WWI: Home Front HW Quiz
What agency was created to coordinate the production
of war materials during World War I?
2.
Besides using taxes, how did the government raise
money to fund World War I?
3.
Who was the head of the Food Administration?
4.
Who was the head of the Committee on Public
Instruction?
5.
What was the job of the Committee on Public
Instruction?
Bonus (10 points): What set of laws did the Federalist
party pass to limit French immigrants and limit
criticism of the government?
1.
World War I, Part 2:
The Home Front
Goal 6 and 8
Essential Idea

The government expanded its power in
order to support the American war effort.
Funding the War

_______________ was ______________
and used many ______________. One
of the challenges of the United States
_______________ was to find ways to
______ for the war and maintain its
_____________. The government
created many new _________ to insure
the ____________ did not run out.
Turning the United States into a War
Machine



Agency: War
Industries Board
Ran by: Bernard
Baruch
What it managed:
Production of war
materials
War Industries Board




How it did it:
Told manufacturers
what to produce
It made sure
companies had the
needed raw
materials
It built new factories
The Food Administration
Agency: Food
Administration
 Run by: Herbert Hoover
 What it managed: the
food supply

The Food Administration




How it did it:
Found ways to conserve
food (rationing) for
soldiers
Encouraged citizens to
grow their own food in
“victory gardens”
Promoted “Wheatless
Mondays”, “Meatless
Tuesdays”, etc.
The Fuel Administration






Agency: The Fuel
Administration
What it managed: coal
and oil (energy)
How it did it:
Introduced daylight
savings time
Shortened the work
week
encouraged “Heatless
Mondays
Funding the War
Agency: Congress
 What it managed: money
 How it did it: raised income
tax and created new taxes
($12 million)
 Sold Liberty and Victory
Bonds, a.k.a. loans to the
government ($20 million)
 Raising Money

The National War Labor Board







Agency: National War Labor
Board
Run by: William Taft
What it managed: the work force
How it did it:
Pressured businesses to improve
wages and working hours
Encouraged unions NOT to strike
Supporting the War


Women in the Workplace
Problem: shortage
of workers because
men are busy
fighting the war
Initial solution: hire
women! (worked in
factories, shipyards,
and railroad yards)
The Great Migration



Why there is still a problem: even with
women working, there is still a shortage of
workers
Next solution: start hiring blacks
GREAT MIGRATION- 300,000 to 500,000
blacks leave the South and move to
Northern cities to get factory jobs (and, of
course, escape Jim Crow laws in the
South)


Red states lost the most blacks
Blue states gained the most blacks
Shaping Public Opinion





Strategy #1: Propaganda
Propaganda- biased
information used to influence
people
Agency: Committee on Public
Information (CPI)
What it managed: government
propaganda
Who ran it: George Creel
The Committee on Public Information



What it did:
“sold” the war to the
American people using
artists, authors,
songwriters, entertainers,
and movie companies
Four minute men- 75,000
public speakers known for
giving four minute
speeches to support the
war
“It’s Duty Boy”: Four Minute Men
My boy must never bring disgrace to his immortal sires—
At Valley Forge and Lexington they kindled freedom’s fires,
John’s father died at Gettysburg, mine fell at Chancellorsville;
While John himself was with the boys who charged up San Juan Hill.
And John, if he was living now, would surely say with me,
"No son of ours shall e’er disgrace our grand old family tree
By turning out a slacker when his country needs his aid."
It is not of such timber that America was made.
I’d rather you had died at birth or not been born at all,
Than know that I had raised a son who cannot hear the call
That freedom has sent round the world, its previous rights to save—
This call is meant for you, my boy, and I would have you brave;
And though my heart is breaking, boy, I bid you do your part,
And show the world no son of mine is cursed with craven heart;
And if, perchance, you ne’er return, my later days to cheer,
And I have only memories of my brave boy, so dear,
I’d rather have it so, my boy, and know you bravely died
Than have a living coward sit supinely by my side.
To save the world from sin, my boy, God gave his only son—
He’s asking for My boy, to-day, and may His will be done.
Posters



Who is the
monster?
What does the
blood
represent?
What is the
point of the
question mark?




Who does the
woman represent?
Who does the
gorilla represent?
What is the gorilla
an allusion to?
What propaganda
technique is this?
Posters


“Huns
(Germans) Kill
Women and
Children!”
What emotions
would this
cause?
The Most
Famous WWI
Poster
Always pointed
at YOU
U.S.
Propaganda
Limiting Free Speech



Strategy #2: Pass
laws to limit war
opposition
Law: Espionage Act
What it did: made it
illegal to help the
enemy through spying
or sabotage





Law: Sedition Act
Made it illegal to
publically speak against
the war
The “reds” are
communists, who were
seen as enemies within
the US
What does the hammer
represent?
What is the point of the
cartoon?
Schenk v. United States




Supreme Court Case: Schenk v. United States
The issue: Charles Schenk distributed pamphlets
saying that people should resist being drafted into
the war
The ruling: AGAINST Schenk: the government
can restrict free speech that creates a “clear and
present danger”
Schenk v. U.S.
Building the Military
The First Soldiers: about 2
million
 Why did citizens sign up?
 1. inspired by stories of
German atrocities
 2. some felt that
democracy was at stake

Building the Military





However, the United
States needed more
soldiers
The law: Selective
Service Act
What it did: required all
men age 21-30 to
register for a draft
How many troops after
the new law? About 5
million
http://www.sss.gov/
“New” Soldiers


Who? AfricanAmericans
Wilson’s Action:
Wilson segregated
the army so that
blacks and whites
fought separately
Blacks in the Military

How are they
remembered?
They fought with
DISTINCTION
Women in the Military



Who? Women
Why significant? World
War I was the first
American war in which
women served
How did they serve?
Non-combat positions
such as clerical work
and nursing


Helping the Allies
Why was America’s
entry into World War I
significant?
It gave the ALLIES
much needed
STRENGTH AND
ENERGY (a huge
morale boost)