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Building Up the Military Front: Progressives in WWI

Learn how Progressives shaped military mobilization, industry organization, workforce mobilization, and public support during World War I on the home front.

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Building Up the Military Front: Progressives in WWI

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  1. 6.2 - The Home Front I - Building Up the Military • Progressives controlled Congress and they applied Progressive ideas to fighting the war. • Selective Service • Although many young men volunteered, many felt more soldiers would need to be drafted, which means forced into military service, also known as conscription

  2. 6.2 - The Home Front I - Building Up the Military • Selective Service Act 1917 • Required all men between 21-30 to register • A lottery randomly determined the order men were called before the draft board • Local draft boards decided on selecting or exempting people from military service • Eventually about 2.8 million were drafted • Volunteers for War • Not all soldiers were drafted, approximately 2 million men volunteered

  3. 6.2 - The Home Front I - Building Up the Military • African Americans in the War • Of the 400,000 African Americans drafted, about 42,000 served overseas as combat troops • African American soldiers faced discrimination as they fought in racially segregated units and always under white officers. • Despite these challenges, many divisions and regiments received honors for their combat.

  4. 6.2 - The Home Front II - Organizing Industry • The Progressives’ emphasis on planning and scientific management shaped the government’s approach to mobilizing the American war economy • Congress created special boards (committees) to ensure the most efficient use of national resources to further the war effort

  5. 6.2 - The Home Front II - Organizing Industry • The War Industries Board • War Industries Board – created to coordinate production of war materials • Told manufacturers what to produce…etc. • Food and Fuel • Food Administration run by Herbert Hoover was responsible for increasing food production while reducing civilian consumption • Instead of rationing, Americans were encouraged to save food on their own, plant gardens…etc.

  6. 6.2 - The Home Front II - Organizing Industry • Food and Fuel (continued) • Fuel Administration tried to manage nation’s use of coal and oil • Daylight Savings Time was introduced

  7. 6.2 - The Home Front II - Organizing Industry • Paying for the War • By the end of WWI the US was spending $44 million per day (1/2 billion in today’s $$) • Congress raised income tax and taxed corporate profits • To raise money the government borrowed over $20 billion from the American people by selling Liberty Bonds and Victory Bonds • Bonds were a loan and the gov’t paid back $$ with interest in a specified number of years

  8. 6.2 - The Home Front III – Mobilizing the Workforce • The government established National War Labor Board to ensure cooperation of workers and prevent strikes that could disrupt war efforts • Unions were recognized and gained power, causing companies to agree to increased wages, 8 hour workday…etc.

  9. 6.2 - The Home Front III – Mobilizing the Workforce • Women Support Industry • Women filled industrial jobs vacated by military men in shipping, manufacturing and railroads • These were not permanent and women returned to their previous jobs or stopped working when the service men returned home after the war

  10. 6.2 - The Home Front III – Mobilizing the Workforce • The Great Migration Begins • The war stopped the flow of immigrants to the US, which allowed African Americans wartime jobs • Between 300,000-500,000 African Americans left the south to settle in the north – this was known as “The Great Migration”

  11. 6.2 - The Home Front III – Mobilizing the Workforce • Mexican Americans Head North • Many Mexicans migrated to the southwest providing farm labor • Many also moved north to cities to take wartime jobs in factories • They faced discrimination and hostility from Americans

  12. 6.2 - The Home Front IV – Ensuring Public Support • Propaganda and limits on civil liberties were part of domestic life during WWI. • Selling the War • The Committee on Public Information was a new government agency that attempted to “sell” the war to the American people • Pamphlets, posters & speeches helped deliver patriotic messages • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was formed to support draft dodgers and their right to object to serving in the war.

  13. 6.2 - The Home Front IV – Ensuring Public Support • Civil Liberties Curtailed • Espionage – spying to acquire gov’t info • Espionage Act of 1917 established penalties and prison terms for anyone aiding the enemy • The Sedition Act of 1918 made it illegal to criticize the President or Government • A Climate of Suspicion • The fear of spies and emphasis on patriotism led to the mistreatment and persecution of German Americans

  14. 6.2 - The Home Front IV – Ensuring Public Support • The Supreme Court Limits Free Speech • In the case of Schneck v. the US (1919), the Supreme Court limited an individual’s freedom of speech if the words spoken constituted “a clear and present danger” • Example: Yelling “fire” in a theatre

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