $1.00.
Mobilizing the Economy for War• War Industries Board (July
1917) to oversee government purchases of military supplies.
• Independent of the Council of National Defense and Railroad War Board
• Ran by Bernard Baruch who worked for $1.00/ yr.
• Determined what was made, where it went, and how much it cost.
The Food Administration
• Ran by future U.S. President Herbert Hoover.
• The U.S. and our Allies were dependent on U.S. agriculture.
• Set high prices for wheat and other food products to encourage farmers to plant more.
“Hooverizing” Household Economies
• Conserving food viewed as a patriotic gesture
• Adopted slogans like “Food Will Win the War!”
• “Wheatless Mondays, Sweetless Tuesdays, Meatless Wednesdays…”
• Smith-Lever Food & Fuel Act – Daylight Savings Time
Propaganda and Public Opinion• Committee on Public
Information (CPI)• Ran by ex-muckraker
George Creel• Its job was to “sell America”
and “sell the war”• 75 Million posters and
brochures• Hollywood stars and Four-
minute Men gave speeches and held Bond Rallies
• It also sponsored movies.
Government Cracks Down on Dissenters
• Individual Rights (Free Speech) vs. War Effort?• Espionage Act (1917) – Treasonable papers and
speech banned! Disloyalty could be punished by $10,000 fine and 20 years prison!
• Sedition Amendment (1918) – Further restricted free speech (on government, the Constitution, or the military. Used to prosecute Socialists (often labor union leaders) , Communists, radicals, and pacifists.
• Eugene V. Debs ( 1/1500 arrested) -10 year sentence in 1918 (pardoned by President Harding in 1921)
Anti-German Hysteria• Vigilante mobs
“disciplined” some who opposed the war.
• Dissenters & immigrants , especially Germans, often the targets of mail, phone taps, harassment, & worse!
• The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918 movie)
• Anything German-sounding banned (i.e. frankfurters = hotdogs)
Women and the War Effort• Wanted the vote!• Worked in munitions
factories, for railroad & telegraph companies, and as clerks.
• Red Cross & Army Corps of Nurses (1918)
• Proved they could do jobs once held by only men!
• 19th Amendment (Summer 1920) finally gave them the vote!
The Great Migration
• Nearly 400,000 African-Americans served!
• 1.2 Million moved North to the “Land of Hope”
• Chicago (meatpacking), Detroit (new auto industry), and to cities in the NE U.S.
• Push (racism & Jim Crow laws); Pull (jobs & family)
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