In Pursuit of Democracyby Gabriella Gibboni and Vinson Liu

Background-War erupted in Europe in 1914

-German and Austro Hungarian imperialism-the growing nationalist sentiment in the Slavic states of southeastern Europe-the assassination in Bosnia of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist-the fierce alignment of the Allied Powers against the Central Powers

-President Woodrow Wilson expressed an anti-war mood of most Americans when he declared his country neutral

"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier"-American people stood on the sidelines watching, waiting, hoping not to get involved.

-"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be A Soldier" captured the wish ofmost Americans to stay out ofbloodshed.

Analysis:Thinking Critically

Why do you think Americans were so hesitant to join this particular war?

The Call to FightAmerican neutrality(2.5+ years) became increasingly difficult to maintain

-August 1915 German U-boat torpedoed the British liner, Lusitania, with more than a hundred American lives lost-then January 1917 German submarines began attacking Americans ships in the Atlantic bound for Great Britain

April 1917 President Wilson stood before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war

"Fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts--for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to

have a voice in their own government..."-President Wilson, April 1917

Take Note

the hypocracy in the previous quote

Answering the Call to Fight-A far larger force was needed than the regular army's relatively small number of enlisted men & National Guard (of which, black soldiers made up a small proportion)

-Congress rejected the idea of a "whites-only draft" and passed the Selective Service Act in May 1917 with no racial restrictions

-The first day of registration, more than 700,000 Black men signed up for Selective Service

The Selective Service Act-Unlike the uproar over enlisting black troops during the Civil War, the necessity of raising enormous manpower to fight in the World War made the use of African American troops important

Draft Boards-Blacks were generally eager to participate in the war as both enlisted men as well as officers

-By the end of the wartime draft, 2,290,525 blacks had registered; 367,000 were called into service

-In the end, African Americans were disproportionately represented in the Draft. -31% of all blacks who registered were accepted -26% of registered whites were accepted

Analysis:Thinking Critically

Why do you think there was such a large turnout for African American registration to fight

in the war?

US Reception to Black Draftees-In some Southern counties, draft boards sought to fill their quotas with Blacks before even turning to whites

-in other counties, whites were inducted first to forestall the possibility of arming black men as soldiers

-News coverage differed from place to place; many white newspapers in North & South gave the impression of an overall acceptance of blacks in the military, some ignored and discouraged black participation

Inconsistencies with exempts-In some southern agricultural areas, wealthy farmers obtained an agricultural exemption because of their substantial crop production while tenant farmers and sharecroppers of both races were called up

-Draft board members were known to help their rich white land owning friends by exempting their black farm workers so they might harvest the crop

-In Monroe County, alabama, draft boards called up married white men if childless and black men with only one child

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Young-Highest ranking Black officer in 1917

-White soldiers and members of Congress sternly rejected offering Black men officer commissions

-Army officials endeavored to force his retirement based on a medical condition (he later proved his physical fitness and was reinstated)

-Although draft was open to all races, racism in the armed forces was undeniable

Take Note

Inequality, tension, and uneasinessbetween Black and White Americans

beginning to grow

NAACP-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) responded immediately to the whites only policy of the Army's officer training camps

-White NAACP officer Joel Spingarn led a citizens committee to Washington and helped create the establishment of a black officers' training camp--meant commissioning black officers

"Colored men in a camp by themselves would all get a fair chance for promotion"

-Joel Springam

Analysis:Thinking Critically

Many openly criticized the premise of a Jim Crow training camp arguing that it defeated the purpose of struggling for equal citizenship. In your opinion, do you think that the all-black

training camps were more beneficial at the time than having racially integrated camps?

Why? Why not?

Emmett J. Scott-In Oct. 1917, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker appointed Emmett J. Scott as his special assistant as the "confidential advisor in matters affecting the interests of the 10 million Negroes of the US and the part they are to play in connection with the present war"

-Investigated cases of unfair treatment, problems relating to pulsory and voluntary allotments of pay, war-risk insurance, and government allowance and compensation

-Worked with Committee on Public Information--the US Government's National wartime propaganda outlet--to release news about black soldiers and various home front activities involving African Americans

Jim Crow Military Camps-Although Blacks served in almost every branch of army they were denied the opportunity to become pilots in the aviation corps

-Similarly, they were barred from the Marines and were permitted to serve in the Navy only in menial capacities

Locating Training Camps-Training African American soldiers plagued the War Department since most white communities did not want large number of Black men in their midst.

-Although the Army Committed to activating an all-Black division, it did not permit the members of the all0Black division to train together in a single location sending them to seven widely separated camps.

-The Ninety-Third division was never allowed to fully organize before being sent abroad.

Take Note

White Americans' uneasiness about training and arming Black soldiers

Rampant Discrimination-Rampant discrimination permeated the US Army and the civilian agencies that served it. Examples include:

-Service agencies, YMCA, would not serve African American recruits -A sign over one of these buildings announced " This building is for white men only"-White officers used insulting language as coons, niggers, farkies-White officers forced black soldiers to work under unhealthy and unsafe conditions-Blacks were assigned to busy work to make it difficult to advance in rank-Slept in tents without floors or heat during cold winter months

Rampant Discrimination

Take Note

The tension hits its peak and some African Americans retaliate

African Americans Fight Back-August 1917, riot broke out in Houston between white civilians and the black soldiers. White policemen harassed a black woman dragging her half dressed from her home, a black soldier came to her defense.

-In an ensuing melee, the enraged soldiers killed 17 whites.

-13 Blacks were hung, 41 imprisoned for life, 40 others held pending further investigation.

-Wounded the pride of African Americans and shook their faith in the government

Continued

this tragic incident "did not dampen the ardor of the colored men who went to the front for the Stars and Stripes"

-Emmett Scott

-His words failed to capture the outrage of the Black community.

-The following evening the soldiers planned to "shoot up" the town of Spartanburg, but their commanding officer, ordered them back to camp.

-To prevent the recurrence of such incidents, government sent the regiment overseas

Services Oversea-worked as army laborers who built roads and dug trenches and stevedores who loaded and unloaded cargo from ships

-provided Allies with war material

"One who sees the Negro stevedores work notes with what rapidity and cheerfulness they work and what a very

important cog they are in the war machinery" -an American war correspondent

Analysis:Thinking Critically

What do you think would have happened if the all-Black units were never sent

to services overseas?

Do you think "tragic" events would continue to occur?

The 369th U.S. Infantry-African American troops were among the first US combat forces to go overseas.

-April 1918 they moved to the front

-May1918 in the thick of the fight in northern France, then assigned to block a German offensive at Minaucourt

-July 1918 withstood the final German assault

-The 369th Regiment never had a man captured and never gave up a trench or a foot of ground

-First Allied unit to reach the Rhine

Decoration of African American Soldiers-The 369th was the first and longest serving of all American regiments assigned to support a foreign army--191 days in the trenches.

-Overseas, African American soldiers who demonstrated bravery under fire were decorated lavishly by the French Army; not one African American received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

-Entire Regiment won the Croix de Guerre for its action and the Legion of Honor, nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters because of their tireless fighting spirit"

Propaganda

German Propaganda-Printed material written in English that argued that African American Soldiers should not be deluded into thinking that they were fighting for democracy

-"Do you enjoy the same rights as the white people do in America...or are you rather not treated over there as second-class citizens?"

-Invited African American troops to surrender and come over to the German lines, where they would find friends to aid them in the cause of liberty and democracy. Not one black soldier took this bait and deserted.

Slander of Black TroopsAfrican Americans soliders received much critcism from white American commanders and soldiers. Black troops became the scapegoat for any failed mission reinforced the assumption of white soldiers that black troops were inferior in combat.

These slander campaigns continued even after the war ended.~ "In a future war the main use of the negro should be in labor organizations" -a white American Commander~discouraging of organizing blacks in large divisons

THINK ABOUT ITQuestion 1:Do you think that the white troops and the black troops had equal opprotunities to win battles? Why or why not?

Think About ItAnswer One:Regarding war and fighting for your country, you would think that regardless of your skin color, each opportunity to win a battle would equal, right?

Wrong!

Black troops were automatically faulted for:- deficient training- insufficient combat equipment-unfamiliarity of the French countryside

Cultural ExperiencesEven in the midst of the war, black soldiers found time for pleasantries, cultural experiences, and social contact.

Some combat units even had their own bands-The most famous was the 369th Regiment Band lead by James Europe who is said to be responsible for bringing jazz to France

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLHWPKmCzhU-Another famous band was the 350th Field Artillery under James Brymm, whose jazz repertoire won French admiration

Concert pianist, Helen Hagan, along with Rev. Jenry Hugh Proctor and song leader and teacher J.E. Blanton, traveled throughout France staging programs for black and white troops. The black soldiers had a particularly emotional response to the music.

Helen Hagan"[Black soldiers] had not seen a woman of their race since they left home, and frequently tears would well up in the eyes of these men as they looked up on this talented woman."

France versus AmericaYMCA

-Unlike the YMCAs in the American South, the YMCA/YWCA in France served black soldiers overseas. They provided literacy classes, libraries, canteens, letter writing facilities, etc.

African American Nurses-Although a large number of these women offered their services, the US government was very slow to accept them and sent them overseas only after the fighting had ended.

Social Life-Regardless of the constant rumors that white American soldiers spread about African American soldiers, the French continued to welcome and keep their black defenders as comfortable as possible.

THINK ABOUT ITQuestion Two: What reasons do you think the white American soldiers had to constantly try and make the French hate the African American soldiers?

Think About ItAnswer Two:After spreading constant rumors about the African American soldiers to the French, including things like:

-black men are rapists- blacks cannot be treated with common civility-creating a documentary titled "Secret Information Concerning Black Troops" which stated that it is essential to enforce strict segregation and to avoid any contact with black men outside the requirements of military service

it's hard to believe that the white American soldiers didn't have a reason, other than just being mean, for spreading these rumors.

So what's the other reason?

They were worried that the African American soldiers stationed in France had developed habis and practices that would prove detrimental to interracial stablility once they returned to the United States. The extent of this worry reached the United States and resulted in the War department sending somebody over to investigate the rumors and examine the conditions affecting the African American soldiers

Coming Home"Your record has sent a thrill of joy and satisfaction to the hearts of millions of black and white Americans, rich and poor, high and low... You will go back to America heros, as you really are." - Robert R. Morton

-African American and white troops were greeted by enthusiastic crowds and paraded up Fifth Aventue in New York. In many places, the crowds were so dense, the troops could not march in their regular formations

"Has the World Forgotten Congo*?"Unfortunately for Germany's African colonies, they did not receive independence and were distributed among the victorious Allies.

Black leaders, disgusted with this distribution, called a Pan-African Congress to meet in Paris in 1919.

*referring to the Congolese people and the death of 2-15 million of these as a result of King Leopold the II

African American War EffortsThe black press estimated that blacks purchased more than $250 million worth of bonds and stamps

- African American women alone bought more than $5 million worth of bonds in the Third Liberty Loan campaign- Black-owned North Carolina Mutal Life Insurance Company purchased $300,000 worth of bonds in less than two years.

They also supported the fund-raising campaigns of the YMCA, YWCA, and the American Red Cross

DiscriminationsUnfortunately, this patriotic fever also created a new discrimination and stereotyping against Germans, or as they were called "Huns".

- In Iowa, teachers were forbidden to teach German. - Libraries removed all books written in German- Symphony orchestras refused to play Herman opera or orchestral pieces.

THINK ABOUT ITQuestion Three: How to you think the nations patriotic wartime intolerance against Germans effected the long-exisiting racism against African Americans?

Think About itAnswer Three:You would think that the negative focus on Germans would result in less negative attention on African Americans, right?

Wrong!

Racism against African Americans became conflated with the new hate of Germans. This was especially true in the southern states.

The African American PressBlack newspapers encouraged African Americans to move to industrial centers in search of work, urged support of the war, protest racist incidence, and also led in the fight for complete integration.

The African American press, generally supportive of the war, didn't hesitate to point of racial injustice.

The press also helped tell of gallantry and heroism of the black troops oversea whom did not receive much credit during the war.

Black ExodusThe migration of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the South to the North. Coupled with the abrupt end of European immigrants coming to America, a severe labor depression occured in the South.

This Great Migration gave blacks industrial jobs they had never had and also, proved the importance of black workers.

National Urban LeagueHelped newly arrived Adrican Americans adjust to life in northern industrial centers

By the end of WWI, branches of the National Urban League operated in thirty cities.

African Americans organized several unions as well such as the Associated Colored Employees of America and AFL, American Federation of Labor

Post War ConsequencesThe war elicited conflicting emotions in African Americans. Patriotic stories were used to give pride, but racial injustice hurt morale. Riots, murders, and deaths did not diminish.

-At least, 38 African Americans lost their lives to lynch mobs in 1917. That number rose to 58 the very next year.

-More than three thousand whites responded to an invitation of a newspaper to come witness the burning of a "live Negro."

- African Americans were stabbed, clubbed, and hung. One two-year old child was shot and thrown into the doorway of a burning building.

-In the first summer after the war, more than fifty cities erupted in racial violence

Significance Very sadly, even after fighting for their country, African Americans were still treated as inferior. However, it did instill hope for the future in the minds and hearts of all African Americans.

"Returning Soldier" W.E.B. Du Boishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cpoltGKEXbg#t=1706s