7.6 World War I: The Home Front

World War I was a total war, meaning countries mobilized economic, industrial, and social resources to win.
Resources were leveraged both in fighting the war and on the home front.

The US mobilized rapidly after entering the war.
President Wilson established wartime agencies with progressive efficiency (Taylorism).
- War Industries Board: Coordinated labor and management to produce war materials (armaments, uniforms, etc.).
- Food Administration: Ensured sufficient food production for troops and civilians.
American industry expanded, leading to migration from rural areas to urban industrial centers for work.

Opposition to the war led the federal government to restrict civil liberties and suppress dissent.
Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918:
- Made it a crime to oppose the war, interfere with the draft, or speak disloyally about the war effort.
Schenck v. United States:
- Charles Schenck (Socialist Party) was arrested for distributing pamphlets urging resistance to the draft.
- The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, arguing that freedom of speech is not absolute.
- Established the "clear and present danger" standard: speech can be restricted if it poses an immediate threat.
The federal government suppressed reports about the Spanish Flu to maintain morale, even as 675,000 Americans died.

Post-war anti-communist sentiment grew due to fears of communist infiltration after the Russian Revolution (1919).
Xenophobia increased, leading to further immigration restrictions.
Palmer Raids:
- Attorney General Mitchell Palmer tasked J. Edgar Hoover to gather information on suspected radicals.
- Mass arrests of socialists, radicals, labor union leaders, and others occurred.
- Over 6,000 arrests were made, and over 500 were deported.

Nativism (opposition to immigration) increased due to a peak in European immigration before World War I.
Nativists were incensed that immigrants were not protestant.
Immigration quotas were established:
- Emergency Quota Act of 1921.
- National Origins Act of 1924.
- These acts set low quotas for immigrants, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia.

The Great Migration: A significant movement of the southern black population to urban industrial centers in the North.
Reasons for migration:
- Escape the oppressive atmosphere of southern society and Jim Crow laws.
  - Separate schools and facilities.
  - Disenfranchisement through poll taxes and literacy tests.
- Job opportunities in booming northern industries, which faced labor shortages due to immigration quotas.
Black migrants still faced discrimination in the North, although it was not as entrenched in legal structures.
Race riots occurred, including the Tulsa Race Massacre (1921):
- The Tulsa Race Massacre began after a white woman claimed a black shoeshine assaulted her.
- A white mob attacked black neighborhoods, resulting in mass destruction of property.
- Over 10,000 were left homeless, and 300 black people were killed.