Chapter 10

 Mobilizing Support  Several million Americans opposed the war and had to be convinced to support it.  Government took a chapter from the British playbook and used propaganda to change hearts and minds.

 Committee on Public Information  CPI had the most effective propaganda campaign.  Targeted recent immigrants, working class, union members, and others of “questionable” loyalty  Many community leaders supported these efforts.

 Raising Money for the War  War Dept. financed the war by higher taxes (as high as 63%), war profits taxes, excise taxes on liquor and luxuries, and increased estate taxes.  A big source of money was bonds.

 Liberty Bonds  War bonds, sold to individual Americans through payroll taxes and direct sales, raised $21 billion for the war.  Govt. held war bonds drives, rallies, parades and propaganda to sell these to the public.

 Providing for the War Effort  The US Food Administration encouraged Americans to conserve materials and food during the war.  Voluntary rationing was introduced to reduce the use of vital supplies.  “Victory Gardens” were encouraged to increase production for civilians.

 Portraying the Enemy  Propaganda campaigns, like those in Britain, portrayed the Germans as “Huns” and “barbarians” and passed on stories of “atrocities” committed by German troops on civilians in Europe.

 “100% Americanism”  This translated into hatred of ALL Germans, even those who were Americans also.  Many forced to kiss the flag, recite the pledge on demand, German books banned, German- sounding names were changed – towns, food. German composers’ music was banned.

  Despite the hysteria, some Americans refused to support the war.  Some were German-Americans or Irish-Americans, some were pacifists opposed to war on religious grounds, some Socialists believed it was “a capitalists’ war,” and it split the women’s suffrage movement. Opposition to the War

 Suppression of War Opposition  The U.S. government tried to suppress the war’s opponents.  The Espionage Act of 1917 made “anti-war activities” illegal.  The 1918 Sedition Act made anti-war speech or any anti-government, Constitution, military or flag illegal.

 Limits of Free Speech  The Supreme Court upheld these laws as being necessary when the “exercise of free speech was a clear and present danger” to national security in several cases including:  Schenck v. United States (1919)  Now security laws must meet this “clear and present danger” test.

 Economic Consequences  Industry and agriculture boomed  Factory production surged between 1914 and 1918  Workforce grew despite millions of men being drafted  Unemployment practically vanished  Wages rose, as did prices  No-strike rule in effect for labor unions  Union membership rose  8-hour workday became standard  Farm prices more than doubled  Real income rose

 Social Consequences  Housing was scarce  Schools strained by overcrowding  Social behaviors changed – ex. Cigarette smoking increased by 350%  Great Migration of blacks to northern cities  Membership in NAACP doubled  Segregation became more evident in north, but still not de jure  Thousands of women served in military  One million women worked in factories  Women’s suffrage gained momentum  Boosted moral reform efforts, esp. temperance

 Suffrage Expands  Women convinced Pres. Wilson to support suffrage by picking the White House, criticizing the government, going to jail, and hunger strikes.  He said women were “vital to winning the war” and deserved the vote.  19 th Amendment ratified in 1920.

  World War One, while avoided by the United States for three years, served as a turning point in making modern America.  It marked an significant increase in the government’s influence on the lives of individual Americans and unprecedented regulation of the economy.  There would be no going back. Conclusion