History 2-3 page paper - "To what extent did WWI alter the status of Americans between 1914-1920"?

Homeowners planted “victory gardens” in their yards. Schoolchildren spent their after-school hours growing tomatoes and cucumbers in public parks. As a result of these and similar efforts, American food shipments to the Allies tripled. Hoover also set a high government price on wheat and other staples. Farmers responded by putting an additional 40 million acres into production. In the process, they increased their income by almost 30 percent.

Selling the War Once the government had extended its control over the economy, it was faced with two major tasks: raising money and convincing the public to support the war.

WAR FINANCING The United States spent about $35.5 billion on the war effort. The government raised about one-third of this amount through taxes, including a progressive income tax (which taxed high incomes at a higher rate than low incomes), a war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury goods. It raised the rest through public borrowing by selling “Liberty Loan” and “Victory Loan” bonds.

The government sold bonds through tens of thousands of volunteers. Movie stars spoke at rallies in factories, in schools, and on street corners. As Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo put it, only “a friend of Germany” would refuse to buy war bonds.

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION To popularize the war, the govern- ment set up the nation’s first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Information (CPI). Propaganda is a kind of biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions. The head of the CPI was a former muck- raking journalist named George Creel.

Creel persuaded the nation’s artists and advertising agencies to create thou- sands of paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures promoting the war. He recruited some 75,000 men to serve as “Four-Minute Men,” who spoke about everything relating to the war: the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens, and topics such as “Why We Are Fighting” and “The Meaning of America.”

Nor did Creel neglect the written word. He ordered a printing of almost 25 million copies of “How the War Came to America”—which included Wilson’s war message—in English and other languages. He distributed some 75 million pamphlets, booklets, and leaflets, many with the enthusiastic help of the Boy

596 CHAPTER 19

B

A Japanese- American family tends a victory garden in New York City in 1917.

A wartime poster encourages Americans to conserve resources.

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MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

B Summarizing

How did the government raise money for the war effort?