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U.S. Joins the War!!!! Preparing to Fight

U.S. Joins the War!!!! Preparing to Fight. Allies were short on soldiers, food & weapons Britain & France were on the verge of collapse Russia: soldiers were deserting to join the revolution. Raising an Army. U.S. needed to expand its army before they could fight

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U.S. Joins the War!!!! Preparing to Fight

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  1. U.S. Joins the War!!!!Preparing to Fight • Allies were short on soldiers, food & weapons • Britain & France were on the verge of collapse • Russia: soldiers were deserting to join the revolution

  2. Raising an Army • U.S. needed to expand its army before they could fight • Selective Service Act: all men ages 21-30 are required to register for the military draft • Draft: law requiring people of a certain age need to enlist (or enroll) in the military

  3. The Draft • 4,000,000 men & women joined armed forces • All ethnic groups enlisted + tons of immigrants • African Americans served in “black only” units commanded by white officers • At first unwelcomed, then segregated within ranks • Relate to Buffalo soldiers?

  4. Educating Troops • 25% were illiterate: unable to read or write • Services: live healthy, fight, eat right, read, write • Helped to improve educational standards for students & teachers thereafter

  5. Managing the war effort • U.S. reorganizes economy to produce food, arms & goods needed to fight the war • Wilson set up gov’t agencies to oversee the effort • Bureaucracy: system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

  6. Food Administration • Nation had to feed its own troops + send food to the Allies • Used propaganda posters, papers, media • Encouraged by rising food prices, farmers grew more crops • Citizens planted “victory gardens” to raise their own vegetables • People went without wheat on “Wheatless Mondays” • People went without meat on “Meatless Tuesdays” • The resources they saved were shipped to the men in the trenches

  7. War caught the nation short of supplies • Military had only 600,000 rifles, 2,000 machine guns & 1,000 pieces of artillery • War Industries Board: told factories what they had to produce & provided for the sharing of limited resources/ decided which prices should be set • 1918 Wilson creates the War Labor Board: settled disputes over working hours & wages/ tried to prevent strikes

  8. Homefront • Liberty Bonds: bonds sold by the U.S. gov’t to raise money for WW1 • U.S. citizens bought bonds (lending money to gov’t to pay for war) • “Four-Minute Men”: speakers who gave short public speeches in theaters, movies & public events to urge Americans to make sacrifices for the goals of freedom & democracy

  9. Women Workers • Men leave for war, women stepped into their jobs • Factories: assembled weapons & plane parts, delivered mail, police, engineers, drivers • Though pay wasn’t the same, women changed the view that they were fit for “women’s work” • When men came back, thousands of women lost jobs

  10. Anti-German Prejudice • German Americans endure suspicion & intolerance during war • Newspapers questioned their loyalty • Mobs attacked them in the streets • Led some families to change their names • Schools stopped teaching the German language • Americans began to refer to German measles as “liberty measles” & sauerkraut as “liberty cabbage” • How does this treatment compare to the age of immigration & the base of Statue of Liberty?

  11. Great Migrations • The war spurred in-migration • Cities/ factories were drained and in need of workers • ½ million African Americans & Mexican Americans traveled from the South to cities in the North

  12. Great Migrations • Black populations grew in cities for jobs, yet racism, prejudice & violence also increased • Competition for jobs & housing lead to riots (especially when soldiers returned from war) • African American communities rallied with human rights activists • “Mr. President, Why Not Make AMERICA Safe for Democracy?

  13. Great Migrations By 1920, Mexicans were the leading foreign-born group in California • Wartime: cotton fields, copper mines, steel mills (important jobs at this time) • When veterans returned home & unemployment grew, the U.S. tried to force Mexican workers to return to Mexico

  14. Opposition to the War • Pacifists: people who refuse to fight in any war because they believe that war is evil • Socialists: believe that the people as a whole rather than private individuals should own all property & share the profits from all businesses

  15. Opposition to the War • Socialists argued that war benefited factory owners, but not workers • To promote unity, Congress passed laws making it a crime to criticize the gov’t or to interfere with the war effort • 1,600 people arrested for breaking these laws • Resisting or protesting the draft

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