The Homefront Experience of African Americans and German-Americans during WWI (Essay Example)

Before World War One began, the Progressive Era was a time in America that sparked social activism. Social activism can be seen in the push for social reforms prominently in the African American community. Meanwhile, immigration acts were being produced based on discriminatory guidelines, making it difficult for new people to come into the US. In 1914, World War One began; the United States decided to stay neutral to avoid conflicts with the Central Powers. In 1917, Woodrow Wilson removed the Neutrality act that was in place after the continued unrestricted submarine warfare from Germany and declared war. Due to Germany being the prime Central power, German-Americans perceived as outcasts from other Americans. There was an influx of job openings due to the draft created by WW1.  These openings were filled by African Americans who had migrated to the North. Although World War One created opportunities for many groups, there was still discrimination throughout the country which is shown by discrimination in the north against the African Americans, discrimination in army units, and German-Americans getting outcasted leading to violent attacks.

The draft during WWI led to men from ages 21 to 45 being drafted to serve their country. Due to these drafts, many industries lost a significant number of workers. The industries searched for workers that would work in unsafe working conditions and take unfair pay. These openings were largely filled by African Americans who had migrated from the north to escape the Jim Crow laws that were currently placed in the south. This was called the “Great Migration”. Even though they moved to get away from discrimination in the south, the north continued to discriminate against African Americans as well. White people reacted to the “Great Migration” by starting violent riots and destroying people’s homes and businesses. They thought that African Americans were taking over their jobs. Certain places in the north would restrict African Americans from moving into “white neighborhoods”. While the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) had peaceful protests for equal rights, the discrimination against African Americans continued during WWI.

Soldiers in the war came from drafting and volunteering. Strong nationalism spread throughout the country which helped Americans support the war efforts. Propaganda and social pressure persuaded people to join the war efforts and support their country in any way possible. Many popular civil rights leaders like W.E.B DuBois used their voice to get African Americans to stand up and volunteer for the war. People hoped that the war would allow America to see that everyone is equal. In the end, this is not how it was seen. African Americans were segregated from white troops and were discriminated against. They were also not paid as much as white soldiers. These troops were likely to be run by African American officers. They fought equally in the war and some earned medals for their achievements. Even though they served their country, their discrimination continued.

Immigrants from all over the world came over to the US before the war started to gain more economic opportunities. Tension started to rise against immigrants, specifically German-Americans when the war started. Unrestricted submarine warfare and the sinking of the Lusitania were both significant causes for the US declaring war. While German-Americans had been living in the US before conflicts with Germany, people had little trust once the war had begun and went as far as to call them spies. President Theodore Roosevelt called them hyphenated Americans and told America to not trust anyone who was hyphenated. This included other immigrants like the Irish-Americans or English-Americans. President Woodrow Wilson called unnaturalized Germans alien enemies. These presidents’ influence spurred the discrimination of German-Americans. The discrimination led to alien regulations that stopped German Americans from having natural rights. Internet camps were created in many states in hopes to make sure there were no spies. The teaching and reading of the German language were banned all over the country. Even though German-Americans had been in the United States for a long period, America continued to discriminate against them. This was because of the fear that spread due to the war and the propaganda that was created by the government. 

Discrimination has been in the United States from the beginning and continued during World War One. Though social reforms showed hope for people to end discrimination, the war showed that the US was not going to change. Evidence of this is shown in African Americans and German-American groups who were consistently outcasted by others. Race riots, segregation, and internment camps were significant factors to the discrimination that was seen during the war and will continue to affect these groups later on.