Preparing to Fight

What do you need to get ready for war?

On the battlefield?

On the home front?

Preparing to Fight

• Homefront– The American Nation: 689 Propaganda, 693-696– US History 2: 112-114 and 116

• Battlefield– The American Nation: 688-689 trench, 698-702– US History 2: 114-115

Preparing to FightRead through your text and pull out 8 details for each side.

Completed by the end of class for points.

The Homefront• Propaganda – spreading of ideas

that help or hurt a cause• Selective Service / draft –

required 21-30 year old men to join the military

• Educating the troops• Food Administration• War Industries Board• Liberty Bonds• Women Workers• Anti-German Feelings• Great Migration• Espionage & Sedition Act

The Battlefield

• E & W Front• Trenches• AEF• Harlem Hell Fighters• Belleau Wood• Argonne Forest• Armistice• Flu• New Weapons

HomefrontThe Civilian side of a nation at war

Propaganda- the spreading of ideas that help or hurt a cause.

Raising an Army• On May 18, 1917 Congress passed the Selective

Service Act.– Required men from ages 21 to 30 to register for the military

draft• Draft- a law that requires people to serve in the

military

Educating the Troops

• The Army became a great educator• 25% illiterate – unable to read or write• Fueled a drive to reform public education• Raised teacher training standards• Increased school enrollment by 75%

Food Administration

• Job was to increase food production

• Feed civilians, American troops, and send food to allies.

• “Victory gardens”• “wheatless Mondays” /

“meatless” Tuesdays

Managing Industry

• In the beginning war supplies were short

• Military competed with industry for materials

• War Industries Board – told factories what they had to produce and set prices– From cars to tanks

• War Labor Board – set working hours, wages, prevented strikes.

Liberty Bonds• Liberty Bonds- Americans would buy the bonds

and temporarily lend $ to the govt.

• Raised $21 billion – • what paid for the war

• 75,000 speakers rallied support

Women Workers• As men joined military – women took there jobs• Earned less than the men they replaced• Helped change the view of “women’s work”• Thousands lost jobs when the men returned.

Anti-German Feelings

• Suspicion / loyalty questioned.

• Mobs attacked them • Families changed their

names• Schools stopped teaching

German• German sounding foods

changed

Great Migration

• Migration within the nation increased• Draft took workers to war newcomers came to the

city to work in the factories• ½ million African Americans & thousands of Mexican

Americans moved from South to Northern cities.• Migration continued after the war ended.• Competition led to race riots

People Against the War

• Pacifists- people who refuse to fight because they feel it is evil.

• Socialists- felt people as a whole should own property and share profits from businesses.– Felt that war only benefitted big business and factories.

In ResponseCongress passed laws making it a crime to criticize the government - Espionage & Sedition Acts

1,600+ arrestedFreedom of speech violated? – most felt laws were necessary in wartime.