Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 Home Economy

• Was the USA as prepared for massive war production during WW1?

  How many employers did Hog Island Shipyard employ during the First World War?

  What was the outcome of employing this number of people?

• How many rounds of artillery did the US troops fire during the first world war?

  Out of the total number of rounds of artillery fired by US troops, how much was actually manufactured in the US?

America was not prepared for massive war production at the outbreak of WW1.

Hog Island Shipyard employed 3,400 workers during WW1 yet failed to complete its first vessel before the war had ended.

Of the 8.8 million rounds of artillery fired by US troops, fewer than 8000 had been manufactured in the US.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

Paying for WW1

• In total, how much did WW1 cost the USA?

• How much did the USA lend to the Allies during WW1?

• How many war bonds were issued by the USA between 1917 and 1919?

• What is a war bond?

• How much was the government able to raise in taxes during WW1?

• How did the government manage to raise this much through taxes? (What did it do to income tax and inheritance tax?)

In total, WW1 cost the USA $33.5 billion in addition to the $7 billion lent to the Allies.

Two-thirds of this money was raised by Liberty and Victory loans whose drives were very successful.

Liberty and Victory loans were the final instalments of a series of war bonds issued by America at the end of WW1. War bonds were debts issues to the public by the US government in order to pay for the war.

Between 1917 and 1919, the US issued 5 war bonds.

The government also raised $10.5 billion in taxes by increasing the top rate of income tax to 75% and raising inheritance tax to 25%.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 War Industries Board

• When was the War Industries Board created?

• What did the War Industries Board have the power to do?

• How much money did US steel make in two years?

• What were people accusing US steel of doing?

The War Industries Board was created by Wilson in July 1917.

The Board had the power to direct resources, standardise production and fix prices. However, the Board also still allowed firms to make large profits.

US Steel made half a billion dollars in two years. This led to accusations of war profiteering.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 Railroads

• How did the management of US railroads change during WW1?

• Who pooled all the railway equipment?

• What other interferences did this individual make to the railroad companies?

America’s railroads were run as a single centralised system for the first time during WW1.

William G. McAdoo pooled all railway equipment, standardised accounting practices, raised wages for employees and increased passenger rates.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 Agriculture

• Who did Wilson appoint as his Food Administrator after America’s entry into WW1?

• What did the Lever Food and Fuel Act do?

• How did Chicago residents benefit from the Lever Food and Fuel Act?

• How did farmers income change during WW1?

Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover as his Food Administrator after America’s entry into WW1 in 1917.

The Lever Food and Fuel Act allowed Hoover to:

• Set wheat prices at $2.20 per bushel to encourage production

• Establish a government corporation to buy US and Cuban sugar to maintain supplies

• Organise a voluntary campaign to eat sensibly (thereby avoiding rationing) - “Wheatless Mondays” and “Meatless Thursdays”

Chicago residents used their leftovers as a result of the Lever Food and Fuel Act. Garbage in the city fell from 12,862 to 8,386 tons per month.

Farmers income grew by 30% between 1915 and 1918.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 Workers

• When was the National War Labour Board set up?

• What did the National War Labour Board do?

• How effective was the National War Labour Board?

• What did the War Labour Policies Board do?

• How effective was the War Labour Policies Board?

The National War Labour Board:

• Set up in April 1918 to settle industrial disputes

• Considered over 1,200 cases until its demise in May 1919

The War Labour Policies Board

• Set wages and standards of employment

• Wages doubled in the steel industry

• Union membership rose by 2.3 million during the war years

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 Women

• How many women were engaged in aircraft manufacture?

• What happened to the women who were hired to help in the war effort once WW1 had ended?

• What hardships did women faced during WW1?

• What role were women mainly seen to have during WW1?

Only 6,000 women were engaged in aircraft manufacture.

Women suffered unequal pay, poor promotion prospects and little job security during WW1. After the war had ended, women were generally discharged.

A woman’s role during WW1 was mainly seen as encouraging people to buy war bonds and sending comfort to the troops.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 African American Positive Experiences

• Where did many African Americans move to during the First World War?

• Why did they move here?

• How many African Americans volunteered for service duirng WW1?

  Of this number, how many African Americans served abroad?

  How did African American’s experiences abroad help them to develop a sense of black consciousness?

A flood of African Americans moved from the Southern States to the Northern ones during the First World War.

Pay in the Northern industrial cities was better than in the cotton plants of the South. However, discrimination still remained.

Over 360,000 African Americans volunteered for service during WW1. Of this number, 200,000 served abroad.

Serving abroad made African Americans realise that the way they were treated back home was not acceptable. They saw America fighting WW1 for freedom and democracy yet realised that at home, they themselves did not have the vote.

The African American’s experiences abroad helped to develop a sense of black consciousness and determination to improve conditions on their return.

Topic 4, Lesson 8: What was the impact of WW1 on the US home front?

WW1 African American Negative Experiences

• How were African Americans treated in the military?

• How many African Americans served for America during WW1?

• Which battalion would they be forced into?

• What were the roles involved for African Americans within this battalion?

• What was the Black Press?

• What did the Black Press argue?

In the military, African Americans were segregated.

Most of the 200,000 African American troops served in the Labour Battalion.

In the Labour Battalion, African Americans were involved in construction and transport rather than combat.

The Black Press was newspapers written by and aimed at African Americans.

During the First World War, the Black Press stressed that African Americans were expected to be patriotic and support the war yet faced unfair and unequal treatment at home.