Preparing For War The Home Front

Building an Army Selective Service Act- May 1917 Draft of young men for military service. War to end all Wars=wide acceptance for draft By Nov. 1918, 24 million men had registered American Expeditionary Force (AEF) Volunteers and National Guardsmen 11,000 women joined as nurses, drivers, and clerks 14,000 served abroad working for the government or private agencies.

AMERICAN EXPEDTIONARY FORCES pershing General John J. Pershing, commanding general of the AEF. Referred to as the Doughboys and Yanks. 2 million in France by Sept. 1918

Training- New and improved training camps around the country. Learned how to use a bayonet and rifle, dig a trench, put on gas masks, and throw a grenade. Soldiers did not usually have a long period of training before they were shipped off. Convoy System- system to protect unarmed ships April 1917- more than 400 Allied and neutral ships sank by Germans.

U.S. Soldiers in Europe Doughboys- Members of the AEF 300,000 African Americans who volunteered or were drafted were segregated in separate units. African Americans were used mostly for manual labor. Harlem Hell Fighters- Group of A. A. who fought in the French army and received highest honors.

Constructing A War Economy Shift from peacetime to wartime production. Regulating food production, coal and petroleum distribution, and railway use. Government controlled which crops farmers grew, which products industries produced and how supplies was distributed.

War Industries Board (WIB)- Regulated all industries involved in the war. Food Administration- Headed by Herbert Hoover. Set prices high for wheat to encourage farmers to produce more. Asked Americans to conserve food as a patriotic gesture. Wheatless Mon. and Wed. Meatless Tues. and Porkless Thur. and Sat. Saltless Sun.

Rationing- Distributing goods to consumers in a fixed amount. Fuel Administration- Sponsored gasless days to save fuel. Daylight Savings Time- Turning clocks ahead to save daylight.

Fuel Administration

Shaping Public Opinion Committee on Public Information (CPI)- Educated public about the causes and nature of the war. Convinced the public that the war was a just cause. Distributed millions of pamphlets, press releases, posters, and assembled speakers. Stressed the cruelty of the enemy.

Resistance to the Draft Some believe it illegal intrusion of government. 12% of men who received draft notices did not respond. Conscientious Objectors- Peoples whose moral beliefs would not allow them to fight in wars.

Women Work for Peace Jane Addams formed Women’s Peace Party. Most women supported the war after U.S. joined Allies.

Crack Down on Dissent Espionage Act- June 1917. Allowed postal authorities to ban treasonable media from the mail. Severe penalties for anyone engaged in treasonable activities. Punishment= $10,000 fine or possibly 20 years in prison. Severe cases = death.

Sedition Act- 1918= Unlawful to use disloyal, profane, or abusive language about the American Government, Constitution or military. For giving a mild antiwar speech, Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned for 10 years.

German American Prejudice CPI propaganda proclaimed the Germans were the worst of the enemies. U.S. stopped teaching German in schools, German Measles = liberty measles Hamburgers= liberty steaks or burgers Dachshunds= liberty pups German Americans were required to prove their American loyalty.

German Measles Hamburger German Shepherds German Authors books Lynching of Germans in America Liberty Measles Salisbury Steak Police Dogs Disappeared from library shelves

New Opportunities for Women Women moved into the workforce as men went to war. Worked in factories, on r.r., telegraph operators, trolley conductors. Some joined Red Cross, worked as doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, clerks. Won 19th Amendment in 1920.

WOMEN PARTICIPATION league cartoon1

WOMEN PARTICIPATION league cartoon1

WOMEN PARTICIPATION league cartoon1

Northern Opportunity for African Americans Many enlisted in the army. Great Migration- Movement of African Americans to the North from the South. Moved b/c of racism, economic advancement, better futures.

Mexican Americans Move North Most were in the West working as ranchers and farmers. Came from Mexico for many of the same reasons that African Americans moved North.

Influenza Epidemic Last months of the war and it killed more people than the war all together. Death rates in some camps was 32% 30 million people worldwide