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US history
Course: US history > Unit 7
Lesson 2: The United States in World War I- The presidency of Woodrow Wilson
- Blockades, u-boats and sinking of the Lusitania
- Zimmermann Telegram
- United States enters World War I
- World War I: Homefront
- The United States in World War I
- Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
- Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles
- More detail on the Treaty of Versailles and Germany
- The League of Nations
- The Treaty of Versailles
- The First World War
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World War I: Homefront
World War I sparked major changes in the United States. The government used propaganda to rally support for the war and restricted freedom of speech. The war created better job opportunities for African Americans, leading to the Great Migration. However, the war also led to increased discrimination against immigrants and did not result in significant civil rights gains for African Americans.
Want to join the conversation?
- It was suggested that we read Wilson's speeches. Does anyone have any idea if these are on the Khan site? Any ideas how they might be found?(6 votes)
- One of his speeches where he addressed Congress to enter the war can be found on Khan Academy here
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/euro-hist/american-entry-world-war-i/a/wilsons-war-message-to-congress-april-2-1917
Other than that, I'm sure if you type Woodrow Wilson's speeches into a search engine, you will come up with several results. The library catalogue is another alternative.(7 votes)
- Atshe says that “Propaganda campaigns strongly linked patriotism with unquestioning support of the American Government and of Capitalism.” 0:49
I don’t understand why the propaganda campaigns were linked to supporting capitalism…?(5 votes)- The Soviet Union was on the rise. The American government supported the Karensky government, so opposed the doctrine of the "other" side in that revolution.(6 votes)
- Why did we back communism, then fought them like 1970's and the power war ( cold war )(4 votes)
- If the French treated the 369th regiment so well why didn't they just stay in France instead if they saw that serving in the war didn't help them?(4 votes)
- It's possible that the 369th regiment was composed of patriotic Americans who served their country and then returned home to the country they loved even if that country didn't treat them as if they were equal to their fellow citizens who were not people of color. It's also possible that concept may be hard to understand for those who have never had to experience that reality. I know I've been lucky to not have to deal with that reality, but it doesn't mean it's not reality. I guess we all have to decide if we want to open our eyes and recognize systemic inequalities or just keep the blinders on because things may be working out for some of us.
It may be easier for those who have the advantage to justify the status quo and casually and callously and smugly and selfishly dismiss current inequalities, but is it the right thing to do? And when some people say, "America, love it or leave it" are they really patriots who love their country or do they really just want to preserve their preferred status and not really care about the freedom and equality all of citizens but just want to be one of the winners? Are those people really "Americans" who share the belief that "all men are created equal" and that they "are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights" and "that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" or are they just people who care about themselves and have no real values other than self-interest?(6 votes)
- Why did Wilson literally go back on his word? was it so he could remain in office?(4 votes)
- Politics is the art of the possible. It was possible for the US to remain neutral for several years regarding the war in Europe, but eventually it became impossible. What Wilson did was probably the right thing, but he should have apologized first.(5 votes)
- what had the biggest impact upon the home front of the United States during WWI?(3 votes)
- Absence of a large number of males from regular social life to take part in military deployments to Europe and Mexico opened space for women to step up into previously restricted "male space" in the society.(3 votes)
- Why weren't the black soldiers were send home instead of having to join the victory celebration when the war ended.(3 votes)
- eveloped a series of propaganda campaigns that focused on the patriotic duty of all Americans to back the war effort in order to defeat the enemy, thus enabling the preservation of democracy at home and abroad.(2 votes)
- How did World war 1 impact the Home front?(1 vote)
- WW1 impacted the Homefront by opening new job possibilities and a chance of a better life for African Americans which led many of them to migrate to northern and midwestern cities. Also, the war allowed many African Americans and Immigrants to advance their social status by contributing to war efforts. Immigrants who displayed great acts of patriotism and support of the US in the war were ways they could show that they were American and be accepted by the American society.(3 votes)
- How did they get the freedom of speech?(1 vote)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] In 1917
the United States entered World War I on the side of the allies. After several years of
neutrality, Woodrow Wilson, who was serving as President
of the United States at the time, even campaigned
for reelection on the slogan: He kept us out of war. But, less than a month after
his second inauguration, Wilson went before Congress
to ask for a declaration of war against Germany. It wasn't easy to achieve
an abrupt about face from a country that was
determined not to become involved in the conflict to a country
that was wholly dedicated to the war effort. So the US Government swept
into action to convince everyone to support the war. The new committee on pubic
information churned out propaganda to convince people to war bonds and to keep soldiers well
supplied with food and weapons. Propaganda campaigns
strongly linked patriotism with unquestioning support of the American Government
and of Capitalism. Dissenters were not
just called Un-American, they were also in danger of
being arrested or deported under new laws that
restricted freedom of speech. For many immigrants and African Americans in this time period, the home
front during World War I, offered both new opportunities
and great dangers. One major opportunity
brought on by World War I was the prospect of better
jobs for African Americans. The war slowed down
immigration to about a tenth of what it had been previously. Since torpedo's made the Atlantic a dangerous place for ships. The sudden drop in immigrants
and the need to produce war material led to an explosion
in the number of factory jobs that were available to black workers. In the decade that surround World War I, half a million African
Americans left the South and headed for Northern
and Mid-Western cities in a mass exodus known as
the The Great Migration. Even though black factory
workers didn't enjoy anything, like the wages or privileges afforded to white workers, they still could make
more money in the North than they could as
share-croppers in the South. In the North they also had the
right to vote and were less likely to encounter racial
violence like lynching. But, racial violence,
segregation, discrimination, were still prominent fixtures
of black life in the North. Several of the most deadly
race riots in American History happened during this
period in Northern cities. Another opportunity
that World War I offered to immigrants and African
Americans was the ability to boost their status in
society by contributing to the war effort. Many immigrants saw displays of patriotism as a way to show they were truly American and had assimilated
through the melting pot. US Government appealed to
immigrants specifically to show their patriotism by enlisting, participating in parades,
or buying war bonds. Take a look at this propaganda poster showing immigrants passing
by the Statue of Liberty. It's written in Yiddish,
the language commonly spoken Eastern European Jews. And it says: You came
here seeking freedom, now you must help preserve it. And it instructs them not to waste food. So, conspicuous to displays of patriotism and other efforts to help the war, were a way that immigrants could show that they were America
and therefore deserve to be treated just the
same as other Americans. For similar reasons, African
American leaders like, W.E.B. DuBois encouraged
black men to enlist for military service hoping
that serving honorably in the war would help improve the status of African Americans. Just as the service of black service had done in the Civil War. This poster celebrated the accomplishments of the all black 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hell Fighters, who were the first
allied soldiers to engage the Germans in combat. The French Government awarded many of them the Croix de Guerre,
its medal for heroism. But, despite the hopes
of DuBois and others, the war time service of African Americans didn't result in any
significant Civil Right's gains during the war or when they returned home. Army units were segregated
and most soldiers were confined to menial duties. The Wilson Administration
didn't even allow black soldiers to participate
in victory parades at the end of the war. At home, failure to fully
embrace American patriotism was sharply punished. In 1917 and 1918 Congress
passed the Espionage Act which made it a crime to spy,
interfere with the draft, or make false statements
about the military. And the Sedition Act, which
criminalized statements critical of the government. These laws were especially
dangerous for immigrants who were more likely to
advocate for Socialism and for labor unions, which
were by their vary nature, a critique of the
American Economic System. Thousands of people were
arrested as a result of these laws for doing things
like publishing newspapers or handing out pamphlets. German immigrants faced
particular discriminations since they were suspected
of sympathizing with, or colluding with the enemy. The push for a unified
American public during the war also led to new immigration restrictions. In 1917 Congress required that immigrants pass a literacy test and after the war Congress
would pass a series of new laws establishing ethnic
quotas among immigrants which heavily discriminated
against the new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. These laws were partly motivated by fears that radicals sympathetic
to the Russian Revolution in which Communists took control of the Russian Government were part of a global conspiracy
to undermine capitalism. There were a series of
labor strikes in 1919 that seemed to confirm this suspicion leading to a crackdown on
labor unions and Socialist organizations known as the Red Scare. Red was the color of
the Russian Communists. Thousands more people were
arrested as possible radicals and many immigrants were deported. So, World War I and the United State's response to it at home caused
huge changes in the flow of people to and within the United States. The dangers of war slowed
what had been a tidal wave of immigrants from Europe
down to just a trickle. And the economic opportunities it brought in the form of war-time
factory work led hundreds of thousands of African
Americans to leave the South and head to Northern cities. But, restrictions on civil liberties and fear that immigrants might
be importing radical ideas from abroad led many to
define who was eligible to become an American
more narrowly than before. Setting the stage for a series of cultural and political battles in the 1920s about what kind of society
the United States should be in this new modern era.