“Over Here”: The American Homefront During World War I
Question: How did American efforts at home help win the war and transform the American economy & society?
I: “Over Here”
To win over there (__________________) Wilson believed the U.S. had to effectively mobilize over here (___________)
A. Consolidated federal authority to organize U.S. war _________________ & ____________________
B. Began massive _________________________ campaign aimed at winning over the American public to support
the war effort
a. Wilson formed the Committee on Public Information (CPI) & hired muckraker _____________________
to publicize the U.S. war effort:
b. Voluntary censorship in ____________, against the _________ Amendment rights of the Constitution
i. 75,000 “4-minute men” gave speeches (based on facts or emotions?)
ii. Propaganda motion picture films: The Prussian Cur & The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin
C. Wilson encouraged censorship: set out to encourage U.S. ____________ (like Lincoln during the Civil War, was
willing to use ______________ if needed)
a. ______________ ___Act (anti-spying)—aiding the enemy, obstructing troop recruitment, or
encouraging “_______________” were declared illegal
b. Trading-with-the-Enemy Act—censored the ________________ press
c. Sedition Act—made it illegal to speak “disloyally” towards the U.S. gov’t, the flag, or U.S. troops (much
like Adams’ Sedition Act of 1790s)
II. Major Effects of Early Mobilization
A. Sweeping ___________________________ sentiment in American culture
a. Sauerkraut was renamed “Liberty Cabbage” & pretzels were no longer served in bars
b. Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms were not played in symphonies
c. Negative media portrayals (propaganda)
B. _____________________ and ill-treatment against those deemed “suspect” or “anti-American”
a. IWW anti-war critic _______________________ dragged through Butte, Montana & lynched
b. Robert Prager, German-born American, lynched
c. Murderers acquitted in court
C. A “________________________” hit America as a result of the ______________ Revolution (“red”=Communist)
a. Americans feared Lenin’s anti-___________________ revolution & were angry over Russia leaving the
_________________ Front during World War I
b. Wilson sent troops to the _____________, refused to recognize the new gov’t, & did not allow Russia to
attend the ___________________ conference at Versailles
D. __________________ Raids: U.S. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer’s Home was bombed
a. Police arrested “suspected Reds’ in __________________, 1920
b. Palmer used this act of violence as an opportunity to invoke the ______________ Act of ___________ &
arrested or deported nearly 6,000 suspected _______________ (some, innocent U.S. citizens)
III. The War and the Court
A. _________________ Amendment restrictions were upheld by the Supreme Court, as three cases were decided
in 1919 that supported gov’t laws under the Espionage Act of 1917
B. Schenck v US: Schenck was sentenced for conspiracy to circulate pamphlets encouraging soldiers to mutiny
C. Debs v US: Labor leader Eugene V. Debs was jailed when his Socialist newsletter Appeal to Reason encouraged
Americans to resist ____________________ in the military to fight a “______________________ war”
D. Abrams v US: the accused passed out documents that denounced the sending of U.S. troops to ______________
(to resist the Bolshevik Revolution), called for a general ________________ and other “revolutionary actions”
a. The gov’t used the wartime climate to undermine radical __________________ (IWW) & socialism
b. __________________________ in the U.S. never recovered from WWI attacks
IV. A Bureaucratic War
A. To coordinate the war effort, ________________ new gov’t agencies in the executive branch (the Bureaucracy)
were created:
a. War __________________ Board (WIB) oversaw all factories, determined priorities, fixed consumer
prices
i. WIB director Bernard Baruch became the “______________________ of the American
economy”
b. Food Admin supplied food to soldiers by appealing to civilians
i. Asked for a spirit of self-sacrifice, imposed “______________________” and
“_________________” days & encouraged Americans to plant “___________________ gardens”
c. Fuel Admin rationed coal & oil
i. Imposed “____________________” days and shut down _________________ to divert or
conserve fuel
d. RR Admin, War Shipping Board, & War Trade Board helped move resources to ________________
B. WWI was expensive, costing the U.S. $__________________________, but was paid for by
a. Liberty ________________________ (raised $23 billion)
b. A boost in personal & corporate _______________________________ (led to $10 billion)
C. The partnership between __________________________ & the _______________________ met the war
demand & increased business profits 300% (unprecedented alliance)
a. WWI led to a new alliance between the gov’t & labor unions:
i. AFL headman ______________________ was named to the Council of Nat’l Defense to help
enlist _________________ support for the war effort
ii. War Labor Board (WLB) was formed to standardize ______________ & hours, protect union
rights, & give ________________ pay for __________________
iii. Coal Miner’s Strike 1919: the WLB seized companies during strikes (national interests come
first!)
V. Labor, War, and Social Change
A. 8 million __________________ found new, better-paying jobs in ___________ industry
a. Few _____________________________ entered the workforce, unlike WW2
B. 100,000 ________________________ laborers worked in SW ______________ & ______________
C. 450,000 Southern African Americans moved north for new industrial jobs & better pay
a. The Great Migration from the South to the North
b. Urbanization of African Americans sometimes led to race riots in major cities
c. Du Bois’ New Negro: “We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting.”
d. Returning black soldiers: “I’m glad I went. I done my part & I’m going to fight right here until Uncle Sam
does his.”