The United States in World War I (Officially)

Mobilization  Raised income taxes  Liberty bonds  College students joined Army training corps  11,000 Women volunteered as nurses, clerical workers and telephone operators  Women working in factories, on Navy ships, and creating charitable organizations (Red Cross)

Conscription  “compulsory enrollment in military service”  Supported by Progressives  Seen as a patriotic occasion  Occurred at fairs and picnics  Started as age (Changed to 18-45)  Lottery decided who would be inducted into the military

African Americans and the War  Military units were segregated  NAACP fought for equal treatment of African Americans in the military  At first were not allowed to be officers 600 graduated from officer training but were not allowed to be high officials  Few African Americans were integrated in French units

Americans fighting overseas  Doughboys arrived in France in June 1917  Mostly fought in separate units (American Expeditionary Force)  Confident but unprepared  Troops and hardware added to the West  2 million soldiers sent to war  Seen as more of an adventure, romantic idea

Americans and the War at home  Big business and government formed cooperative committees  Propaganda Liberty bonds campaign Food Conservation: Food will win the war Flyers, movies, conferences, speeches, posters, news bulletins, tracts, pictures, and headlines

War and Civil Liberties  Espionage and Sedition Acts passed Obstruction of the War effort was illegal Loyalty leagues encouraged Americans to spy Post Office withdrew circulation of Socialist or anti-war papers Freedom of speech restricted Americans of German descent were harassed Liberty sausage, Liberty cabbage, no German in schools Supreme Court and “clear and present danger” clause

Wilson’s 14 Points  Points 1-5: End secret treaties Freedom of the seas Free trade Reduced national armies/navies  Points 6-13: Changing borders and creation of new nations  Point 14: “A general association of nations”

League of Nations  Success Ultimately led to the creation of the United Nations Targeted child labor, drug smuggling/ addiction Bringing social issues to the notice of the public  Failures No army to enforce sanctions U.S. did not join Britain and France not interested in anything outside of Western Europe Russia and Germany were not allowed to join