Civil Liberties World Wars
WWI
Total war: when a country mobilizes must of its economic, industrial, and social resources to win.
President wilson established wartime agencies that focused on progressive efficiency
War Industries Board: coordinated labor and management to keep factories producing war related materials.
Food administration: made sure enough food was being produced for soldiers and people at home.
Federal government made efforts to silent dissenters during the war
Espionage act of 1917 and Sedition act of 1918 basically made it a crime to oppose the war or interfere with the draft or say anything disloyal.
Schenck vs the United States.
Charles Schenk and a few friends from socialist party wrote pamphlets telling young man to resist the draft. Arrested for violating espionage act. Supreme court upheld restriction of civil liberties, argued that freedom of speech was not absolute. "when speech constitutes a clear and present danger than it is constitutional for it to be silenced".
Federal government suppressed severity of reports about Spanish Flu. Forbid publications that revealed the true death toll and the dangers of the illness. Feared that information about the flu would damage morale.
Government Expansion During War
Draft (Selective Service Act, 1917): 24 million men registered.
Economy controlled by government:
War Industries Board: Managed production.
Railroad Administration: Controlled transportation.
Fuel Agency: Rationed coal and oil.
Labor laws improved: Minimum wage, 8-hour workday, union rights.
Taxes increased: Wealthy paid up to 60% of their income.
Propaganda & Public Opinion
Committee on Public Information (CPI):
Created to promote war support (led by George Creel).
Used posters, movies, and speeches (Four Minute Men).
Framed war as a fight for democracy and freedom.
Limiting Free Speech
Espionage Act (1917): Punished spying, interfering with the draft.
Sedition Act (1918): Made criticizing the war illegal.
Eugene Debs (Socialist leader) jailed for an anti-war speech.
Schenck v. U.S. (1919): Supreme Court ruled that speech can be restricted if it presents a “clear and present danger” (yelling fire in a crowded theater).
Anti-Immigrant & Surveillance Efforts
American Protective League (APL):
Harassed suspected radicals.
Led “slacker raids” to find draft dodgers.
Bisbee Deportation (1917): 1,200 striking miners were kidnapped and abandoned in the desert.
Anti-German Hysteria:
Schools forced American culture on immigrants.
July 4th renamed “Loyalty Day.”
Hamburgers became “Liberty Sandwiches.”
IQ tests used to discriminate against immigrants.
The American Protective League (a private group) worked with the government to harass "slackers" (draft dodgers) and radicals.
Palmer Raids (1919-1920), led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and J. Edgar Hoover, arrested thousands of suspected radicals without warrants, often holding them without charge.
WWII
WWII also a total war.
Private industries were commandeered for wartime production during the war.
President roosevelt created the War production board and the office of war mobilization.
These new organizations organized automobile factories to produce plans and tanks. Other factories produced lots of different war materials.
Lack of laborers in factories so federal government made an effort to get woman into the workforce.
Selective service act of 1940: first peacetime military draft in United States history.
Japanese relocation began in 1942. large population of japenese americans on the west coast. Associated with japanese who were wartime enemies. Suspected of being spies for the japanese.
Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066: authorized federal government to relocate over 100,000 japanese americans to internment camps. Government also confiscated most of their personal property.
Fred Korematsu refused to comply with federal government. He was arrested and his case made it all the way to the Supreme Court
Korematsu vs The United States in 1944: American civil liberties union represented Korematsu. Argued that the forced removal was an unconstitutional violation of the fifth amendment which protects americans from answering for crimes without the inditement of a grand jury.
Supreme Court ruled that the relocation was constitutional as it was a "martial necessity arising from the danger of espionage and sabotage"
Established agencies such as the war production board, war manpower commission, and the office of price administration, which took direct control over the economy. These agencies rationed food and supplies, controlled production quotas, and decided what different industries could produce.
Imposed wage, rent, and price controls to prevent inflation and maintain stability. This helped to transform the economy into a wartime production machine.
Rosie the Riveter was a symbol of women stepping up to work in factories during the war. By 1944, women made up a third of the civilian workforce. However, when the war ended, they were pushed out of those jobs and expected to go back to traditional roles. For many working class women, this meant taking lower paying jobs in domestic work or food service.