Americans on the Home Front

1. Americans on the Home Front WWI

2. Show Me the Money • A) World War I cost the US billions of dollars, including more than $10 billion lent to the Allies. 1) Many US citizens donated money to war-related charities. 2) The collection of graduated income taxes, excess-profit taxes, and inheritance taxes helped pay. 3) Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo sold Liberty Bonds to the citizens.

3. Bond…Liberty Bond a. Liberty Bonds: Special wartime bonds that supported the Allied cause. 1. Bonds were also sold by Boy and Girl Scouts. 2. The government hired 75,000 “four minute men” to give speeches to encourage buying bonds. 3. Buying bonds was a way to prove one’s patriotism.

4. Bureaucracy in Action • A) Wilson created thousands of new bureaucratic agencies to help organize the war effort. 1) The War Trade Board licensed and investigated foreign trade.

5. Taking Care of Business 2) The National War Labor Board was created in April 1918 to settle labor cases and prevent strikes that would hurt the war effort; it was run by Taft and lawyer Frank Walsh. a. Samuel Gompers of the AFL promised to try to prevent labor strikes. b. Unemployment virtually disappeared, unions grew, and workers’ wages rose.

6. …And Working overtime 3) The War Labor Policies Board, led by Felix Frankfurter, set standards for wages, hours, and working conditions in war industries. 4) The War Industries Board gathered materials, standardized production, fixed prices, and organized trade with the Allies; it was led by Wall Street investor Bernard Baruch. a. It ended antitrust laws during the war, allowing companies to profit. 5) Sec. of Treasury McAdoo ran the railroads and organized them into a single system.

7. Controlling Resources • B) The Lever Food and Fuel Control Act gave Wilson the power to manage the food and fuel industries during the war. 1) Wilson created the Food Administration, which was led by Herbert Hoover, who set the price of crops and determined where they would go.

8. Chipping In a. The slogans “Food will win the war” and “If U fast U beat U boats” promoted rationing food. b. “Wheatless Mondays” and “meatless Tuesdays” were enforced by social pressure, not law. c. People made small “victory gardens” in their backyards. d. Restaurants cut back on the portions they served and the ingredients they used.

9. They have the Power 2) The Fuel Administration sponsored gasless days to save fuel and began daylight saving time. a. daylight saving time: Turned clocks one hour ahead during the summer. 1. It allowed for more daylight hours for work and reduced need for artificial light.

10. Getting the Word Out • A) Wilson created the Committee on Public Information in April 1917 to produce propaganda that championed the Allies while slamming Germany; George Creel ran it.

11. Propaganda 1) It produced films like “The Claws of the Hun” and “The Beast of Berlin”. 2) Songs like “Over There” (written by George Cohan) promoted enlisting in the military. 3) It spread information through posters, speeches, and pamphlets.

12. Nativism…Again • B) Americans feared foreigners because of the possibility of spying and sabotage. 1) The National Security League got Congress to pass a literacy test for immigrants.

13. Pushing it too far 2) German influence was erased from American culture; Germans were called “Huns”. a. Sauerkraut was “victory cabbage”, dachshunds were “liberty pups”, German Shepherds were “police dogs” and hamburgers were “Salisbury steaks”. b. In many schools, German couldn’t be taught. c. German music and books disappeared.

14. Erasing Culture b. In many schools, German couldn’t be taught. c. German music and books disappeared. 3) There were attacks on German-Americans, and they were pressured to prove their patriotism by publicly saying the Pledge of Allegiance, kissing the flag, or buying bonds.

15. Espionage Act • C) The Espionage Act and Sedition Act punished critics of the war. 1) The Espionage Act of 1917 gave fines of up to $10,000 and jail terms of up to 20 years for helping the enemy or impeding military recruitment. a. It was backed by the Supreme Court in 1919 in Schenck v. United States, who upheld that free speech was limited when there was a “clear and present danger”.

16. Sedition Act 2) The Sedition Act of 1918 made it a crime to speak badly about the government or buying bonds. a. People that attacked Wilson’s policies, the draft laws, or private institutions helping the war effort were sent to jail; Eugene V. Debs was sentenced to jail for 10 years for an antiwar speech.

17. Peace at any price? • D) Pacifists like Jane Addams, Robert La Follette, and Jeannette Rankin were insulted for being antipatriotic…so were people who refused to buy bonds.

18. Women in WWI • A) New jobs opened up for women in factories and other areas previously dominated by men. 1) Women lost these positions after the war, and many unions wouldn’t let women join. 2) Women earned lower pay and received fewer promotions. 3) The jobs did not include heavy industry; that wouldn’t come until WWII. 4) Most suffragettes, such as Carrie Chapman Catt, supported the war.

19. African Americans During WWI • B) Many African Americans went to northern cities for jobs in the “Great Migration” (1915-1930) because the wages were better than in the South. 1) They were seen as potential strikebreakers, so some riots resulted in deaths.

20. Du Bois adapts 2) W.E.B. Du Bois supported the war and temporarily adopted accomodationism, hoping that the war effort would lead to racial equality.