Opposition and it's Consequences
Charlie, Zyan
Before
-They regulated industrial and agriculture production and worked to shape public opinion
-This war changed Americans' relationship with the government
Opposition and it's Consequences
-Some German and Irish Americans opposed the allies
· -Because of patriotism or “Patriotic fever” they discriminated against Irish and German Americans.
· -Other Americans were pacifists, they opposed war at all costs
· -To suppress the different opinions the government acted in ways that sometimes trespassed individual liberties
· -The draft created controversy
· -People believed that it was the government trying to invade their private lives
· -Some men decided not to cooperate and In return were usually imprisoned
· -As many as 12% of men didn’t respond to the draft notice
· -Some just didn’t respond to the notice
· -Conscientious objectors couldn’t go to war because of their belief or religion
· -This was widely ignored and the people were treated badly and sometimes humiliated
· -The government eventually improved treatment of conscientious objectors
Women's role
· -Some American women who opposed the war teamed with woman pacifists from other countries to form Woman’s Peace Party.
· -Woman’s International League for Peace and Freedom
· -Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to serve in the U.S House of Representatives and she voted against war
· - Women continued to oppose war, but most supported American war efforts such as NAWSA
Limiting Rights
· - CPI continued to cause controversy because of how it was troubling the freedoms that Americans held dear to them
· -1917, Congress passed Espionage Act allowing postal authorities to ban treasonable paper material such as newspapers and magazines.
· -Anyone aiding the enemy in anyway would be penalized with a large fine and up to 20 years of imprisonment
· -1918, congress passed the Sedition act which limited free speech even more.
· -You couldn’t use language that was against the United States
· -They used this to prosecute radicals and pacifists
· -Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the Socialist party in America was imprisoned for giving a mildly anti-war speech
-The Supreme court eventually upheld it and gave Americans like Debs free speech againGerman Americans
· -German Americans were treated harshly, they were considered the main enemies of the allies
-Americans generalized that al Germans were cruel
-Americans stopped teaching Germans in public schools
· -Americans discontinued the play of Beethoven and Brahms
· -German people gave up their language and culture to show loyalty
· -Americans harassed, beat, and even killed German Americans if they even had an accent
Moving On
-New opportunities emerged for African Americans and women