World War I

1. World War I American History II - Unit 3

2. Review • What were the 4 long-term causes of WWI? • Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism • The Allies and the Central Powers were made of which countries? • Allies – GB, France, Russia, later US • Central Powers – Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire • What were the 2 events that contributed to US entrance into WWI? • German sinking of the Lusitania • The Zimmerman Note • In what ways was combat (fighting) in WWI different than in previous wars? • “mechanized warfare” – newer machine guns, airplanes, tanks, poison gas • When and how did WWI end? • 11/11/1918 at 11 am – Germany agreed to an armistice

3. 3.6 – World War I At Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijEiwsmlLvg&list=PLDyAuMyhVKYcoGg0V3twTnah0WLzQHdVE&index=2

4. Raising an Army • Selective Service Act – 1917, required men (21-30) to register with the gov’t in order to be randomly selected for military service if needed • Almost 3 million called to duty • Some sought exemption – conscientious objector – a person who objects to serving in the military for moral reasons

5. Raising an Army • 400,000 blacks served in segregated units, mostly non-combat • Women not allowed to enlist • 13,000 served in noncombat positions – nurses, secretaries, telephone operators – full military rank

6. Expanding the Navy • Shipyard workers exempt or deferred from the draft • Public campaign to emphasis the importance of shipyard workers • Ship parts made in factories, assembled at shipyards  reduced construction time • Gov’t took over private ships, used for military operations

7. The entire economy had to focus on the war effort  gave Wilson the power to fix prices and regulate/nationalize industries • War Industries Board(WIB) – 1917, headed by Bernard Baruch • regulated business and industries during WWI • advocated for mass and standardized production to eliminate waste and increase efficiency • set quotas and distributed raw materials • Other agencies regulated the railroad and oil industries • Daylight savings time officially adopted to conserve electricity US War Economy: Industry Regulation

8. Wages in most industries rose, however so did hours and intensity of production • Wages undercut by rising food and housing costs • 1916-1919 - Union membership increased from 2.5M to 4M  more than 6,000 strikes • National War Labor Board – 1918, resolve issues between management and unions, “work or fight,” worked to improve conditions also US War Economy: Labor

9. Food Administration – aimed to help produce and conserve food • “clean plate gospel” – certain foods on certain days of the week • Restaurants removed sugar bowls and served less bread • “Victory Gardens” – planted at homes, schools, and public parks; grew food for personal/community use • Farmers added millions of acres into production US War Economy: Food

10. ~$35.5 B on war effort • 1/3 - Taxes (income, luxury, excise on tobacco, liquor, etc) • Sale of gov’t war bonds • Buy a $50 bond from gov’t for $35, eventually get paid $50 from the gov’t Selling the War: Financing

11. Propaganda – biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions • Committee on Public Information (CPI) headed by George Creel • Pamphlets, cartoons, posters, sculptures • Recruited speakers • Increased patriotism  increased anti-immigrant sentiments, especially Germans Selling the War: Propaganda

12. Mainly directed at German and Austria-Hungarian immigrants • Fired from jobs, towns changed Germanic names, German composers not played • Tar/feathering, flogging, lynching • No German taught in school, books banned by German authors • Hamburgers  Liberty Sandwiches • Sauerkraut  Liberty Cabbage • Dachshunds  Liberty Pups Anti-Immigrant Hysteria

13. Espionage and Sedition Acts • Fined up to $10,000 and 20 years in jail for speaking or writing against the government or war effort • Newspapers lost mailing privileges • Politicians denied offices • Targeted mainly socialists and labor leaders (Eugene Debs, 10 year sentence) • What about the First Amendment? Espionage and Sedition Acts (1917-18) "(W)hoever . . . shall willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government, . . . Constitution, . . . military or naval forces, . . . flag, . . . or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States . . . shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both.“ - Sedition Act (1918)

14. Case background: • Charles Schenck- official in the US Socialist Party • Distributed leaflets calling the draft a “deed against humanity” and citizens should “assert their rights.” • Arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison • Arguments: • Schenck – E&S Acts violates the First Amendment’s free speech clause • “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” • US Gov’t – A nation at war is justified in taking steps to insure the success of its effort to defend itself. The E&S Acts are legitimate and appropriate in a time of war. Schenck v. US (1919)

15. Schenck v. US (1919) • Ruling: 9-0 votes for US Gov’t • In times of war, reasonable limits can be placed on Constitutional rights  rights are not absolute all the time • Under wartime conditions, Schenck’s words were dangerous and panic-inciting  not protected by the 1st Amendment’s right of free speech • “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing panic. The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.” – Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

16. Blacks divided on war (most supported) • Du Bois – African American support of war would strengthen the argument for racial equality • William Monroe Trotter – founder of the Boston Guardian, victims of racism should not support a racist government • The Great Migration • Mass movement of African Americans from the rural south to urban northern cities • Increased job opportunities (WWI  decrease in immigration) • Escape Jim Crow South • Increased racial tensions in cities  race riots African Americans and the War

17. Traditional avenues: nurses, teachers, secretaries, clerks, Red Cross volunteers New avenues: railroad workers, miners, shipbuilders, bricklayers, cooks Support of war and display of patriotism helped the passage of the 19th Amendment (women’s suffrage) in 1919 Women and the War

18. 25% of US population died of a rapid flu epidemic Economy suffered due to loss of production Thought to be spread by soldiers, killed as many as 30 million worldwide The Flu Epidemic (1918)

19. Each group will be assigned a WWI anti-German propaganda poster. Your group will work together to analyze the poster and complete the analysis sheet. Each group will present their poster and findings to the class. • On July 27, 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion in China, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany gave the order to act ruthlessly towards the rebels: "Mercy will not be shown, prisoners will not be taken. Just as a thousand years ago, the Huns under Attila won a reputation of might that lives on in legends, so may the name of Germany in China, such that no Chinese will even again dare so much as to look askance at a German.“ • The term "Hun" from this speech was later used for the Germans by British propaganda during World War I. The comparison was helped by the Pickelhaube or spiked helmet worn by German forces until 1916, which would be reminiscent of images depicting ancient Hun helmets, some British found. This usage, emphasizing the idea that the Germans were barbarians, was reinforced by Allied propaganda throughout the war.  Working with Propaganda http://www.indianahistory.org/teachers-students/plan-a-field-trip/German%20Americans%20and%20WWI%20Web%20version.pdf