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Mobilizing the Nation: The United States Girds for War:
-- "It will involve the organization and mobilization of all the material resources of the country to supply the materials of war and serve the incidental needs of the Nation..." -- President Woodrow Wilson, Address to Congress, April 2, 1917
During the first years of the twentieth century, many Americans believed that civilization had progressed beyond the need for war. And when war broke out in Europe in 1914, they hoped to remain neutral. But events, not least among them Germany's unrestricted use of submarines and the sinking of U.S. merchant ships, turned the tide of public opinion. In April 1917, Congress declared war against Germany. "The world must be made safe for democracy," President Wilson explained as he spelled out the tremendous task that lay ahead.
How could the U.S. mobilize and equip its armies in time to prevent the Allies from being overrun? It's true that the U.S. had been supplying France and England with good and other materials for years; but few actual war industries existed for the mass production of modern military aircraft, machine guns, artillery, or even a standard army rifle. The regular Army had only 127,588 men. The National Guard added another 181,620 troops. But bold action was required if the United States was to play a major role in Europe.
And so the Selective Service was born. The Selective Service Act of 1917 obligated military-aged men to register at a local draft board in their own communities. Federal officials coordinated the 4,648 boards, which operated in a decentralized manner on the state level. Eventually, the Federal government equipped and mobilized more than 4 million men. Two million soldiers divided into forty-two divisions were sent to France in time to make a difference. |