Unit 14 Lesson 3: The Home Front

Question 1

The American military demanded unquestioning loyalty from the millions of volunteers and conscripted soldiers. What does conscript mean?

Answer 1

To conscript means to forcibly enlist someone into the military.

Question 2

Once President Wilson was committed to war, he needed to quickly pivot from his position of neutrality. He also needed to convince all Americans to support the war. What goverment agency did her create in reponse to this

Answer 2

Committee on Public Information

Question 3

Wilson created a new government agency called the Committee on Public Information. What happen in the govermenmt agency

Answer 3

Writers, artists, speakers, and filmmakers were hired to create messages in support of the war.

Question 4

Wilson created a new government agency called the Committee on Public Information. Writers, artists, speakers, and filmmakers were hired to create messages in support of the war. Some of these messages had the following specific purposes:

Answer 4

• to encourage enlistment in the military
• to garner monetary support for the war
• to create a sense of urgency about saving food and supplies
• to urge volunteerism in civilian organizations

Question 5

The Committee on Public Information also created messages to

Answer 5

disparage the enemy. Some schools banned the teaching of the German language. Symphony orchestras refused to perform music by German composers.

Question 6

How was propanganda spread during WWI

Answer 6

At the time of World War I, pro-American propaganda was spread through posters, pamphlets, newspapers, magazine advertisements, speeches in public and on the radio, and films.

Question 7

Why did US feel the need to increase its military size? How many peolpe did US have compared to Germany

Answer 7

At the beginning of the war in 1914, the German armed forces included 4.5 million men. In 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany, the U.S. Army ranked seventh in the world in terms of size, with an estimated 200,000 enlisted men. The United States needed to increase the size of its military to assist the Allied forces in Europe.

Question 8

To compose a fighting force, Congress passed the

Answer 8

the Selective Service Act of 1917

Question 9

What was the Selective Service Act of 1917, who did it require to be drafted

Answer 9

which required all men aged 21–30 to register for the draft. In 1918, the act was expanded to include all men between the ages of 18–45.

Question 10

Through a campaign of patriotic appeals, as well as a system that allowed men to register at their local draft boards rather than directly with the federal government, results were swift:

Answer 10

t: more than 10 million men registered for the draft on the very first day.

Question 11

. By the war’s end, 22 million men had registered for the U.S. Army draft. Break this down

Answer 11

Five million of these men were actually drafted, another 1.5 million volunteered, and more than 500,000 additional men signed up for the navy or marines. In all, two million men participated in combat operations overseas. Among the volunteers were also 20,000 women, a quarter of whom went to France to serve as nurses or in clerical positions.

Question 12

How many eligible American refused to registor for milliraty service

Answer 12

. Around 350,000 eligible Americans refused to register for military service

Question 13

About 65,000 of these defied the conscription law as conscientious objectors. What is a conscientious objector

Answer 13

A conscientious objector is a person who refuses to serve in the armed forces on moral or religious grounds.

Question 14

Those who opposed the draft faced risks. While most objectors were never prosecuted, those who were found guilty at military hearings received stiff punishments. Elaborate

Answer 14

Courts handed down more than 200 prison sentences of 20 years or more, and 17 death sentences.

Question 15

How did conscription change the relationship between the government and the citizen during World War I?

Answer 15

The government’s message was that everybody in the country had a responsibility to serve the nation in some capacity. This was a new idea.

Question 16

How did World War I help change what people feel the nation should provide to its veterans?

Answer 16

World War I veterans wanted credit for serving their country. They felt they deserved benefits.

Question 17

What was the Liberty Loan Act

Answer 17

The Liberty Loan Act allowed the federal government to sell liberty bonds to the American public.

Question 17

One of the biggest challenges on the home front was to find the money and supplies to furnish the military and Allied forces with materials and food. The war effort was costly, and the United States government needed to finance it. How did the governemnt raise money for the war

Answer 17

The Liberty Loan Act

Question 18

What are Liberty bonds

Answer 18

. Liberty bonds were certificates that permitted the government to borrow money from citizens to finance the war

Question 19

How did they advertise liberty bonds

Answer 19

Propaganda was used to advertise liberty bonds as a patriotic duty

Question 20

How much was made with lierty bonds

Answer 20

The U.S. government ultimately raised $23 billion via liberty bonds.

Question 21

With the size of the army growing, the U.S. government needed to ensure there were adequate supplies—in particular, food and fuel—for both the soldiers overseas and the people at home. Concerns over shortages led to the

Answer 21

the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act

Question 22

What did the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act

Answer 22

o the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act, which empowered the president to control the production, distribution, and the price of all food products during the war.

Question 23

Under the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act, what did President Wilson create

Answer 23

Under this law, President Wilson created both the Fuel Administration to conserve fuel and the Food Administration to conserve food.

Question 24

What were the prposes for the Fuel Administration and Food Administration

Answer 24

the Fuel Administration to conserve fuel and the Food Administration to conserve food.

Question 25

Who was the Fuel Adminstarion run by

Answer 25

Harry Garfield

Question 26

How did the Fuel Admistation (Harrry Garfied) use fuel holidays to ration fuel

Answer 26

The Fuel Administration, run by Harry Garfield, created “fuel holidays” by encouraging people to voluntary ration fuel on certain days. To ration is to allow a person only a certain amount of a commodity.

Question 27

Why did the Fuel Admistation (Harrry Garfied) make “daylight saving time”

Answer 27

Garfield also implemented “daylight saving time” for the first time in American history, shifting the clocks to allow more productive daylight hours.

Question 28

Who was Herbert Hoover

Answer 28

Herbert Hoover coordinated the Food Administration.

Question 29

What did Herbert Hoover do to conserve food for militray use

Answer 29

Herbert Hoover coordinated the Food Administration. With the slogan “Food will win the war,” Hoover encouraged “Meatless Mondays,” “Wheatless Wednesdays,” and other similar reductions, with the goal of conserving food for military use.

Question 30

1.

To ensure the United States could produce and transport sufficient military supplies, President Wilson created the

Answer 30

War Industries Board

Question 31

What powers did the War Industries Board have

Answer 31

This new government agency had the power to direct shipments of raw materials, as well as control government contracts with private producers.

Question 32

What led to a shortage in Ameircan workers

Answer 32

The increase in production demands exposed severe labor shortages in many states. This was heightened by the draft, which pulled millions of young men from the active labor force.

Question 33

What led to a shortage in Immigrant workers

Answer 33

In addition, European immigration slowed during the war because German U-boats posed a threat to safe travel over the Atlantic Ocean. Industries could no longer rely on the availability of immigrant workers, a population known to seek employment in factory labor.

Question 34

Who is the head of the American Federation of Labor

Answer 34

The head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Samuel Gompers,

Question 35

What did the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Samuel Gompers want

Answer 35

The head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Samuel Gompers, wanted to more effectively organize workers and secure them higher wages and better working conditions.

Question 36

How did the government react the Smauel Gompers wants in the work feild

Answer 36

The government’s desire for peaceful and productive relations between wartime production and labor prompted negotiations between the government and the AFL

Question 37

The government’s desire for peaceful and productive relations between wartime production and labor prompted negotiations between the government and the AFL, which resulted in the following agreements:

Answer 37

• Organized labor would pledge not to go on strike for the duration of the war.
• The U.S. government would protect workers’ rights to organize and bargain.

Question 38

The federal government, in keeping to the agreements, promoted several of the following benefits for laborers:

Answer 38

• an eight-hour workday (which had first been adopted by government employees in 1868)
• a living wage for all workers
• union membership

Question 39

How did the governemnt and AFL colbration led to a riase in union memebership

Answer 39

As a result, union membership skyrocketed during the war, from 2.6 million members in 1916 to 4.1 million in 1919.

Question 40

American workers received better working conditions and wages as a result of the country’s participation in the war. However, business owners and corporations, rather than workers, were the ones who enjoyed prosperity. Why is that?

Answer 40

Even though wages increased, prices in the United States increased an average of 15–20 percent annually between 1917 and 1920. Individual purchasing power declined during the war due to the substantially higher cost of living. Business profits, in contrast, increased by nearly a third during the war.

Question 41

The financial strains of the war affected many American women. Wage-earning men were serving overseas, the cost of living was increasing at home, and there was a higher demand for labor. This led women to do

Answer 41

More than one million women entered the workforce for the first time, while more than eight million working women found higher paying jobs, often in industry.

Question 42

Due to wartime labor demands, African American men who moved north often found work in

Answer 42

the steel, mining, shipbuilding, and automotive industries, among others.

Question 43

Additionally, African American women sought new types of work beyond traditionally domestic roles. What did they do

Answer 43

. During the war, African American women joined service organizations such as the YWCA and the Red Cross to meet the needs of soldiers.

Question 44

Why had African Americans moved to northern cities during the Great Migration?

Answer 44

African Americans moved north in search of better-paying jobs, more equality, and better education.

Question 45

What led to an opening for minorities such as women and African Americans to work in jobs that were previously unavailable to them?

Answer 45

High numbers of men enlisting in the military during the war meant that many jobs became available.

Question 46

Why were these social and economic changes for minorities and African Americans temporary?

Answer 46

After the war, the veterans came home and wanted their old jobs back. Those who kept working found themselves in segregated areas with lower pay.

Question 47

What was the Espionage Act of 1917

Answer 47

The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited any efforts to aid to the enemy by spying, or espionage, and forbade any attempts to interfere with the U.S. military’s wartime actions.

Question 48

What was the Sedition Act of 1918

Answer 48

The Sedition Act of 1918, an extension of the Espionage Act, prohibited any public criticism against the federal government and its policies, the U.S. Constitution, the military uniform, or the American flag.

Question 49

What were the punishments of disobying the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918

Answer 49

Thousands of people were found guilty of violating these acts. The government imposed penalties that included fines and/or imprisonment for up to 20 years. Immigrants who violated the acts often faced deportation.

Question 50

How did people repsond to the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918

Answer 50

More than 180,000 communities created local “councils of defense,” which encouraged members to report any antiwar comments to local authorities. This led some Americans to spy on neighbors, teachers, local newspapers, and other individuals

Question 51

What was the American Protecitve LEague and what does it have to do with the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918,

Answer 51

In addition, a larger national organization—the American Protective League—received support from the Department of Justice to investigate suspected traitors. Some members of the American Protective League were known to engage in intimidation, harassment, surveillance, and even violence.

Question 52

What did Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer argue about the constitutionality of the draft?

Answer 52

They argued that the draft was unconstitutional since it violated the Thirteenth Amendment.

Question 53

What was the outcome of Schenck v. United States?

Answer 53

The outcome of Schenck v. United States was that the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s conviction of Schenck and Baer. The court’s decision said that the draft was constitutional, and that during wartime, an individual’s freedom of speech can be limited if it presents a reasonable threat to the nation’s interests.