The USA During the War (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
The USA During the War
After declaring war in April 1917, the United States underwent substantial transformation to support the war effort. President Wilson oversaw an effective mobilisation programme that prepared the nation for large-scale military production and united Americans behind the conflict. The war accelerated economic, social and political changes within American society, affecting workers, women, African Americans and the broader population.
The war economy
The United States did not enter the First World War prepared for the massive industrial effort required. The nation's war production capacity remained limited compared to what would later be achieved during the Second World War. The Hog Island Shipyard in Philadelphia, which employed 3,400 workers, failed to complete its first vessel before the war ended. Of the 8.8 million artillery rounds fired by US troops in combat, fewer than 8,000 had been manufactured domestically. Nevertheless, the economy adapted to meet wartime demands.
Despite limited domestic production of weapons and equipment, the American economy successfully mobilised to support the war effort through financial and organisational reforms, demonstrating the nation's capacity for rapid economic transformation.
Financing the war
The war cost the United States $33.5 billion, in addition to the $7 billion lent to the Allies, which was expected to be repaid after the conflict ended. The government raised approximately two-thirds of this expenditure through loans rather than immediate taxation.
War bonds are debt securities issued by governments to finance military operations and other expenditure during wartime. Between April 1917 when the USA joined the war and April 1919, six months after it ended, five separate war bond issues were launched. These bonds, marketed as Liberty Loans and Victory Loans, proved highly successful. The government deployed movie stars including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr to encourage public purchases. The Army Signal Corps organised aerial displays during bond drives in specific locations. For the third loan issue in April 1918, the country was covered with bills and posters—9 million posters and 5 million window stickers were printed and distributed.
The government also collected $10.5 billion through direct taxation. It implemented a steeply graded income tax with a top rate of 75 per cent, alongside a 25 per cent inheritance tax introduced during this period.
Bond Drive Success Factors:
The remarkable success of the war bond campaigns relied on a sophisticated propaganda effort combining celebrity endorsements, visual saturation, and appeals to patriotism. This approach would later influence government fundraising methods in subsequent conflicts.
War Industries Board
Wilson established the War Industries Board in July 1917 to coordinate the tasks of finance and supplies. The Board wielded power to direct scarce resources, standardise production and fix prices, though it still permitted firms to generate substantial profits. US Steel, for example, earned half a billion dollars over two years. This led to accusations of war profiteering—making excess profits during wartime by charging artificially high prices—which became a source of controversy in the post-war years.
War Profiteering Controversy
The substantial profits earned by corporations like US Steel during the war created significant public resentment and political controversy in the post-war period. This highlighted the tension between rapid industrial mobilisation and fair economic practices during wartime.
Railroads
The railroads were reorganised as a single centralised system to coordinate and simplify this essential transport infrastructure for moving goods and troops during wartime. As Director-General of the Railroads, William G. McAdoo pooled all railway equipment, standardised accounting practices, raised wages for employees and increased passenger rates. This centralisation improved efficiency for war logistics.
US contribution to the fighting
American intervention in the First World War fundamentally altered the conflict's trajectory. It took considerable time before American forces could make a decisive military contribution in Europe. The process of training, equipping and transporting the army was time-consuming. However, from January 1918 onwards, American troops began arriving at a rate of 250,000 per month. Their presence became one of the main reasons that General Ludendorff, the German commander on the Western Front, organised one last desperate offensive in March 1918 in an effort to win the war before the Americans could make a decisive contribution. This offensive was eventually blocked in July 1918, partly as a result of fresh American reinforcements. American troops also performed an important role in the Allied counter-offensive against Germany which began in July 1918 and eventually led the Germans to agree to an armistice on 11 November 1918.
The Decisive American Impact
The rapid deployment of American troops at 250,000 per month from January 1918 was a game-changer in the war. Germany's desperate March 1918 offensive was specifically designed to achieve victory before American forces could tip the balance—a clear recognition of the transformative impact of US intervention.
Agriculture
Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover as his Food Administrator following entry into the war in 1917. Hoover had previously coordinated relief efforts in Europe for refugees during the early stages of the war. The Lever Food and Fuel Control Act of 1917 granted him the power 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 the need for rationing—campaigns such as 'Wheatless Mondays' and 'Meatless Thursdays'
Chicago residents proved so successful in using leftovers that the amount of garbage in the city fell from 12,862 to 8,386 tons per month.
Food production increased from 12.3 million to 18.6 million tons per year and farmers' incomes grew by 30 per cent between 1915 and 1918. These measures ensured adequate food supplies for both the domestic population and military forces abroad.
Voluntary Conservation in Action: Chicago's Food Waste Reduction
Chicago's experience demonstrates the effectiveness of Hoover's voluntary approach:
- Before the campaign: 12,862 tons of garbage per month
- After the campaign: 8,386 tons of garbage per month
- Reduction: Approximately 35% decrease in food waste
This success showed that voluntary measures, supported by patriotic appeals and public campaigns, could achieve significant results without the need for mandatory rationing.
Workers
Various government agencies were established to facilitate industrial relations and ensure effective working arrangements during the wartime economy.
The National War Labor Board was established in April 1918 to settle industrial disputes. It considered over 1,200 cases until its closure in May 1919. The War Labor Policies Board set wages and standards of employment. Wages doubled in the steel industry. As it consulted labour unions as well as employers, it gave greater influence and acceptance to unions, which had previously struggled to establish themselves in the USA. Union membership rose by 2.3 million during the war years, representing a substantial percentage increase.
The wartime labour boards represented a significant shift in government-labor relations. By consulting with both unions and employers, the government legitimised union participation in industrial decision-making, contributing to substantial growth in union membership and influence.
Although conditions for many workers improved during the war years, women and African Americans continued to experience problems within the workforce.
Women
Most women supported the war but they were not mobilised into war production to the extent they would be in the Second World War. While one million men were called up for military service, comparatively few women replaced them in munitions production and only 6,000 women were engaged in aircraft manufacture. Their role was primarily seen as encouraging people to buy war bonds and sending comforts to the troops abroad.
Labour unions did not support the hiring of women because they believed it depressed wages. Women did suffer unequal pay, poor promotion prospects and little job security. Those who had found jobs in wartime production or in replacing men recruited into the armed forces were generally discharged when the war ended.
Limited Opportunities for Women
Unlike the Second World War, women were not extensively mobilised into industrial production during WWI. The combination of union opposition, discriminatory practices, and traditional gender roles meant that women's wartime employment remained limited and temporary, with most losing their positions when the war ended.
African Americans
US involvement in the war brought further changes to the position of African Americans, though these changes were complex and contradictory.
Migration of African Americans
The period witnessed a flood of African American migrants from the South to northern cities such as Chicago—as many as 500,000 migrated between 1914 and 1918. The African American population of New York grew from 92,000 to 152,000 and that of Detroit from little more than 5,000 to 41,000 between 1914 and 1918.
However, while pay in industrial plants in the North was considerably better than in the cotton fields of the South, discrimination continued and there were serious riots against the African American presence in several northern cities such as East St. Louis in the summer of 1917 when 39 African Americans were killed.
The Great Migration
The wartime period marked the beginning of the Great Migration, as African Americans sought economic opportunities and escape from Southern segregation. However, their arrival in northern cities often sparked violent resistance, revealing that racism was not confined to the South.
Military service
The military remained strictly segregated, with most of the 200,000 African American troops confined to labour battalions—troops who worked in construction or loading or transportation of equipment rather than serving in combat. Nevertheless, their experience of less racist attitudes, particularly among the French, led to changes in their own perceptions and contributed to considerable racial tensions as they returned home.
Patriotism of African Americans
The patriotism of African Americans in wartime could not reasonably be questioned—over 360,000 volunteered for service, of whom 200,000 served abroad. The propaganda disseminated by men like Emmett Jay Scott was clearly skewed and easily seen through. However, by July 1918, most African American organisations were supporting the war. Their experiences abroad did help develop a sense of black consciousness and determination to improve conditions on their return.
The Paradox of African American Service
African Americans faced a profound contradiction: fighting for democracy abroad while denied basic rights at home. Over 360,000 volunteered to serve, demonstrating remarkable patriotism despite facing segregation, discrimination, and violence in their own country.
Suppression
Many American politicians feared African Americans would not support the US in a war 'to make the world safe for democracy' when they clearly faced prejudice and discrimination at home. Few African Americans in the South could vote; how could they be expected to fight for the rights of foreigners who could?
The government was prepared to give credence to rumours that German agents were attempting to subvert the loyalty of African Americans. It authorised the Bureau of Investigation of the Justice Department, and military intelligence, to track down pro-German feelings among African Americans. These investigations focused particularly on the Black Press—a term used to describe newspapers, magazines and periodicals aimed at a largely black audience.
The Black Press included about 200 weekly papers and six monthly magazines embracing a wide variety of styles and viewpoints from the conservative New York Age to the more radical Crisis and the Cleveland Gazette. The latter stressed that African-Americans were expected to be patriotic and support the war yet faced unfair and unequal treatment at home.
The periodical of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The Crisis, came in for particular attention, in part because it was the most influential radical African American publication—between 1917 and 1918 its circulation increased from 41,000 to 74,000. It was warned 'to publish only facts and constructive criticism' and avoid anything that might cause dissatisfaction among African-American troops.
Government Surveillance of the Black Press
The government's surveillance and intimidation of African American publications like The Crisis revealed deep anxieties about black loyalty and the potential for demands for equal rights. This suppression attempted to silence legitimate criticism of racial injustice while African Americans were being asked to fight for democracy abroad.
A 1919 poem by W. E. Du Bois captured the mood of returning African American soldiers:
We return
We return from fighting
We return fighting.
This determination to fight for rights at home after fighting abroad reflected the changing consciousness among African Americans during and after the war.
| Area of change | Nature of change | Extent of change |
|---|---|---|
| War economy | Limited war production capacity; successful bond drives; taxation increased; War Industries Board coordinated resources but allowed profiteering | Some change: economy mobilised but not to Second World War levels; new taxes and boards created |
| Workers | Labor boards improved conditions; wages doubled in steel; union membership rose by 2.3 million; women and African Americans faced continued discrimination | Substantial change for white male workers; little change for women and African Americans |
| Agriculture | Food Administrator Hoover set prices, created voluntary campaigns; production rose from 12.3m to 18.6m tons; farmers' incomes grew 30% | Substantial change in production and farmers' prosperity |
| African Americans | 500,000 migrated north; 200,000 served abroad; experienced less racism in Europe; faced riots at home; Black Press surveilled; developed greater consciousness | Some change: migration and military service significant but discrimination persisted; laid groundwork for future activism |
Key Points to Remember:
- The USA mobilised effectively for war through agencies like the War Industries Board and by centralising railroads, though war production remained limited compared to the Second World War.
- Five war bond issues between April 1917 and April 1919 successfully raised two-thirds of the $33.5 billion war cost, supported by celebrity endorsements and massive propaganda campaigns.
- American troops arrived at 250,000 per month from January 1918, playing a decisive role in blocking Germany's March 1918 offensive and contributing to the Allied counter-offensive that ended the war.
- Workers, particularly white men, benefited from wartime conditions with doubled wages and union membership increasing by 2.3 million, but women and African Americans faced continued discrimination and limited opportunities.
- 500,000 African Americans migrated north and 200,000 served in segregated military units; their wartime experiences abroad, especially less racist treatment by the French, developed a new consciousness and determination to fight for equality at home.