Chapter
21 Section 2
Objectives
• Find out how the United States quickly prepared
for entry into World War I.
• Learn what measures the government took to
control the wartime economy.
• Discover how the need to build support for the
war sometimes clashed with civil liberties.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
Terms and People
• mobilize– to prepare for war
• Jeannette Rankin– Representative of Montana
and the first woman elected to Congress
• illiterate– unable to read and write
• Herbert Hoover– head of the Food
Administration during World War I
• Eugene V. Debs– labor leader jailed for
criticizing the war effort
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
What steps did the United States
government take to prepare the
nation for war?
In 1917, the United States had to mobilize for
war. It faced enormous challenges.
Increasing
the size of its
army
Managing
agriculture
and industry
Supporting the War Effort
Shaping
public opinion
of the war
Chapter
21 Section 2
The U.S. took several steps to increase the size of
its army, only the 16th largest in the world.
U.S. Army
Selective
Service
All men ages
21-30 had to
register for
the draft.
Women
Diversity
More than
30,000
women
volunteered
for service.
Native
Americans
and African
Americans
served.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
Women were not drafted, but they served
the U.S. military in other ways.
Many served in the
U.S. Army and
U.S. Navy Nurse
Corps.
Others
performed
clerical
work.
They were the first women to hold U.S. military
rank.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
Leading women were divided over the war.
Against the War
The Women’s Peace
Party spoke out for
peace.
Jeannette Rankin
voted against
Wilson’s war
resolution.
Supporting the War Effort
For the War
Suffragists such as
Carrie Chapman Catt
hoped that women’s
wartime service
would win them the
vote.
Chapter
21 Section 2
The military reflected the increasingly diverse
makeup of the United States.
Mexican
Americans
Native
Americans
African
Americans
Italian
Americans
Children of
Immigrants
Filipino
Americans
Native Americans were not citizens, but many
volunteered for service.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
380,000 African Americans served during the
war.
But African American soldiers
still faced discrimination.
They were
placed in
all-black
units.
Most were
confined to
noncombat
duties.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
The military served as an educator for many
American men.
One in four
draftees were
illiterate.
Recruits learned how
to fight and how to
read.
Some were not
used to daily
meals, baths, or
indoor plumbing.
The military taught
them about nutrition
and hygiene.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
The U.S. also had to reshape its economy.
Agriculture and industry mobilized for war.
Herbert Hoover headed the new Food Administration.
He provided food
supplies for civilians
and troops.
He urged Americans
to conserve food and
plant “victory
gardens.”
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
The war greatly increased demands on
American industries.
The government had
to fill huge orders for
the military.
Businesses needed
workers to fill the
spots left by soldiers.
President Wilson set
up the War Industries
Board to oversee war
production.
Women and African
Americans took jobs
that were previously
denied them.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
Americans were
able to increase
production and
meet the new
demands of the
wartime
economy.
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
The government worked to raise support for
the war.
pro-war posters
patriotic speeches in
public places
appeals by movie stars
to buy Liberty Bonds
and Savings Stamps
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
The government also took stern measures to
suppress criticism of the war.
The Espionage
Act (1917) and
the Sedition Act
(1918) made it
illegal to
criticize the
government.
People such as
labor leader
Eugene Debs
were jailed for
speaking out
against the war
effort.
Supporting the War Effort
The American
Protective
League opened
people’s mail,
tapped phones,
and pried into
medical records.
Chapter
21 Section 2
Many German Americans suffered as America
became gripped by anti-German hysteria.
• German Americans were harassed and
assaulted.
• Some schools stopped teaching German.
• People started referring to sauerkraut as
“liberty cabbage” and German measles as
“liberty measles.”
Supporting the War Effort
Chapter
21 Section 2
Section Review
QuickTake Quiz
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Know It, Show It Quiz