Chapter 19 Section 3 Critical Thinking # 3 & 5

3) How did the war affect government power?
-how much control the president gained over the economy
-the Espionage and Sedition Acts

The war greatly expanded the powers of the government. A good example of this is the passing of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. These acts declared that a person could be fined up to $10,000 and given 20 years in prison for interfering with the war effort or saying anything disloyal to the government or the war effort. These acts pretty much negated the first Amendment, and their passage lead to over 2,000 prosecutions, half of which became convictions. Free speech was severely limited: Anti-war newspapers and magazines lost their mailing privileges, and Victor Berger was not allowed in the House of representatives for his anti-war views. Many other things like this occurred that would not have been legal in a regular time.
The president's influence over the economy was more proof that the govt.'s powers were greatly expanded in wartime.Congress gave President Wilson direct control over most of the economy. He was able to regulate war related industries and fix prices. President Hoover set a high price on wheat and other important food items to encourage conservation. The ridiculous amount of power given to the president during this time shows that there was far too much power given to the government in wartime. Under regular circumstances, it would be considered unconstitutional for the president to have so much power over the economy.

5) Do you think that the war had a positive or negative effect on American society?
-how the propaganda campaign influenced people's behavior
-the new job opportunities for African Americans and women
-how the government controlled industry

I think that some aspects of the war had a negative influence on American society while others had a positive effect.
The new job opportunities for women and African Americans were a positive result; many doors were opened. African Americans were given job opportunities in steel mills, stockyards and munitions plants, and women were allowed to move into jobs that had once been only men. Women started working as bricklayers, dockworkers, cooks , and railroad workers, and many more started working in traditional women's jobs, such as being schoolteachers, nurses and clerks. The help from women during the war increased public support for woman suffrage, and in 1919 the 19th Amendment was passed by Congress, giving women the right to vote. However, even these improvements had negative consequences. The migration of African Americans from the South to Northern cities caused overcrowding and racial tension.
The public reaction to the propaganda campaign was definitely negative. although it increased patriotism, it created hatred and discrimination by Americans of those who were of German descent and had emigrated from Germany and Austria-Hungary (mainly). People with German names lost their jobs, and orchestras refused to play works by composers such as Mozart and Bach, as well as other composers from the Germany/Austria-Hungary area. Schools stopped teaching German, libraries removed books from their shelves that were authored by Germans, and towns with German names changed them. There was even violence, such as the tar-and-feathering of Germans, flogging and even lynching. Foods and other things with the word "German" in them were changed to say "liberty" in the place of "German" (example: "German measles" became "liberty measles", which I find rather funny).
The governemnt control of the economu, though a violation to the Bill of Rights, did not have bad consequences. Movements from the gvoernemnt, such as President Hoover raising the price of wheat and other food staples, caused farmers to put an extra 40 million acres of land to use, resulting in an increase in their income of about 30%.