Do Now
On May 18, 1917 Congress passed the
Selective Service Act. This required all men
ages 21-30 to register for the military draft.
What is a draft?
• A draft is a law requiring people of a
certain age to serve in the military.
How did Americans aid in the War
Effort?
A. The Role of the Government
• The U.S. Government took control of
the economy.
• President Wilson was given the
power to:
• Fix prices.
• Regulate war-related industries.
• Declare strikes illegal if they were
disturbing the war effort.
1. War Industries Board
• Led by Bernard
Baruch.
• Converted factories to
war production.
• Told companies what
to produce in order to
help the war effort.
2. Food Administration
• Led by Herbert Hoover.
• Increased production and
decreased consumption of
American food.
• Americans planted Victory
Gardens & had Meatless
Mondays and Wheatless
Wednesdays.
3. Raising Money
• In order to raise money the U.S.
Government:
• Established Daylight Savings Time.
• Increased taxes.
• Sold Liberty Bonds.
4. Getting Americans Onboard
• Propaganda-spreading of ideas to help a
cause or hurt an opposing cause.
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•
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Posters
Movies
Songs
Plays
Billboards
advertisements
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•
•
What general cause is this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this poster was effective?
Why or why not?
•
•
•
What general cause is
this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is
this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this
poster was effective?
Why or why not?
•
•
•
What general cause is
this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is
this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this
poster was effective?
Why or why not?
•
•
•
What general cause is
this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is
this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this
poster was effective?
Why or why not?
•
•
•
What general cause is
this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is
this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this
poster was effective?
Why or why not?
•
•
•
What general cause is
this poster trying to
help?
What specific idea(s) is
this poster trying to
promote?
Do you think that this
poster was effective?
Why or why not?
B. Negative Results of Government
Involvement
• Anti-German feelings were common
among Americans.
• German names were changed:
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•
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•
German Shepards=Liberty Pups
Hamburgers=Liberty Patties
Frankfurters=Liberty Sausages
Schools stopped teaching German
Town, street & last names were changed throughout the
U.S.
Loss of Freedom?
• Espionage and Sedition Acts-made it illegal
to criticize Wilson or the war.
• Supreme Court Case Schenck v. U.S. (1919)ruled that at a time of “clear and present
danger,” the government had the right to limit
a citizen’s 1st Amendment Rights.
C. The Role of Minorities
• Women and African
Americans filled the factory
jobs as men joined the
armed forces.
• African Americans also
joined the armed forces:
• “Harlem Hell Fighters”an all African
American unit that
spent more time under
fire than any other US.
unit.
Summary
• How did Americans aid in the war effort?
• Which of these do you think helped the
most?
• Do you think that the American troops
would have been as successful in World
War I if they did not have the support of
Americans on the home front?