1. 19.2 THE HOME FRONT MAIN IDEA:
To successfully fight the war, the United States had to mobilize the entire nation.
To fight the war, the federal government created new agencies to mobilize the economy, draft soldiers, and build public support.

3. THE HOME FRONT - MILITARY & INDUSTRY
BUILDING UP THE MILITARY
Need for soldiers: conscription  selective service
ORGANIZING INDUSTRY
Cooperation between government & big business  efficient use of resources
War Industries Board headed by Bernard Baruch
Victory gardens & daylight savings time
Victory bonds & liberty bonds sold
**VIDEO CLIP: WWI SUPPORTING THE WAR (9:35 mins) –last couple minutes covers 17.3 bloody conflict (doughbouys, russia leaving, etc.) so can stop early if low on time or if off focus
Selective service was a new system of forced military service. It required all men ages to register to be drafted for war. A lottery randomly decided the order in which they were called to service.
The WIB told manufacturers what they could and could not make. It also controlled the flow of raw materials, ordered construction of new factories, and with the president’s approval, set prices.

6. AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE WAR
400,000 drafted, 42,000 served overseas as combat troops
Encountered discrimination & prejudice in the amry
Segregated units under white officers
Many fought with distinction in the war
Ex: 92nd & 93rd Infantry Divisions fought along Western Front & praised by U.S. commander General Pershing
Ex: the entire 369th Infantry Division won the highly prized French decoration, the Croix de Guerre (“war cross”) for gallantry in combat
Government wage total war
Total war – a conflict in which the countries involved devote all their resources to the war effort,
Rationing - limiting the amount of goods people can buy
Propaganda – one-sided information designed to persuade
Women & the war
Women went to work in the factories and shops
Built ammunitions & build tanks
Changed views of what women were capable of

7. THE HOME FRONT –MOBILIZATION & SUPPORT
MOBILIZING THE WORKFORCE
National War Labor Board – prevent strikes
“Great Migration” of African Americans
ENSURING PUBLIC SUPPORT
Committee on Public Information
Espionage -> Espionage Act of 1917 & Sedition Act of 1918
Schenck v. the United States (1919)
**2:49 kid’s video on Schenck v. US
-The war stopped the flow of immigrants to the United States, which allowed African Americans wartime jobs. Between 300,000 and 500,000 African Americans left the South to settle in the North.This “Great Migration” changed the racial makeup of many Northern cities.
-The Committee on Public Information attempted to “sell” the idea of war to the American people through pamphlets and speeches. The Espionage Act of 1917 set up consequences for people who aided the enemy. The Sedition Act of 1918 made it illegal to criticize the president or the government. In the case of Schenck v. the United States (1919), the Supreme Court ruling limited an individual’s freedom of speech if the words spoken constituted a “clear and present danger.”

10. REVIEW: US Home Front: WWI
US not prepared in US needed the 3 M’s: men (soldiers), materials, and money!!!
Selective Service Act (draft): Although many men volunteered to serve in the war, there was still a shortage. In response, the government created a conscription (forced military service) system that required all men from to register for the draft. A lottery would then select the draftees. Approximately 2.8 million men were drafted for WWI.
War Industries Board (WIB)- A government agency set up to coordinate the production of war materials. It controlled the flow of war materials, ordered the construction of new factories important for war supplies, and occasionally set prices.
National War Labor Board- made sure that disputes between workers and bosses did not disrupt war production.
Liberty Bonds and Victory Bonds to pay for the war. The US needed money to pay for the soldiers, the factories, and the materials. They used a bond system: Liberty Bonds and Victory Bonds. Americans would buy the bond, like a mini-loan to the US government, and would be able to redeem it later for more than it was worth.
Fuel Administration- to conserve energy, such as coal and oil, for the war.
Daylight savings, shortening hours of factories that made non-essentials, Heatless Mondays.
Food Administration- to conserve food for soldiers.
Victory Gardens, Meatless Mondays, Wheatless Wednesdays, etc.
The Committee on Public Information was responsible for “selling” the war to Americans. Their job was to create propaganda (music, movies, artists) to sway public opinion in support of the war.
PUNISHING OPPOSITION TO THE WAR
Espionage Act: established penalties and prison term for anyone who gave aid to the enemy. The act also penalized disloyalty.
Sedition Act: made illegal any public expression in opposition of the war. In practice, it made illegal any criticism of the president and government.
These laws were upheld by the Supreme Court when they argued that government could limit free speech if speech presented a “clear and present danger.”
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of limiting free speech in the case of Schenck v. the US. “You can’t yell fire in a crowed theatre, it puts people in danger. Therefore, you can’t speak out against the war, it puts America, and our soldiers, in danger of losing the war.

11. REVIEW: Minority Roles during WWI
Women on the home front - for the first time women served in the armed forces, but in non-combat positions: nurses and secretaries, mostly.
Once men came back after the war, however, female employment dropped once again. Women generally went back to their domestic roles at home, cooking and cleaning.
NOTE: This is in contrast to WWII, where many women kept their jobs after the war.
African Americans in the military- about 400,000 blacks were drafted. Only about 42,000 served in combat.
Units were racially segregated and black soldier were always placed under white officers.
African Americans on the home front- With so many job openings at home during the war, African Americans were able to obtain jobs they had never had the opportunity to obtain before.
The job opportunities in industrial jobs up north led to a mass migration, or “the great migration” of African Americans from the south to northern cities.