Heimler's History: World War I Homefront

Overview

• Focus on the U.S. homefront during World War I
• Understanding total war: mobilization of economic, industrial, and social resources

Mobilization Efforts

• U.S. entry into WWI led to strong mobilization efforts
• President Wilson established wartime agencies:
  • War Industries Board: Coordinated labor and management for production of war materials
  • Food Administration: Ensured food production for troops and civilians
• Migration from rural areas to urban centers for work due to industrial demands

Civil Liberties and Opposition

• Opposition to U.S. involvement in European war arose
• Federal government restricted civil liberties:
  • Espionage Act (1917) & Sedition Act (1918): Criminalized opposition and disloyalty to the war
  • Schenck v. United States: Supreme Court case upholding restrictions, citing "clear and present danger"
• Suppression of Spanish Flu reports to maintain war morale

The Red Scare

• Post-war anti-communist sentiment due to Russian Revolution's success
• Led to xenophobia and immigration restrictions
• Palmer Raids: Mass arrests of radicals and labor leaders, over 6,000 arrests and 500 deportations

Immigration and Nativism

• Immigration peaked before WWI; backlash of nativism occurred
• Concerns over non-Protestant immigrants:
  • Catholic (Poles, Italians), Jewish (Eastern Europeans)
• Emergency Quota Act (1921) & National Origins Act (1924): Set low immigrant quotas

Migration within the U.S.

• Great Migration: Black southerners moved to northern industrial centers
  • Escape from Jim Crow laws and disenfranchisement
  • Industrial job opportunities as immigrant labor decreased
  • Continued discrimination in the North, though less legally entrenched

Race Riots

• At least 25 riots in 1919
• Tulsa Massacre (1921): Sparked by racial tensions, destruction of black neighborhoods, 300 deaths

Conclusion

• Life on the homefront during WWI was rough, marked by civil liberty restrictions, racial tensions, and economic shifts

• Emphasis on studying for AP U.S. History exams
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