Entry of World War I

The entry of the U.S. into World War I can be regarded as an extension of Progressivism into the realm of foreign policy. When the United States entered World War I it worried some people but raised hopes of others. The war helped reformers finally gain the rights they had been fighting for: national prohibition and woman suffrage. Many believed war would improve the quality of American life and free Europe from its tyranny. Many workers left their jobs when they entered the military leaving job openings for women. Wartime agencies abounded. The companies worked to together, and many believed the war promoted harmony between business and labor. Industrial leaders discovered that wartime agencies contributed to the tripled corporate profits. Mobilization indicated high prices for farmers and a lot of jobs in the war industries. The National War Labor Policies Board granted the eight-hour workday, a living minimum wage, and other things. The war also encouraged the stalled moral crusade to ban alcohol. They persuaded nineteen states to go dry. The war provided Americans with opportunities at home, and it would get them in good with the needed foreign countries to further progress the century. It also promoted an attack on American’s civil liberties. Hyper-patriotism would bring intolerance, repression, and violence. There were only a few reformers who didn’t agree with the war. The Women’s Peace Party and its foreign affiliates persuaded governments to make peace. Another disadvantage to the war was making enemies with its allies or the possibility of losing. America going to war strayed away from its progressive state by violating some of progressive’s main beliefs.