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WW1: Controversial Decisions on the U.S. Home Front

WW1: Controversial Decisions on the U.S. Home Front

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Name Princess Sabroso WW1: Controversial Decisions on the U.S. Home Front Background/Directions: Pressure for America to join World War 1 increased each year the war dragged on. When America finally declared war in 1917, they faced 2 major problems. First, many Americans disagreed with the decision and did not want to get involved. Many strikes and protests erupted across the nation against sending young American boys to die in trenches to fix Europe's mess. Second, America's military and economy was not ready for such a massive war. The government needed millions of dollars to help organize, feed, and supply a new army. While America had many factories and jobs, there were not enough making modern guns, tanks, airplanes. To deal with these 2 problems, the U.S. government took several steps that were controversial. Some Americans supported the decisions because they helped with the war effort. Other Americans argued they violated the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Read about each example and brainstorm reasons to support the government's decision, and reasons to oppose it. The War Industries Board: In 1917, the War Industries Board was created. The War Industries Board took over the production and distribution of goods and resources needed for the war effort. For example, items such as oil, metals, food, and rubber were very valuable to the army. The War Industries Board was given the power to set prices on these items (and hundreds of others) so that no one could charge unfairly high prices for materials needed to help our soldiers win the war. This helped the government obtain all of the supplies they needed at the lowest cost possible, but meant that many American businesses were forced to sell their goods for lower prices than they wanted to. Reason(s) to Support the Decision Reason(s) to Oppose the Decision The Sale of “Liberty Bonds": The U.S. government needed lots of money to finance the massive new war effort. In order to raise some of this money, they sold “Liberty Bonds" to the American public. A Liberty Bond was simply a piece of paper that promised that the U.S. government would pay back the owner over time. The sale of Liberty Bonds brought in billions of dollars for the war. However, the bonds also pushed the government into debt, for they would eventually have to pay back the people. Reason(s) to Support the Decision Reason(s) to Oppose the Decision
Transcribed Image Text:Name Princess Sabroso WW1: Controversial Decisions on the U.S. Home Front Background/Directions: Pressure for America to join World War 1 increased each year the war dragged on. When America finally declared war in 1917, they faced 2 major problems. First, many Americans disagreed with the decision and did not want to get involved. Many strikes and protests erupted across the nation against sending young American boys to die in trenches to fix Europe's mess. Second, America's military and economy was not ready for such a massive war. The government needed millions of dollars to help organize, feed, and supply a new army. While America had many factories and jobs, there were not enough making modern guns, tanks, airplanes. To deal with these 2 problems, the U.S. government took several steps that were controversial. Some Americans supported the decisions because they helped with the war effort. Other Americans argued they violated the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Read about each example and brainstorm reasons to support the government's decision, and reasons to oppose it. The War Industries Board: In 1917, the War Industries Board was created. The War Industries Board took over the production and distribution of goods and resources needed for the war effort. For example, items such as oil, metals, food, and rubber were very valuable to the army. The War Industries Board was given the power to set prices on these items (and hundreds of others) so that no one could charge unfairly high prices for materials needed to help our soldiers win the war. This helped the government obtain all of the supplies they needed at the lowest cost possible, but meant that many American businesses were forced to sell their goods for lower prices than they wanted to. Reason(s) to Support the Decision Reason(s) to Oppose the Decision The Sale of “Liberty Bonds": The U.S. government needed lots of money to finance the massive new war effort. In order to raise some of this money, they sold “Liberty Bonds" to the American public. A Liberty Bond was simply a piece of paper that promised that the U.S. government would pay back the owner over time. The sale of Liberty Bonds brought in billions of dollars for the war. However, the bonds also pushed the government into debt, for they would eventually have to pay back the people. Reason(s) to Support the Decision Reason(s) to Oppose the Decision
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The US entry into WWI produced massive changes on the domestic front. The country's economy and the military required strong backing. The government took some actions to prepare itself for such a massive war. 

 

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