1. The Home Front
Chapter 19 Section 2

2. Building up the Military
Selective Service Act of 1917 – required all men b/w 21 & 30 to register for the draft
A lottery randomly picked who would be called b/f the draft board and then they would be accepted or exempted from service

3. Building a War Society
In order to successfully mobilize people’s minds for war a Committee on Public Information was established
To sell America on the idea of war
Propaganda
The spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing cause
Trying to make people believe like you do
Used by all sides in World War I

4. But the Fourteen Points were received with mixed reviews
But the Fourteen Points were received with mixed reviews. Hard-nosed Republicans mocked him by referring to the “Fourteen Commandments of God Almighty Wilson.”
In order to successfully mobilize people’s minds for war, a Committee on Public Information was established.
Its purpose was to sell America on the idea of the war and to sell the world on Wilsonian war aims. Propaganda soon ran rampant.

10. A War Society
Total War
Warfare that requires the participation of an entire society
Everyone in the country is completely involved in the war, not just the military and the soldiers

11. Women WWI – first war that women officially served in the armed forces
The navy allowed women to enlist to meet its clerical needs
The women wore uniforms and were assigned the rank of yeoman
The army only allowed women to serve in the Army Nursing Corps
They were the only women in the military to be sent overseas during the war

12. American nurses arrive in London on their way to France

13. Organizing Industry War Industries Board (WIB)
Job – to coordinate the production of war materials
Told manufacturers what they could and could not produce
Controlled the flow of raw materials
Ordered the construction of new factories
Occasionally set prices, w/ President Wilson’s approval

14. Organizing Industry
Food Administration – ran by Herbert Hoover – most successful govt. agency
Job – increasing food production while reducing civilian consumption
Encouraged citizens to…
Plant “victory gardens” – to raise their own vegetables
“Hooverize” by serving just enough and not wasting any food
Have Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesday’s and Porkless Thursdays

16. Organizing Industry Fuel Administration
Job – manage the nation’s use of coal and oil
To conserve energy…
Introduced daylight savings time
Shortened workweeks for factories that did not make war materials
Asked citizens to observe Heatless Monday’s

17. Organizing Industry
National War Labor Board – ran by William Howard Taft
Mediated labor disputes to prevent strikes from disrupting the war effort
Pressured industry to grant important concessions to workers such as…
Wage increases, an 8 hour work day, right of unions to organize and bargain collectively

18. Civil Liberties Reduced
Espionage Act of 1917
Established penalties and prison terms for anyone who gave aid to the enemy, penalized disloyalty & interfering w/ the war effort
Sedition Act of 1918
Made illegal any public expression of opposition to the war
This allowed officials to prosecute anyone who criticized the president or govt.

19. Violence at Home
Fear of spies led to the mistreatment of German Americans or anything having to do w/ Germany
Advertisers changed the names of…
Sauerkraut to “liberty cabbage”
Hamburger to “salisbury steak”
Schools dropped German language classes
Orchestras stopped performing Beethoven and other German composers
Some even beat German Americans

20. Schenck vs. United States
Convicted under the Federal Espionage Act
The defendants were charged w/ distributing leaflets aimed at inciting draft resistance during WWI
Disloyalty and interfering with the war effort
They said that anti-draft speech was protected under the First Amendment
It went to the Supreme Court

21. The Court’s Response
The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the defense
They explained that whether or not speech is protected it depends on the context in which it occurs
It was decided the defendants antidraft speech created a “clear and present danger” to the success of the war effort
Therefore, it was not protected