The War At Home Chapter 11-3

Congress Gives Power to Wilson

WWI was not only fought on the battle fields but on the home front as well

Businesses went from producing consumer goods to producing the tools of war

The effort would be a collaboration between the private sectors & government

Congress would give President Wilson direct control of much of the economy, including the power to regulate prices & even nationalizing private businesses

War Industries Board

The main regulatory body of the government was the War Industries Board (WIB)

This board was under the leadership of Barnard Baruch

The main purpose of the board was to regulate & coordinate raw materials, prevent waste, & get the most production out of its resources

This board was very successful in that production increased by 20%

On the negative side price controls were only applied at the wholesale level causing retail prices to soar, inflation

War Industries Board

In addition to the WIB there were other boards set up to regulate specific aspects of the economy such as the RR Administration, Fuel Administration, etc.

Things such as gasless Tuesdays. Meatless Mondays, & lightless nights were all implemented to conserve resources

Daylight savings was also put into effect during this period, an idea that was first put forth by ben Franklin

War Economy

Wages would rise, some 20%, in some industries but because of inflation households would see only a minor increase

Because of the government contracts business & stockholders profits soared

Management also saw a large increase in wealth causing an even greater gap between labor & management

This would lead to a rise in union membership

To deal with disputes between labor & management the National War Labor Board

The NWLB improved factory conditions, increased wages, & pushed for the eight hour workday

War Financing

The war would cost the U.S. $35.5 billion

To finance the war effort the government raised1/3 of the needed funds through higher taxes

The rest was raised through “Liberty Loans” & “Victory Bonds”

The bonds were purchased at a set price & had the government promise of repayment at a later date with interest

Committee On Public Information

To help sell the war to the public the government set up its first propaganda agency under the leadership of George Creel, Committee on Public Information (CPI)

Under the leadership of Creel thousands of posters, paintings, cartoons, & sculptures were created to promote the war

In addition 75,000 men were recruited to speak on behalf of the war effort

When it came to print media Creel published some 75 million pamphlets, booklets, & leaflets

Creel’s tactics were very successful but did inflame hatred & even trampled the civil liberties of some ethnic groups

Anti-Immigrant Hysteria

The main targets of these attacks were Americans who had emigrated from other nations especially those from Germany & Austria-Hungry

Americans from German descent suffered the heaviest attacks

Americans with German sounding names lost their jobs, orchestras refused to play German composers works, the German language was no longer taught, & German authors were pulled from library shelves

Even diseases were renamed German measles became liberty measles

Hamburger became Salisbury steak or liberty sandwich even sauerkraut became liberty cabbage

Espionage & Sedition Acts

In June of 1917 congress passed the Espionage & Sedition Acts which called for a $10,000 fine & 20 years in prison for anyone who interfered with the war effort

Even newspapers & magazines who criticized the war were fined

The acts targeted Socialists & labor leaders

Eugene Debs , a socialist leader, received a ten year prison sentence for speaking out against the war

African Americans & the War

When it came to African Americans war support was divided

Some such as W.E.B. Dubois believed that support for the war would strengthen calls for racial justice

While others believed that victims of racial injustice should not support a racist government

In the end most African Americans supported the war effort

The Great Migration

The greatest impact of the war was the Great Migration of African Americans to the North

The migration had begun before the war but was hastened as many moved to escape Jim Crow laws as well as to work in Northern industry

The migration was possible for 3 reasons

1. Escape racial injustice

2. Northern Jobs

3. Crops were destroyed by drought, floods, & the boll weevil

Women in the War

When the war broke out women moved into traditional jobs that were held by males

It was this willingness to step in & fill the positions of men to keep the war effort moving that would persuade government leaders to support & pass the 19th Amendment granting suffrage