WWI: Affecting those at Home

              All across Europe during WWI, entire towns and countrysides were burned or decimated by constant fighting. An ocean away, the United States was saved from most of the destruction and saw losses only in troop numbers and resources. This does not mean though that things did not change. World War I was one of the first times America mobilized the entire nation in order to contribute to an effort on this scale. New branches of the federal government were created to manage resources, thousands of men enlisted, and propaganda was able to create an overwhelming American pride despite initial reluctance to war.
              With a national draft set up and 2 million men serving in Europe by the war's end, there was a shortage of men for employment. This lead to two things. The first being the establishment of women as a prominent power in the workforce, with women taking jobs that used to only be open to men. Even if many of these positions would revert when the war ended, it proved women to be capable of taking on such positions. Secondly, many African Americans in the south came north to fill these positions as well, creating bigger black communities in large northern cities. While some blacks might have had positions working towards helping the war effort, this does not mean all African Americans were in favor of war. Some believed that war could be a chance for African Americans to increase equality between themselves and whites, but still others disagreed saying America shouldn't be fighting for democracy in Europe when there is still injustice happening at home with segregation and Jim Crow laws threatening the freedoms of African Americans.
              To pay for the huge expenses of going to war, the United States needed to make a lot of changes. To start, the income tax was raised and the lowest taxable income was lowered so that a greater population was being taxed. This only paid for about a quarter of the money needed though, so American bonds were sold to pay for the rest. The War Industries Board was created by Woodrow Wilson in 1917 to promote the buying of bonds, conservation, and other practices to help in wartime. The board also tried to settle union disputes and set wages and hours in order to increase productivity and limit conflict, increasing jobs and boosting the economy. Materials and metal were scarce and many schools and communities held drives and encouraged conservation. Food was scarce with Allied soldiers and civilians all across Europe in desperate need of help. People at home were encouraged to conserve as much as possible, crop prices were raised, and many people planted gardens of their own. Nationalism peaked with the Espionage Act passed in 1917 and the Sedition Act passed in 1918 which made it easy for people to get punished for acts seen as hindering the war effort or speaking badly of the government. Many argued that these laws were unjustly limiting the freedoms of Americans, and one case came before the Supreme Court in 1919 defending free speech. Do some liberties need to be given up in order to protect a 'greater good?' Should we prioritize the liberties of certain people or only the liberties themselves?


Corinne McCabe