World War I was foreseen by Americans, and all other nations, as little more than a short dispute that would conclude not long after it’s beginning. Little did they know, this skirmish would turn out to be one of the largest military endeavors of all time. The sheer size of the conflict would require a total amount of equipment that had never been produced before. All nations involved manufactured products of war, but one nation stood out, America.
America, unlike other nations, did not enter the war at its beginning. Rather, America remained neutral to the fighting and simply produced goods and supplies for export to other warring nations. This proved to be an extremely lucrative position for the United States and many citizens, especially businessmen, had no problem with the situation.
Soon, America chose to enter the Great War. Reasons for our entrance into the war vary but nonetheless, America was the newest nation to enter the largest global conflict up to that point in history. Entrance into the war prompted speculation from men such as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, D. F. Houston who wrote about America’s readiness to enter the war and whether our economy would be able to stand the strain that war puts on it (primary source 1). Further fueling the fire, songs like It’s a Long Way to Tipperary enticed young men to enter the War, leaving their families behind, unknowing just the type of terror they are getting themselves into (primary source 4).
All the while citizens at the homefront continue to produce anything and everything needed for the War. These people aren’t only driven by the higher wages provided for jobs in production, but also by a strong sense of patriotism held by nearly all during that time. The government looked to capitalize on this sense of patriotism and they did these using posters. Posters could be found from the streets of the largest city to the walls of a country store. This was the first time that the government called on all of the American people to stand together in their determination to produce all that was needed for the War. Some of these posters looked to appeal to different emotions such as sadness. In this poster (primary source 6), people are encouraged to buy Liberty Bonds in order to prevent bombings in the United States. These Liberty Bonds combined with other borrowing from the public made up more than 50 percent of the total budget of the War (Economic Encyclopedia, primary source 2).
Probably the most patriotic figure in the US is and always has been Uncle Sam. With this knowledge in mind, the government used Uncle Sam as one of the major proponents of the War. In this political cartoon (primary source 3) Uncle Sam is urging workers to produce more that can be shipped to the soldiers overseas. The workers see this and strain themselves to work harder and more efficiently in an attempt to give their soldiers an advantage over the enemies. With the same idea in mind, more posters were created that emphasized the importance of every worker in the factories. In this image (primary source 5) a factory worker is put at an equal level with both a soldier and a navy sailor. This tactic was used to boost production as many of those working in the factories were unfit to fight in the war and felt as though they were left out of the adventure of a lifetime. This posters tried to show that without the worker to back him up, no soldier would be able to do anything.
The sheer volume of production throughout World War I is staggering to the mind. It is nearly incomprehensible what a country is able to do when it is well managed and working in a manner that is both proficient as well as content with what is happening. Many different supplies were needed during the war, one of which was the airplane. Before the War, airplanes were still somewhat primitive and were only used for private flights. During the War, however, their potential to assist the military was first utilized. America didn’t even have an “American model” airplane during the first World War (Judy Rumerman historical scholarship source 2). They only reproduced foreign model airplanes to be used by American pilots. The American aircraft industry itself did first get it’s real start during this time and many companies, with their newly found knowledge of how to quickly produce airplanes, continued to do this, even after the War concluded. Several major car companies were set aside to produce airplane engines during the War due to their prior knowledge of motors and their easily adaptable machines that could transform from car factories to airplane factories fairly quickly.
During the War, food turned out to be an important part of success of the campaign in Europe. Those soldiers that were well fed performed better and made safer judgement when in the heat of battle. That thought soon transferred into the minds of the American people.Posters like this one (primary source 8) were printed by the government in an attempt to get more nutritious food to the men across the ocean. Recommendations for how much food people were supposed to eat were also posted as well as advisements to cook all food carefully and to eat everything that was served. People that were used to having excess food soon learned to eat only what they needed rather than wasting what they did not eat.
The War was really the beginning of a new era for the American people (Brinkley). They had found a new side of themselves that they had not known before. A glimpse into what is capable when an entire society works together to achieve a common goal. These lessons would follow Americans through the next century all the way up to present day. Even today, nearly 100 years since the end of the War, there are still things being disputed over the economy of the War (Carlos Lozada historical scholarship source 3). Going from one of the most productive times in American history into arguably the worst takes a very special set of circumstances and they occurred just right after the War was over and the Great Depression began.
World War I’s production techniques have been repeated over and over again since their practices were first used. World War II would heavily follow precedents set in the first World War (Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison historical scholarship source 1). World War I has been called the first modern war and for good reason. It marked a turning point in the history of mankind that is still clear to this day. A transition period from and old method of thinking, to a new, different thought process all together. Production during World War I changed the lives of nearly every person on the planet and that is not something that has happened many times over the course of history. What started out as a small skirmish that was supposed to be stamped out in 6 months has lasted generations and impacted each and every person on the planet today in some way or another. World War I will never be forgotten as a stepping stone to the present way of life.
America, unlike other nations, did not enter the war at its beginning. Rather, America remained neutral to the fighting and simply produced goods and supplies for export to other warring nations. This proved to be an extremely lucrative position for the United States and many citizens, especially businessmen, had no problem with the situation.
Soon, America chose to enter the Great War. Reasons for our entrance into the war vary but nonetheless, America was the newest nation to enter the largest global conflict up to that point in history. Entrance into the war prompted speculation from men such as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, D. F. Houston who wrote about America’s readiness to enter the war and whether our economy would be able to stand the strain that war puts on it (primary source 1). Further fueling the fire, songs like It’s a Long Way to Tipperary enticed young men to enter the War, leaving their families behind, unknowing just the type of terror they are getting themselves into (primary source 4).
All the while citizens at the homefront continue to produce anything and everything needed for the War. These people aren’t only driven by the higher wages provided for jobs in production, but also by a strong sense of patriotism held by nearly all during that time. The government looked to capitalize on this sense of patriotism and they did these using posters. Posters could be found from the streets of the largest city to the walls of a country store. This was the first time that the government called on all of the American people to stand together in their determination to produce all that was needed for the War. Some of these posters looked to appeal to different emotions such as sadness. In this poster (primary source 6), people are encouraged to buy Liberty Bonds in order to prevent bombings in the United States. These Liberty Bonds combined with other borrowing from the public made up more than 50 percent of the total budget of the War (Economic Encyclopedia, primary source 2).
Probably the most patriotic figure in the US is and always has been Uncle Sam. With this knowledge in mind, the government used Uncle Sam as one of the major proponents of the War. In this political cartoon (primary source 3) Uncle Sam is urging workers to produce more that can be shipped to the soldiers overseas. The workers see this and strain themselves to work harder and more efficiently in an attempt to give their soldiers an advantage over the enemies. With the same idea in mind, more posters were created that emphasized the importance of every worker in the factories. In this image (primary source 5) a factory worker is put at an equal level with both a soldier and a navy sailor. This tactic was used to boost production as many of those working in the factories were unfit to fight in the war and felt as though they were left out of the adventure of a lifetime. This posters tried to show that without the worker to back him up, no soldier would be able to do anything.
The sheer volume of production throughout World War I is staggering to the mind. It is nearly incomprehensible what a country is able to do when it is well managed and working in a manner that is both proficient as well as content with what is happening. Many different supplies were needed during the war, one of which was the airplane. Before the War, airplanes were still somewhat primitive and were only used for private flights. During the War, however, their potential to assist the military was first utilized. America didn’t even have an “American model” airplane during the first World War (Judy Rumerman historical scholarship source 2). They only reproduced foreign model airplanes to be used by American pilots. The American aircraft industry itself did first get it’s real start during this time and many companies, with their newly found knowledge of how to quickly produce airplanes, continued to do this, even after the War concluded. Several major car companies were set aside to produce airplane engines during the War due to their prior knowledge of motors and their easily adaptable machines that could transform from car factories to airplane factories fairly quickly.
During the War, food turned out to be an important part of success of the campaign in Europe. Those soldiers that were well fed performed better and made safer judgement when in the heat of battle. That thought soon transferred into the minds of the American people.Posters like this one (primary source 8) were printed by the government in an attempt to get more nutritious food to the men across the ocean. Recommendations for how much food people were supposed to eat were also posted as well as advisements to cook all food carefully and to eat everything that was served. People that were used to having excess food soon learned to eat only what they needed rather than wasting what they did not eat.
The War was really the beginning of a new era for the American people (Brinkley). They had found a new side of themselves that they had not known before. A glimpse into what is capable when an entire society works together to achieve a common goal. These lessons would follow Americans through the next century all the way up to present day. Even today, nearly 100 years since the end of the War, there are still things being disputed over the economy of the War (Carlos Lozada historical scholarship source 3). Going from one of the most productive times in American history into arguably the worst takes a very special set of circumstances and they occurred just right after the War was over and the Great Depression began.
World War I’s production techniques have been repeated over and over again since their practices were first used. World War II would heavily follow precedents set in the first World War (Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison historical scholarship source 1). World War I has been called the first modern war and for good reason. It marked a turning point in the history of mankind that is still clear to this day. A transition period from and old method of thinking, to a new, different thought process all together. Production during World War I changed the lives of nearly every person on the planet and that is not something that has happened many times over the course of history. What started out as a small skirmish that was supposed to be stamped out in 6 months has lasted generations and impacted each and every person on the planet today in some way or another. World War I will never be forgotten as a stepping stone to the present way of life.