WWI On the Home Front

Organizing for War To be effective in WWI the government needed to organize efforts at home. These included… the creation of government agencies, raising money, Mobilizing a workforce getting public support & building a military

Government Agencies War Industries Board Fuel Administration- Told manufacturers who gets what, what is produced, and sometimes the price… Fuel Administration- Managed the use of coal & oil Daylight savings time Shorter work week Heatless Mondays

Government Agencies Food Administration Reduce civilian consumption & increase production…. “Victory Gardens”- families growing their own

Raising Money 32 Billion was spent toward the war So to pay for it… Raised income tax Liberty & Victory Bonds About 20 billion raised Income tax was just started in 1913 with the 16th amendment…the top bracket was just 7% at that time… In order to finance U.S. participation in World War One, Congress passed the 1916 Revenue Act, and then the War Revenue Act of 1917. The highest income tax rate jumped from 15 percent in 1916 to 67 percent in 1917 to 77 percent in 1918. War is expensive.   After the war, federal income tax rates took on the steam of the roaring 1920s, dropping to 25 percent from 1925 through 1931. SHOW the graph from the text book on the money raised for WWI…tell the  Afterwards, the German soldier was often depicted as a savage "Hun," an offensive term harking back to the nomadic tribe that had terrorized Europe under their barbaric leader, Attila, in the fifth century A.D. 

Mobilizing the Workforce Men went to war…so, 1 million Women took traditionally male jobs 500,000 African Americans moved north looking for jobs 100,000 Mexicans moved to the southwest working for farmers and ranchers. The migration of AA to the north changed demographics of the large cities & the politics of them as well, because they were able to vote.

OVER THERE Song What is the purpose of the song? How can popular entertainment be used to generate support for the war? In what way does the song serve propaganda purposes? Page 189!!

Gaining Public Support Committee of Public Opinion Tried to “sell” the war Speeches & Poems by “four-minute men” Legislation Espionage Acts of 1917 & 1918 Illegal to aid the enemy, give false reports, interfere with the war effort or speak against the war publicly. Play the Song- OVER THERE Look at the Shenck V. U.S. supreme court case (1919) Many war time fears led ot violence against Germans…Ads urged Americans to monitor their neighbors, so many Germans hid their their cultural ties to avaid abuse. Some indivuduals and businesses changed their names. German language newspapers ceased production.

Building a Military The U.S. only had 200,000 enlisted men at the time it declared war. 2 million volunteered 2.8 million were drafted **Selective Service Created*** Selective service – 21-30 had to register than were called by lottery in front of a local draft board (community members) they would choose who would go. They had a better idea of what their communities needed, Why would some be exempt from serving? (medical problems, important jobs, etc)

Building a Military 400,000 African Americans served 42,000 overseas in combat 12,000 Native Americans 20,000 Puerto Ricans Women were allowed to enlist in 1917 20,000 nurses in navy & army Around 5,000 women worked for other agencies overseas to help with the war. Women only amount to about 5% of general officers with the first being 4-star general being identified in 2008 (Ann E. Dunwoody)