Extend Your Learning
Historical Interpretations
In this session, you have focused on the national debate regarding whether the U.S. should enter into World War I. Although some debate continued after President Wilson's declaration of war in April 1917, much of the nation turned its attention to supporting the war effort. But what other effects did the war have on the home front?
Dr. Greg Dorr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reflects on some of the lasting social effects in the U.S. as a result of World War I:
"I would argue that intervening in World War I created tremendous social tensions in the United States. While the general public attitude remained mixed until late in the war, it slowly gravitated toward that pro-war stance. Our intervention in World War I created a paradox. We were, as President Wilson said, fighting to make the world safe for democracy. Yet, we denied it to various groups at home. Women couldn't vote almost anywhere, except Western states. And African Americans were largely disfranchised in the South, and suffered under lynch law.
"Nonetheless, both of these marginalized groups, blacks and women, emerged from the war poised to make profound gains. African Americans embarked on what was called the New Negro movement of the 1920s that created the rock-solid foundation of the modern Civil Rights movement. Women succeeded in winning suffrage. And while that didn't give them the massive political clout that some had thought it would, the success of that effort set the stage for the second-wave feminist revolt in the 1970s. And so it's in those ways that intervention in World War I -- often seen as somewhat inconsequential in American history, I would argue -- is the more important result. And it's ripe for linking to intervention in other conflicts such as Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Korea, and World War II."
Present Your Historical Interpretation
Reflect on Dr. Dorr's statement. How did U.S. engagement in World War I affect different populations at home? What kinds of effects were lasting once the conflict ended? How might you compare the effects at home during WWI to the effects at home during other conflicts in U.S. history? Select one of the conflicts that Dr. Dorr mentioned and make your comparison. Present and discuss your argument with your colleagues or record it in your journal.