World War I and its influence on the post-war life of the USA

In the beginning of World War I, President of the United States Woodrow Wilson tried to follow the policy of avoiding involvement in some dangerous conflicts in Europe. He hoped the United States would not play the role of mediator to help bring peace to Europe. So, America was not going to enter this war, and kept neutrality.

 Only something extraordinary could make the United States interfere this this bloody war. And soon the reason occurred. The passenger steam – ship “Lusitania” was torpedoed by the German submarine on May 7,1915. This tragic event took the lives of 1.198 people, including 128 American citizens.

Americans were outraged, and President Wilson lodged a strong protest with the German government. Although the Lusitania was in fact carrying arms and explosives to England, Germany apologized, offered to pay damages, and promised not to sink passenger vessels in future.

After the sinking of the Lusitania, Wilson realized that the United States could not remain neutral much longer. At his urging in 1916 Congress passed a series of measures designed to prepare the United States to defend itself from the Central Powers.

The National Defense Act doubled the size of the army, and the Naval Appropriations Bill provided money to build warships. The Council of National Defense was formed to direct and control the supply of the nation’s industries and natural resources.

To raise a large army on short notice, Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917. The “draft” required man between ages of 21 and 30(later between 18 and 45) to register for military. By war’s end 4 million men were in army, half of whom served overseas.

 From the very beginning of the American military action in Europe it was clear that it was going to be costly. To help finance this unexpected expense, in October 1917 Congress passed the War Revenue Act, increasing income taxes.

The government also raised money by selling liberty bonds. Politicians and movie stars gave speeches urging people to buy bonds. Some 21 million Americans bought bonds – in effect, loaning money to the government. Through these measures, and by increasing taxes on corporations and on goods such as alcohol and tobacco, the government raised $10.8 billion.

The war also placed extraordinary demands on American industry. Almost overnight, factories began producing great quantities of tanks, airplanes, guns, and other war materials. The dramatic increase in production would not have been possible without the dedication of factory workers. Samuel Gompers and other labor leaders pledged their support, and union members did the rest. During the war, union membership rose from 2.74 million in 1916 to 4.05 million in 1919.

More than 1 million women entered the work force, often taking the jobs of men who had joined the military. They drove trucks, delivered mail, and made ammunition.

The war also brought many more African Americans into work force. Northern industries sent agents to the South, looking for workers. By 1917, responding to promises of good salaries and fair treatment, as many as half a million black workers had moved north to take factory jobs.

Although most Americans threw themselves into the war effort, a few held back. Some people firmly believed that the nation should stay out of Europe’s wars. Others were pacifists. There were about 20.000 pacifists to be drafted.

Afraid that the opposition would hurt the war effort, Congress passed the Espionage Act in June 1917. The act set strict penalties for anyone who interfered with recruiting soldiers or made statements that might hinder the war effort.

The Sedition Act of May 16, 1918, made it illegal to utter disloyal statements about the Constitution, the government, the flag or the armed forces. In 1919 the Supreme Court ruled that the government had the right to suspend free speech during wartime.

Labor unrest

During the war, American industry had focused on producing weapons and supplies. With the war over pent – up demands for goods, and for better wages and working hours were unleashed.

However, factories that had been producing war materials could not immediately change to making clothing, shoes, cars, and other goods that a peacetime population demanded. Prices for these scarce products rose. Meanwhile, returning soldiers, looking for places to live, drove up the cost of housing. By 1920 prices were twice as high as in 1914.

As rents and prices rose, however workers’ wages remained low. During the war American workers had not gone on strike so as not to hurt the war effort. It was now time, they believed, to push for higher wages and workdays shorter than 12 hours.

In 1919 union leaders across the nation led workers out on strike. While early strikes succeeded, workers faced growing opposition as the year wore on.

When shipyard workers in Seattle walked off their jobs, other unions in the city showed support by striking, too. Seattle’s mayor turned the public against the strikers claiming their leaders they are radical and extremists.

In Pennsylvania and the Midwest, striking steelworkers called for an end to 12 – hour workdays and 7-day workweeks. Steel mill owners ignored their demands. They also accused the strikers of being linked with radicals. Whether the accusations were true or not, political leaders and newspapers turned against the workers and sided with business leaders.

After four months the striking steelworkers gave up. This failure dealt a crushing blow to the union movement.

Racial unrest

The tense mood of the nation was seen in racial violence as well. In 1919 white mobs terrorized black communities from Texas to Washington D.C. Black tenant farmers in Arkansas were attacked for attempting to form a union. In Chicago a white mob stoned to death a black swimmer who had strayed into a “white section” of a beach on Lake Michigan. In the violence which followed, 38 people were killed.

Faced with such attacks, and thousands of lynchings since 1890, African Americans launched an anti-lynching campaign. In this campaign, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called on Congress to make lynching a federal crime.  The Senate, however, refused.

Despite its failure in Congress the National Association continued to bring attention to the issue of lynchings. It won several victories in the 1920s, as when a court struck down an Oklahoma law denying blacks the right to vote.

Chapter 4

The Great Depression