World War 1 and Race Relations in the U.S

Western civilization had begun to take roots in the early twentieth century. The onset of
World War 1 was a major blow to the self-confidence and optimism that people had on western
civilization. For several decades before 1914, there had been remarkable progress in reason and
human progress. Politicians, philosophers and reformers were happy with the progress being
made in regard to civilization. People in the West were tolerant of each other despite the rivalries
that had been growing between European powers mostly Britain and Germany. These powers
were competing for military and political dominance in the region. However, those in the
grassroots-maintained peace amongst themselves. The Great War led to sharp divisions in the
United States as people of different races pledged their allegiance to their countries of origin.
Many Americans sided with their countries of origin. For instance, British-Americans
were in support of Britain, and they associated the country with democracy and liberty. They, on
the other hand, did not support Germany because they found its system of government
repressive. Also, German-Americans had their support for Germany while the Irish- Americans
did not support any help extended to Britain (Foner 743). They wanted their independence from
the British authorities. Jews and other communities that had immigrated from Russia did not
support any attempts by the American government to extend aid to the czar’s regime. Russia

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joined the war as an ally to France and Britain, and this made it very hard to view the war as a
fight between autocracy and democracy.
The United States joined the Great war in 1917, and the racial makeup of the country was
directly challenged. A program commonly known as Americanization was launched. It was
aimed at removing the ethnic identities of communities that had migrated into the country prior
to the war. They wanted to replace them with love for America. German Americans were the
most disadvantaged group. Those that resisted amounted to more than 2,000 people. They were
forcefully confined for the entire period when the country was at war. Americanization
heightened people’s awareness of racial and ethnic differences (Foner 755). They began to
demand a homogenous national culture. The different affiliations based on people’s country of
origin also made it clear that a homogenous culture did not exist in America.
The task of Americanizing immigrants into the country was taken up by both private and
public groups. These mainly comprised of labor leaders, educators, social reformers, public
officials, and employers. German-Americans were the most affected group of people after the
U.S went into war. It was expected as they were fighting against Germans. There were about 9
million German-Americans living as immigrants in America (Foner 759). They had even created
ethnic institutions that were already thriving before the war. However, the expression of their
culture was targeted by prowar organizations. All the admirations that Americans had of the
German culture came to an end after the country entered into the war. Using German as a
language was not allowed. It became clear that there was freedom of speech, which only
included people using America’s language and not any other.
Laws were enacted restricting the introduction and teaching of foreign languages. The
law was strictly enforced. In 1919, Karl Muck was jailed after he insisted on inserting words of

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German composers in his concerts (Foner 758). Popular words that had been borrowed from the
German language such as “hamburger” were replaced. The German-American culture was
negatively affected after the U.S. joined the war. There were intelligence tests that were
conducted, and they confirmed that the IQ capabilities of white people were notably higher than
those of blacks and other new immigrants (Foner 759). The scientific revelation revealed that
some races were “undesirable.” Efforts were put in place to control reproduction among the
“undesirable” people. They were motivated by the idea that discouraging reproduction, among
other races other than among white people, was one way of improving the human race.
In the South, racial relations were strained as African-Americans were forced to go into
war. They were forced to fight for democracy and freedom, despite the fact that they had been
working as slaves before the war. They did not enjoy the full effect of their participation in the
war. Black troops were harassed and assaulted by their white trainers. At some point in Houston,
black troops opened fire because they had had enough of torture from their white masters. The
whites had constantly been bullying the black troops as they trained for the Great war. The black
troops saw it as insincere to go into war, claiming to be fighting for democracy and liberation,
yet they had never been free in the United States. They had remained second-class citizens as
most lived in dire poverty as slaves in plantains owned by their white masters. They wanted the
United States to first promote justice and democracy within its borders before claiming to do so
by getting involved in the war.
African Americans responded positively to a call to take part in the war. According to
them, they were loyal to the flag and patriotic in carrying out their civic duty. However, their
patriotic resolve was tested severally during the great war. For instance, in 1917, a bloody four-
day riot between black and white workers erupted (Zieger and Robert 104). During the event,

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more than 125 black people were killed (Zieger and Robert 104). White residents in Houston
continuously discriminate against back residents. The black population was increasingly
becoming tired of racial discrimination. A month later, 3 rd Battalion black soldiers retaliated
discrimination against them. They marched in the city and killed about sixteen white residents
and personnel who were enforcing the law in the city. During the incident, four black soldiers
were also killed. The rebellion encountered in Houston shocked the nation. Politicians in the
South were opposed to having black people trained to be soldiers. After the confrontation, 110
black soldiers were convicted, with 63 among them getting life sentences (Zieger and Robert
104). Thirteen were executed and buried in unmarked graves. The relationship between blacks
and whites was bad at the time.
Racial violence was common during the Great War. An announcement made in 1919
explained how a man was “hanged, shot, and roasted” because he was found to be dating a white
lady (The Crisis). It was alleged that the black man identified as John Hartfield had assaulted the
young woman. The black man was handed over to the people by the authorities for him to be
lynched. Governor Bilbo was asked if he would intervene by sending troops to stop the people
from lynching Hartfield, but he said he was powerless. White people traveled to witness the
brutal spectacle. A white man was even reported to have cut Hartfield’s finger after his death to
keep it as a souvenir. The lynching of Hartfield was seen as an act of terrorism, intimidation,
and denunciation of the black community. Many black people fled the area for fear of their lives.
The Great war brought more pain to African Americans.

The participation of black people during the Great war allowed them to assert their
citizenship in America. After the war, they made deliberate efforts to hold the government
accountable. Their direct involvement in the war gave them the right to protest racial injustices

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(Keene 99). World War 1 marked a turning point in the history of African Americans in the
United States. It shaped their experience in the twentieth century, both during and after the war.
After World War 1, racial conditions did not immediately improve. African Americans were
significantly disadvantaged. They, however, were actively involved in the fight for racial
progress and justice.
Wartime mobilization adopted the term “democracy” as freedom took a new significance
during the Great War. Creel, a journalist at the time, believed that the war would speed up efforts
towards solving issues such as inequality, poverty, oppression, and unhappiness (Foner 740).
These problems had affected Americans of different races before the war began and even during
its progress. Freedom and democracy were used as ideological war weapons. African Americans
who went to the battlefield were determined that the end of the war would bring along victory
and the end of oppression as well as racial discrimination.
African Americans made up the largest number of non-white people in the country. They
suffered racial discrimination and oppression. Freedom was denied to them in many aspects. For
instance, they could not join most unions. African American workers lacked “industrial freedom”
as they had little to no access to skilled employment (Foner 761). Those that provided unskilled
labor did so for very little wages. Their hope for independence was deemed. Black workers made
an insignificant contribution to the emerging consumer economy. Suffrage advocates,
progressive intellectuals, and labor reformers were unconcerned with the plight of black people.
African Americans had no voting rights. Laws were instituted to allow segregation. It was
natural to live in segregated neighborhoods. It was largely assumed that the white people
deserved the best “white privilege” while the other races did not matter much.

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Overall, the involvement of the U.S. in World War 1 had a direct influence on the racial
relations in the country. The inter-state conflicts made it clear to the Americans that they had
very diverse ethnic and racial origins. As such, the Americans stopped being “friendly” to the
immigrants. Different races were affected differently. For instance, German Americans were
affected because Americans outrightly rejected their culture. Assimilation became the norm as
new immigrants had to be Americanized. Before the commencement of the war, African
Americans were enslaved in the country; this was the case for those that lived in the South. They
hoped for liberation and democracy through being directly involved in the war. However, the
situation did not improve as the racial relations in the country became more strained. They only
had a reprieve after the second world war.

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Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fifth Edition. Vol. 1. WW Norton
& Company, 2013.
Keene, Jennifer D. Doughboys, the great war, and the remaking of America. JHU Press, 2003.
The Crisis. “Lynching Announcements From New Orleans States And Jackson Daily News
Reproduced In The Crisis, August 1919. | DPLA”. Dp.La, 1919, https://dp.la/primary-
source-sets/ida-b-wells-and-anti-lynching-activism/sources/1119.
Zieger, Robert, and Robert H. Zieger. America’s Great War: World War I and the American
Experience. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001.