United States home front during World War I The home front of the United States in World War I saw a systematic mobilization of the entire population and the entire economy to produce the soldiers , food supplies , munitions and money needed to win the war . Although the United States entered the war in April 1917 , there had been very little planning , or even recognition of the problems that the British and other Allies had to solve on their homefronts . As a result , the level of confusion was high in the first 12 months , then efficiency took control . The war came in the midst of the Progressive Era , when efficiency and expertise were highly valued . Therefore the federal government ( and states as well ) set up a multitude of temporary agencies to bring together the expertise necessary to redirect the economy and society into the production of munitions and food necessary for the war , as well as the production of ideas necessary to motivate the people . Temporary agencies . Congress authorized President Woodrow Wilson to create a bureaucracy of 500 , 000 to 1 million new jobs in five thousand new federal agencies . To solve the labor crisis the Employment Service of the Department of Labor attracted workers from the South and Midwest to war industries in the East . Government propaganda . In April 1917 , the Wilson Administration created the Committee on Public Information ( CPI ) , known as the Creel Committee , to control war information and provide pro - war propaganda . Employing talented writers and scholars , it issued anti - German pamphlets and films . It organized thousands of " Four - Minute Men " to deliver brief speeches at movie theaters , schools and churches to promote patriotism and participation in the war effort . Military draft . In 1917 the administration decided to rely primarily on conscription , rather than voluntary enlistment , to raise military manpower for World War I . The Selective Service Act of 1917 was carefully drawn to remedy the defects in the Civil War system and — by allowing exemptions for dependency , essential occupations , and religious scruples — to place each man in his proper niche in a national war effort . The act established a " liability for military service of all male citizens " ; authorized a selective draft of all those between twenty - one and thirty - one years of age ( later from eighteen to forty - five ) ; and prohibited all forms of bounties , substitutions , or purchase of exemptions . Administration was entrusted to local boards composed of leading civilians in each community . These boards issued draft calls in order of numbers drawn in a national lottery and determined exemptions . In 1917 and 1918 some 24 million men were registered and nearly 3 million inducted into the military services , with little of the resistance that characterized the Civil War . Vigilantism . The private American Protective League , working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation , was one of many private patriotic associations that sprang up to support the war and at the same time identify slackers , spies , draft dodger s and anti - war organizations . Civil liberties . The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 attempted to punish enemy activity and extended to the punishment expressions of doubt about America ' s role in the war . The Sedition Act criminalized any expression of opinion that used " disloyal , profane , scurrilous or abusive language " about the U . S . government , flag or armed forces . Government police action , private vigilante groups and public war hysteria compromised the civil liberties of many Americans who disagreed with Wilson ' s policies . In a July 1917 speech , Max Eastman complained that the government ' s aggressive prosecutions of dissent meant that " You can ' t even collect your thoughts without getting arrested for unlawful assemblage . " Hollywood . The nascent film industry produced a wide variety of propaganda films . The most successful was " The Kaiser , the Beast of Berlin " , a " sensational creation " designed to rouse the audience against the German ruler . Comedies included " Mutt and Jeff at the Front " . The greatest artistic success , considered by many a landmark of film history , was Charlie Chaplin ' s " Shoulder Arms " , which followed the star from his induction into the military , his accidental penetration of the German lines , and his eventual return having captured the Kaiser and Crown Prince and won himself a pretty French girl . Farming and food . The U . S . Food Administration under Herbert Hoover launched a massive campaign to teach Americans to economize on their food budgets and grow victory garden s in their backyards . It managed the nation ' s food distribution and prices . Gross farm income increased more than 230 % from 1914 to 1919 . Apart from ' wheatless Wednesdays ' and ' meatless Tuesdays ' due to poor harvests in 1916 and 1917 , there were ' fuelless Mondays ' and ' gasless Sundays ' to preserve coal and gasoline . Women . World War I saw many women taking traditionally men ' s jobs for the first time in American history . Many worked on the assembly line s of factories , producing tanks , trucks and munitions . For the first time , department stores employed African American women as elevator operators and cafeteria waitresses . The Food Administration helped housewives prepare more nutritious meals with less waste and with optimum use of the foods available . Most important , the morale of the women remained high , as millions join the Red Cross as volunteers to help soldiers and their families , and with rare exceptions , the women did not protest the draft . Children . For example , a number of fathers and brothers entered the war , and many were subsequently maimed in action or killed , causing many children to be brought up by single mothers . Additionally , as the male workforce left for battle , mothers and sisters began working in factories to take their positions , and the family dynamic began to change ; this affected children as they had less time to spend with family members and were expected to grow up faster and help with the war effort . Similarly , Woodrow Wilson called on children involved in youth organizations to help collect money for war bonds and stamps in order to raise money for the war effort . This was very important because the children were having a direct effect on the financial state of the United States government during World War I . As children were collecting large amounts of money outside of school , within the classroom , curriculum also began to change as a result of the war . Woodrow Wilson again became involved with these children as he implemented government pamphlets and programs to encourage war support through things like mandatory patriotism and nationalism classes multiple times a week . Even though war was not being fought on United States soil , children ' s lives were greatly affected as all of these changes were made to their daily lives as a result of the conflict . World War I affected children in the United States through several social and economic changes in the school curriculum and through shifts in parental relationships . Labor . Samuel Gompers , head of the American Federation of Labor , and nearly all labor unions were strong supporters of the war effort . They minimized strikes as wages soared and full employment was reached . The AFL unions strongly encouraged their young men to enlist in the military , and fiercely opposed efforts to reduce recruiting and slow war production by the anti - war IWW and left - wing Socialists . President Wilson appointed Gompers to the powerful Council of National Defense , where he set up the War Committee on Labor . The AFL membership soared to 2 . 4 million in 1917 . In 1919 , the AFL tried to make their gains permanent and called a series of major strikes in meat , steel and other industries . The strikes ultimately failed , forcing unions back to positions similar to those around 1910 . Anti - war socialists controlled the IWW , which fought against the war effort and was in turn shut down by legal action by the federal government . To keep factories running smoothly , Wilson established the National War Labor Board in 1918 , which forced management to negotiate with existing unions . Americanization of ethnics . The outbreak of war in 1914 increased concern about the millions of foreign born in the United States . The short - term concern was their loyalty to their native countries and the long - term was their assimilation into American society . Numerous agencies became active in promoting " Americanization " so that the ethnics would be psychologically and politically loyal to the U . S . The states set up programs through their Councils of National Defense ; numerous federal agencies were involved , including the Bureau of Education , the United States Department of the Interior and the Food Administration . The most important private organization was the National Americanization Committee ( NAC ) directed by Frances Kellor . Second in importance was the Committee for Immigrants in America , which helped fund the Division of Immigrant Education in the federal Bureau of Education . The war prevented millions of recently arrived immigrants from returning to Europe as they originally intended . The great majority decided to stay in America . Foreign language use declined dramatically . They welcomed Americanization , often signing up for English classes and using their savings to buy homes and bring over other family members . Kellor , speaking for the NAC in 1916 , proposed to combine efficiency and patriotism in her Americanization programs . It would be more efficient , she argued , once the factory workers could all understand English and therefore better understand orders and avoid accidents . Once Americanized , they would grasp American industrial ideals and be open to American influences and not subject only to strike agitators or foreign propagandists . The result , she argued would transform indifferent and ignorant residents into understanding voters , to make their homes into American homes , and to establish American standards of living throughout the ethnic communities . Ultimately , she argued it would " unite foreign - born and native alike in enthusiastic loyalty to our national ideals of liberty and justice . Alien internments . " See also German American internment during World War I " German citizens were required to register with the federal government and carry their registration cards at all times . Some 2 , 048 German citizens were imprisoned beginning in 1917 , and all were released by spring 1920 . Allegations against them included spying for Germany or endorsing the German war effort . They ranged from immigrants suspected of sympathy for their native land , civilian German sailors on merchant ships in U . S . ports when war was declared , and Germans who worked part of the year in the United States , including 29 players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and other prominent musicians . War bonds . Elaborate propaganda campaigns were launched to encourage Americans to buy Liberty Bond s . Sometimes , ethnic groups were pitted against each other , so that the Polish American population in Chicago was urged to out purchase bonds compared to the German American population . Economic confusion in 1917 . In terms of munitions production , the first 15 months involved an amazing parade of mistakes , misguided enthusiasm , and confusion . Americans were willing enough , but they did not know their proper role . Washington was unable to figure out what to do when , or even to decide who was in charge . Typical of the confusion was the coal shortage that hit in December 1917 . Because coal was by far the major source of energy and heat a grave crisis ensued . There was in fact plenty of coal being mined , but 44 , 000 loaded freight and coal cars were tied up in horrendous traffic jams in the rail yards of the East Coast . Two hundred ships were waiting in New York harbor for cargo that was delayed by the mess . The solution included nationalizing the coal mines and the railroads for the duration , shutting down factories one day a week to save fuel , and enforcing a strict system of priorities . Only in March , 1918 , did Washington finally take control of the crisis Attacks on the USA . The Central Powers carried out a number of acts of sabotage and a single submarine attack against the mainland of the USA during the war , but never staged an invasion of the country , although there were rumours that German advisors were present at the Battle of Ambos Nogales . Sabotage . Numerous rumors of German plans for sabotage were in circulation . After midnight on July 30 , 1916 , a series of small fires were found on a pier in Jersey City , New Jersey . Sabotage was suspected and some guards fled , fearing an explosion ; others attempted to fight the fires . Eventually they called the Jersey City Fire Department . An explosion occurred at 2 : 08 a . m . , the first and biggest of the explosions . Shrapnel from the explosion traveled long distances , some lodging in the Statue of Liberty and other places . Seven people died . Attack on Orleans . On the morning on July 21 , 1918 , a German U - boat quietly positioned itself off of Orleans , Massachusetts . It then opened fire on a tugboat , the " Perth Amboy " , and its four barges . Men from the nearby Coast Guard Station rushed up to the tower to see what all the commotion was about . One of them called Chatham Naval Air Station to inform them of the U - boat attack . The tug was quickly sent to the bottom and " U - 156 " then started firing upon the barges . The barges sank and American aircraft arrived . They dropped their payload above the German submarine but it escaped undamaged .