Olivia McQueen
World War I and its effects on American Society
World War I had a huge effect on many civilians, some of the most affected being women, Critics, and African Americans. The effects were varied throughout each group, but they each had a lasting impression. Women were gaining opportunities, African Americans were migrating out of the south, and Critics were learning why it was a bad idea to speak out against the war.
The role of women certainly changed. With all of the men going off to war positions were popping up that needed to be filled. Instead of staying at home and doing domestic work, women were becoming more prominent in the fields of office work, industrial, commercial, and transportation work. Women also entered the military, taking jobs such as secretaries, nurses, and telephone operators.
The role of African Americans during the war was a little different. African Americans in the US were currently involved in the Great Migration. The cause for this was simple; the North had more job opportunities, less racial oppression, and there was more economic opportunity. African Americans also had some opportunities in the US military, though most of those were labor work and transportation.
The last group that mobilization had a strong effect on were the critics of the war. Acts such as the Espionage Act and Sedition Act gave the government the power to curb free speech and the ability to punish any person who dared to speak out against the war. These acts were directed towards groups such as the anti-capitalism radicals and immigrants who might have a problem with the war, such as Germans and Austro-Hungarians. The fight to control dissension was also aided by the intelligence organizations that were popping up and the government’s call to its citizens, requesting that they keep a watchful eye on their fellow Americans.
World War I was a time of changing opportunities. Women were gaining a more prominent place in the workforce. African Americans, though still discriminated against, were also seeing a rise in opportunities with the Great Migration. It was a time where you had to watch what you said and be aware that you were most likely being observed, perhaps by the US government or by someone as innocuous as your next-door neighbor.
It was a time that would shape the US and its attitudes during the many years that followed.