STANDARD(S):
11.1 Students analyze the significant events in
the founding of the nation.
LESSON OBJECTIVES/ GOALS/ SWBAT
1. Explain how business and government
cooperated during the war.
2. Show how the government promoted the war.
3. Describe the attacks on civil liberties that
occurred.
4. Summarize the social changes that affected
African Americans and women.
Section 3
The War at Home
World War I spurs social, political, and economic
change in the United States.
NEXT
SECTION 3: THE WAR
AT HOME
 The entire U.S. economy was
focused on the war effort
 The shift from a consumer
economy to war economy
required a collaboration
between business and
government
 In the process, the power of
the U.S. government expanded
 Congress gave President
Wilson direct control over the
economy
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
1. War Industries Board –
• Encouraged companies to use mass production
techniques and standardize products.
SECTION
3
The War at Home
Congress Gives Power to Wilson
War Industries Board
• Economy shifts from producing consumer goods to
war supplies
• Congress gives president direct control of much of
the economy
• War Industries Board is main regulatory body
- urges mass-production, standardizing products
• Bernard M. Baruch, prosperous businessman, is
head of board
• Railroad Administration, Fuel Administration also
control industries
• Conservation measures adopted by public, nation
Continued . . .
NEXT
WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD
 The War Industries Board
(WIB) encouraged companies
to use mass-production
techniques
 Under the WIB, industrial
production and wages
increased 20%
 Union membership almost
doubled during the war years –
from 2.5 million to 4 million
 To deal with disputes
between management and
labor, President Wilson set up
the National War Labor Board
in 1918
Poster encouraging production
Chapter 11 Section 3
• A – Why would labor disputes affect the
war effort?
– Labor disputes would slow down production
and jeopardize the American war effort.
SECTION
3
continued
Congress Gives Power to Wilson
War Economy
• Industrial wages rise; offset by rising costs of food,
housing
• Large corporations make enormous profits
• Unions boom from dangerous conditions, child
labor, unfair pay
• Wilson creates National War Labor Board to settle
disputes
NEXT
SECTION
3
continued
Congress Gives Power to Wilson
Food Administration
• Food Administration under Herbert Hoover works
to produce, save food
• Encourages public conservation, increase of farm
production
NEXT
VICTORY GARDENS
 To conserve food, Wilson set
up the Food Administration
(FA)
 The FA declared one day a
week “meatless” another
“sweetless” and two days
“wheatless”
 Homeowners planted
“victory gardens” in their
yards
 Schoolchildren worked afterschool growing tomatoes and
cucumbers in public parks
 Farmers increased
production by almost 30% by
adding 40 million acres of
farmland
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
Railroad Administration –
• Controlled the nations railroads, prioritize
war deliveries and use of railroads.
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
• Fuel Administration –
– Regulated Coal supplies, rationed
gasoline, heating oil and introduced
daylight-savings time.
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
National War Labor Board –
• Resolved labor disputes, pushed for
improved working conditions.
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
5. Food Administration –
• Encouraged less consumption, tripled
shipments to allies, and set high prices for
wheat and other staples.
SECTION
3
Selling the War
War Financing
• U.S. spends $35.5 billion on war effort
• 1/3 paid through taxes, 2/3 borrowed through sale
of war bonds
NEXT
SELLING THE WAR
 The U.S. had two major
tasks; raising money and
convincing the public to
support the war
 The U.S. spent $35.5
billion on the war effort
 The government raised
about 1/3 of that through an
income tax and “sin” taxes
 The rest was raised
through war bonds sold to
the public (Liberty Loans &
Victory Loans)
SECTION
3
Selling the War
Committee on Public Information
• Propaganda—biased communication designed to
influence people
• Former muckraker George Creel heads Committee
on Public Information
• Creel produces visual works, printed matter to
promote war
• Gets volunteers to speak about war, distribute
materials
NEXT
PROPAGANDA
 To popularize the war, the
government set up the
nations first propaganda
agency called the
Committee on Public
Information (CPI)
 George Creel led the
agency and persuaded
many of the nation’s artists
to create thousands of
paintings, posters, cartoons
and sculptures to promote
the war
Guided Reading:
What were some things
accomplished by the following
wartime agencies and laws?
– Committee on Public Information –
• Mobilized the nations artists and advertising
people to popularize the war.
• Recruited 75,000 to give speeches in favor of the
war.
• B – How did the government raise money
for the war effort?
– The govt. raised some money through
increased taxes,
– And some through the sale of “war bonds”
SECTION
3
Attacks on Civil Liberties Increase
Anti-Immigrant Hysteria
• Attacks against immigrants, especially from
Germany, Austria-Hungary
• Suppression of German culture—music, language,
literature
NEXT
ATTACK ON CIVIL
LIBERTIES
 As the war
progressed, Civil
Liberties were
compromised
 Anti-Immigrant
feelings were openly
expressed especially
anti-German and
Austrian- Hungarian
Socialists and labor
leaders were targeted
Any anti-American
sentiments were targeted
during wartime
SECTION
3
Attacks on Civil Liberties Increase
Espionage and Sedition Acts
• Espionage and Sedition Acts—person can be
fined, imprisoned for:
- interfering with war effort, speaking against
government
• Violate 1st amendment; prosecute loosely defined
antiwar activities
- target socialists, labor leaders
NEXT
ATTACK ON CIVIL
LIBERTIES
 Espionage and Sedition
Acts were passed by
Congress
Espionage – spying
against your country.
Sedition – criticizing the
govt.
 These acts were
designed to prevent antiwar protests but went
against the spirit of the
First Amendment (Free
speech)
Any anti-American
sentiments were targeted
during wartime
• C – What effect did the war have on the
lives of recent immigrants?
– Recent immigrants suffered persecution;
– German immigrants and those of German
descent suffered the bitterest of attacks.
• D – What impact did the Espionage and
Sedition Acts have on free speech?
– The Acts led to thousands of prosecutions;
– People were fired from their jobs;
– Antiwar newspapers and magazines lost their
mailing privileges.
SECTION
3
The War Encourages Social Change
African Americans and the War
• Du Bois urges support for war to strengthen call
for racial justice
• Most African Americans support war
• Some think victims of racism should not support
racist government
Continued . . .
NEXT
SECTION
3
The War Encourages Social Change
The Great Migration
• Great Migration—large-scale movement of
Southern blacks to North
- escape racial discrimination
- take up new job opportunities
• Press of new migrants intensifies racial tensions
in North
Continued . . .
NEXT
The Great Migration
The greatest effect of the
First World War on the
African American
population was that it
accelerated the Great
Migration
SOCIAL CHANGE DURING
THE WAR: This African
American family settled in
Chicago
 The Great Migration was
the large scale population
shift for hundreds of
thousands of blacks from
the south to Northern
cities
The Great Migration
They left to escape
discrimination and to
seek greater job
opportunities
 Popular destinations
included Chicago, New
York and Philadelphia
Guided Reading:
What changes did the war bring
about for the following groups of
Americans?
– African Americans –
• The Great Migration involved the massive
movement of Blacks from the southern rural areas
to the Northern cities.
• The first African Americans commissioned officers
allowed to serve.
• E – How did the war open opportunities for
African Americans?
– WWI increased job opportunities for African
Americans in
• steel mills,
• monition plants,
• and stockyards.
• F – What effect did the war have on
women’s lives?
– Women moved into jobs that had been held
exclusively by men.
• G – How did wartime conditions help
spread the flu?
– In the army, living conditions allowed for
contagious illness to spread.
Guided Reading:
What changes did the war bring
about for the following groups of
Americans?
– Immigrants –
• Many lost their jobs;
• Some were attacked and killed.
SECTION
3
continued
The War Encourages Social Change
Women in the War
• Many women take jobs in heavy industry previously
held by men
• Many do volunteer work for war effort
• Some active in peace movement; Women’s Peace
Party founded 1915
• Women’s effort bolsters support for suffrage;
19th Amendment passes
NEXT
WOMEN IN THE WAR
 Many women were called
upon to take on jobs
previously held by men who
were serving in the war
 They became railroad
workers, cooks, dockworkers,
factory workers, and miners
 Many women served as
volunteers in organizations
such as the Red Cross
 Their service hastened the
passage of the 19th
Amendment in 1920 giving
women the right to vote
Rosie the Riveter was the symbol of
women’s war contributions
Guided Reading:
What changes did the war bring
about for the following groups of
Americans?
– Women –
• Many women moved into jobs traditionally held by
men.
• Women’s wartime efforts encouraged passage of
the 19th amendment- which gave women the right
to vote.
SECTION
3
continued
The War Encourages Social Change
The Flu Epidemic
• International flu epidemic of 1918 has devastating
effect on economy
• As many as 30 million people die worldwide
NEXT
THE FLU EPIDEMIC
 In the fall of 1918, the United States
suffered a home-front crises when a
flu epidemic affected 25% of the
population
 Mines shut down, telephone service
was cut in half, factory work was
delayed
 Cities ran short on coffins while
corpses lay unburied for as long as a
week
Seattle, like many other places,
became a masked city. All police wore
them, as shown in this photo from
"The Great Influenza"
 The epidemic killed as many as
500,000 in the U.S. before it
disappeared in 1919
 Worldwide the epidemic killed 30
million people
John Meints was tarred and feathered in
Minnesota during World War I (ca 1917-18)
for not supporting war bond drives. [1]