1. In Pursuit of
Democracy
by Gabriella Gibboni and Vinson Liu

2. 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

3. "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 of
most Americans to stay out of
bloodshed.

4. Analysis:Thinking Critically
Why do you think Americans were so
hesitant to join this particular war?

5. The Call to Fight
American 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

6. Take Note
the hypocracy in the previous quote

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Analysis:Thinking Critically
Why do you think there was such a large
turnout for African American registration to fight
in the war?

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Take Note
Inequality, tension, and uneasiness
between Black and White Americans
beginning to grow

15. 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

16. 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?

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. Take Note
White Americans' uneasiness about training and arming
Black soldiers

21. 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

22. Rampant Discrimination

23. Take Note
The tension hits its peak and some African Americans
retaliate

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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?

28. 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

29. 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"

30. Propaganda

31. 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.

32. Slander of Black Troops
African 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 IT
Question 1:
Do you think that the white troops and
the black troops had equal
opprotunities to win battles? Why or
why not?

33. Think About It
Answer 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

34. Cultural Experiences
Even 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.

35. 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."

36. France versus America
YMCA
-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 IT
Question Two: What reasons do you think the
white American soldiers had to constantly try
and make the French hate the African
American soldiers?

37. Think About It
Answer 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

38. 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

39. "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

40. African American War
Efforts
The 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

41. Discriminations
Unfortunately, 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 IT
Question Three: How to you think the
nations patriotic wartime intolerance
against Germans effected the long-
exisiting racism against African
Americans?

42. Think About it
Answer 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.

43. The African American
Press
Black 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.

44. Black Exodus
The 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.

45. National Urban League
Helped 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

46. Post War Consequences
The 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

47. 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 Bois
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_detailpage&v=cpoltGKEXbg#t=1706s