WERE THE METHODS THE WILSON ADMINISTRATION USED TO OBTAIN SUPPORT FOR THE WAR JUSTIFIABLE?

“WAR IS THE HEALTH OF THE STATE.” -Randolf Bourne, progressive

WHAT WAS THE INTENTION OF THESE WORLD WAR I POSTERS?

I. WARTIME CHANGES ON THE HOMEFRONT A. EXPANSION OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 1. Total War : All resources re-geared toward war effort ie. $33 billion raised in 2 years through loans, taxes, bonds 2. Major expansion of the military - National Defense Act significantly increased size of military - Selective Service Act – draft in 1917 – 2.8 million men drafted   3. War Industries Board – centralized control over production and raw materials 4. Many agencies incl. Food Administration and Fuel Administration, Committee on Public Information (George Creel)

“Huns Kill Women and Children”

US FOOD ADMINISTRATION AND FUEL ADMINISTRATION

Free speech should be limited in times of crisis to protect the safety of the nation and encourage unity. Free speech should never be limited to ensure the protection of US citizens and encourage open discussion of relevant issues.

“Once lead this people into war and they’ll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of the ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policemen on the beat, the man in the street. Conformity would be the only virtue, and every man who refused to conform would have to pay the penalty.”

II. ATTACKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES DURING WWI A. Espionage and Sedition Acts: Espionage Act, 1917: Prohibited attemps to interfere w/ military ops, support US enemies during wartime, promote insubordination in the military, interfere with recruitment Sedition Act, 1918: Forbade "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt - Used to imprison those who spoke out against war - Targeted labor leaders/activists, socialists, other leftists

B. SHENCK V. U.S. (1919) Upheld Espionage Act, citing “clear and present danger” clause Oliver Wendell Holmes Charles Schenck: “Don’t submit to intimidation” “Assert your rights” “Conscription is a monstrous deed against humanity in the interests of the financiers of Wall Street.”

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES: “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic…The question in every case is whether the words used…create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.”