WORLD WAR I AND ITS AFTERMATHThe Home Front

LEARNING TARGETS After this lesson you will:

Describe the provisions of the Selective Service Act of 1917

Describe women’s involvement in WWI Understand how food and fuel were conserved

for the war effort Analyze how the United States paid for the war Know the cause and effects of the Great

Migration Understand how the U.S. government “sold” the

war to Americans Analyze how the rights of Americans were

curtailed in the name of national security Explain the purpose of the War Industries Board

and the National War Labor Board, and describe their activities

BUILDING UP THE MILITARY

Selective Service Act of 1917 Required all men between 21 and 30 to register for

the draft African Americans in the War

Encountered discrimination and prejudice in the Army Women in the Military

WWI—the first war in which women officially served

ORGANIZING INDUSTRY The War Industries Board (WIB)

Coordinated the production of war materials The National War Labor Board

Maintained cooperation between industry management and labor unions (no strikes!)

Food and Fuel Food Administration ran by Herbert Hoover

Hooverize: “Serve just enough”, “Wheatless Mondays”, “Meatless Tuesdays”, and “Porkless Thursdays”.

Victory Gardens Fuel Administration ran by Harry Garfield

Daylight Savings Time introduced Shorter work weeks (for factories not making war materials) “Heatless Mondays”

Paying for the War Liberty Bonds and Victory Bonds

MOBILIZING THE WORKFORCE:

The National War Labor Board Prevented strikes from disrupting production

Women Support Industry: Filled vacated industry jobs left by men fighting in the war Most women returned home after the war

The Great Migration Most Factories were located in the Northern U.S. Many African American(AA) men migrated north to fill the

factory jobs left by white men who went to fight in the war AA found higher wages Between 300,000 to 500,000 migrated north Mexican Americans also migrated north for jobs

ENSURING PUBLIC SUPPORT Selling the War

Committee on Public Information “sold” the war to Americans

The “Four Minute Men” Civil Liberties Suspended

Espionage Act of 1917 The Sedition Act of 1918

Made any expression of opposition to the war illegal A Climate of Suspicion

Fear of spies; “sauerkraut” changed to “liberty cabbage” and “hamburger” changed to “Salisbury steak”; schools dropped German language classes; German Americans were under suspicion

The Supreme Court Limited Free Speech Schenck v. the United States (1919)

“an individual’s freedom of speech could be curbed when the words uttered constitute a “clear and present danger”.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

What were the provisions of the Selective Service Act of 1917?

How were women involved in WWI? In what ways were food and fuel conserved for the war

effort? How did the United States pay for the war? What were the causes and effects of the Great Migration? How did the U.S. government “sell” the war to Americans? In what ways were the rights of Americans curtailed in the

name of national security?

ESSAY QUESTION Explain the purpose of the War Industries Board

and the National War Labor Board, and describe their activities.

ESSAY ANSWER Explain the purpose of the War Industries Board

and the National War Labor Board, and describe their activities. The purpose of the War Industries Board was to

organize industry to increase efficiency and maximize production. It set priorities, told manufacturers what they could and could not make, controlled the flow of raw materials, ordered the construction of new factories, and occasionally, with the president’s approval, set prices. The purpose of the National War Labor Board was to maintain cooperation between industry management and labor unions. It attempted to mediate labor disputes that might otherwise lead to strikes. It frequently pressured industry to grant concessions to workers in exchange for the agreement of labor leaders not to disrupt war production with strikes and other disturbances.