Warm-up Question
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What is meant by the term home
front?
How would citizens in the United
States contribute to the war effort?
Americans on the
Home
Front
Financing the War
The
government raised money by selling
Liberty Bonds.
The government put an aggressive campaign
in place to encourage people to buy these.
The Economy
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New Agencies
 The War Industries Board, headed by Bernard
Baruch, oversaw the production of war-related
materials.
 A War Trade Board licensed foreign trade and
made sure no one traded with the enemy.
 The National War Labor Board worked to settle
any labor disputes that might disrupt production.
 The War Labor Policies Board set standards for
wages, hours and working conditions.
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Regulating Food and Fuel Consumption
 The Lever Food and Fuel Control Act gave the President
the power to manage the production and distribution of
foods and fuels vital to the war effort.
 The Food Administration worked to increase production
and limit waste.
 Herbert Hoover, later elected President, was the head of this
Administration.
 He had the power to set price controls as well as institute
rationing.
 Although Hoover had the power to do such things, he
believed that people would do better if they were not made
to do such things.
 The Lever Food and Fuel Control Act created an agency
called the Fuel Administration.
 It sponsored gasless days to save fuel as well as the
practice of daylight savings time – the aim of this was
to increase the number of daylight hours available for
work. It also reduced the need for artificial light and
lowered fuel consumption.
Enforcing Loyalty
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News and information came under the control of the federal
government and any media influences that might hurt the war effort
were challenged.
The National Security League preached “100 Percent Americanism”.
Early in 1917, this League got Congress to pass a literacy test for
immigrants, over President Wilson’s veto. The test excluded anyone who
could not read English or any other language.
Much of society turned against Germans and the German culture as
well.
The Espionage Act of 1917 made it illegal to interfere with the draft.
The Espionage Act was amended in 1918 by the Sedition Act.
This addition made it illegal to interfere with the selling of Liberty
Bonds or to discuss anything “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive”
to the government or military.
This violated the First Amendment but many felt it was necessary to the
war effort.
Controlling Political Radicals
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Socialist Eugene Debs said that the war was a fight
among Imperialist capitalists and that workers had no
stake in the war.
Socialists made gains in the elections of 1917.
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) wanted
to overthrow capitalism.
These groups upset other labor leaders such as Samuel
Gompers who supported the war effort.
The IWW was hounded by the government. A raid in
1917 led to the conviction of nearly 200 members.
Changing People’s Lives
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The patriotism during the war made military styles and
activities more acceptable. This ended with e
conclusion of the war.
Other effects of the war lasted longer.
 Immigration from Europe virtually stopped.
 The labor pool was hurt by the draft so many
(African-Americans and Mexican-Americans) who
had trouble finding work before the draft were able
to get jobs.
 Many African-Americans (about 500,000) continued
to migrate north.
 Women also moved into new positions on a large
scale.