Video transcript
- [Instructor] In 1917the United States entered World War I on the side of the allies. After several years ofneutrality, Woodrow Wilson, who was serving as Presidentof the United States at the time, even campaignedfor reelection on the slogan: He kept us out of war. But, less than a month afterhis second inauguration, Wilson went before Congressto ask for a declaration of war against Germany. It wasn't easy to achievean abrupt about face from a country that wasdetermined not to become involved in the conflict to a countrythat was wholly dedicated to the war effort. So the US Government sweptinto action to convince everyone to support the war. The new committee on pubicinformation churned out propaganda to convince people to war bonds and to keep soldiers wellsupplied with food and weapons. Propaganda campaignsstrongly linked patriotism with unquestioning support of the American Governmentand of Capitalism. Dissenters were notjust called Un-American, they were also in danger ofbeing arrested or deported under new laws thatrestricted freedom of speech. For many immigrants and African Americans in this time period, the homefront during World War I, offered both new opportunitiesand great dangers. One major opportunitybrought on by World War I was the prospect of betterjobs for African Americans. The war slowed downimmigration to about a tenth of what it had been previously. Since torpedo's made the Atlantic a dangerous place for ships. The sudden drop in immigrantsand the need to produce war material led to an explosionin the number of factory jobs that were available to black workers. In the decade that surround World War I, half a million AfricanAmericans left the South and headed for Northernand Mid-Western cities in a mass exodus known asthe The Great Migration. Even though black factoryworkers didn't enjoy anything, like the wages or privileges afforded to white workers, they still could makemore money in the North than they could asshare-croppers in the South. In the North they also had theright to vote and were less likely to encounter racialviolence like lynching. But, racial violence,segregation, discrimination, were still prominent fixturesof black life in the North. Several of the most deadlyrace riots in American History happened during thisperiod in Northern cities. Another opportunitythat World War I offered to immigrants and AfricanAmericans was the ability to boost their status insociety by contributing to the war effort. Many immigrants saw displays of patriotism as a way to show they were truly American and had assimilatedthrough the melting pot. US Government appealed toimmigrants specifically to show their patriotism by enlisting, participating in parades,or buying war bonds. Take a look at this propaganda poster showing immigrants passingby the Statue of Liberty. It's written in Yiddish,the language commonly spoken Eastern European Jews. And it says: You camehere seeking freedom, now you must help preserve it. And it instructs them not to waste food. So, conspicuous to displays of patriotism and other efforts to help the war, were a way that immigrants could show that they were Americaand therefore deserve to be treated just thesame as other Americans. For similar reasons, AfricanAmerican leaders like, W.E.B. DuBois encouragedblack men to enlist for military service hopingthat serving honorably in the war would help improve the status of African Americans. Just as the service of black service had done in the Civil War. This poster celebrated the accomplishments of the all black 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hell Fighters, who were the firstallied soldiers to engage the Germans in combat. The French Government awarded many of them the Croix de Guerre,its medal for heroism. But, despite the hopesof DuBois and others, the war time service of African Americans didn't result in anysignificant Civil Right's gains during the war or when they returned home. Army units were segregatedand most soldiers were confined to menial duties. The Wilson Administrationdidn't even allow black soldiers to participatein victory parades at the end of the war. At home, failure to fullyembrace American patriotism was sharply punished. In 1917 and 1918 Congresspassed the Espionage Act which made it a crime to spy,interfere with the draft, or make false statementsabout the military. And the Sedition Act, whichcriminalized statements critical of the government. These laws were especiallydangerous for immigrants who were more likely toadvocate for Socialism and for labor unions, whichwere by their vary nature, a critique of theAmerican Economic System. Thousands of people werearrested as a result of these laws for doing thingslike publishing newspapers or handing out pamphlets. German immigrants facedparticular discriminations since they were suspectedof sympathizing with, or colluding with the enemy. The push for a unifiedAmerican public during the war also led to new immigration restrictions. In 1917 Congress required that immigrants pass a literacy test and after the war Congresswould pass a series of new laws establishing ethnicquotas among immigrants which heavily discriminatedagainst the new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. These laws were partly motivated by fears that radicals sympatheticto the Russian Revolution in which Communists took control of the Russian Government were part of a global conspiracyto undermine capitalism. There were a series oflabor strikes in 1919 that seemed to confirm this suspicion leading to a crackdown onlabor unions and Socialist organizations known as the Red Scare. Red was the color ofthe Russian Communists. Thousands more people werearrested as possible radicals and many immigrants were deported. So, World War I and the United State's response to it at home causedhuge changes in the flow of people to and within the United States. The dangers of war slowedwhat had been a tidal wave of immigrants from Europedown to just a trickle. And the economic opportunities it brought in the form of war-timefactory work led hundreds of thousands of AfricanAmericans to leave the South and head to Northern cities. But, restrictions on civil liberties and fear that immigrants mightbe importing radical ideas from abroad led many todefine who was eligible to become an Americanmore narrowly than before. Setting the stage for a series of cultural and political battles in the 1920s about what kind of societythe United States should be in this new modern era.
