Allen F. Davis’ analysis of “Welfare, Reform and World War I,” picks apart different social justice movements that climaxed during World War I, also known as the Progressive Era. Social justice movements involved such issues as labor rights, social insurance, community organization and opportunity for minorities. Davis argues that not all progressive movements were extinguished during the war because it clearly ignited a number of social welfare movements which exhausted after the war, however, providing the foundation for social welfare justice that was later achieved in the United States.
According to Davis, the war stimulated awareness for organized labor, such as collective bargaining, minimum wage, limited work hours, and the exploitation of workers. It also stimulated the social insurance movement which enacted such things as workman’s comp, and benefits to military men and their families. Although many major cities considered health insurance, the issue did fall victim to the war, but it did however, stimulate a health movement which attempted to regulate venereal disease among United States soldiers, by halting prostitution through the elimination alcohol. The prohibition movement attempted to “reduce poverty, nearly wipe out prostitution and crime, improve labor organization and…increase our national resources by setting free vast, suppressed human potentialities” (Davis, 529).
Community organization movements for public housing, industrial education, and training camps also began to escalate during the war. The very first experiments with urban housing took place during the Progressive Era, which sparked dozens of housing projects. Even immigration restrictions and the protection of servicemen were also strengthened. Another attempt to reconstruct community was movements to improve schools, build better parks and playgrounds.
Although blacks and immigrants were common victims of racial hysteria and segregation during the war, some racial progress was achieved. When Southern blacks headed north, they were typically greeted with better wages, education, and hospitality. Some blacks even managed to achieve “recognition of [their] citizenship in the draft; One thousand Negro officers; Special representation in the War and Labor Departments…[and] Recognition as Red Cross Nurses” (Davis, 527). Other minorities, such as women, achieved suffrage and were welcomed into new departments in the workforce.
Unfortunately, the only parts of social reform that remained after the war were racial hysteria, immigration restriction, and prohibition; consequently, public housing among other things was abandoned by Wilson’s Administration shortly after the war. Before reading Davis’ examination of social justice during the war, I was clueless about when the major social justice movements emerged and how they ended up. I also was unaware that most of the social welfare movements were exhausted shortly after the war. It was not until years later, when most of the social welfare causes became legislation. Obviously, not all progressive movements exhausted before the war, because Davis clearly points out that many social welfare movements emerged during the war, which created the foundation for the social justice that was achieved several years later.
Works Cited
Allen F. Davis. “Welfare, Reform and World War I.” American Quarterly , Vol. 19, No. 3 (Autumn, 1967), pp. 516-533. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711070
According to Davis, the war stimulated awareness for organized labor, such as collective bargaining, minimum wage, limited work hours, and the exploitation of workers. It also stimulated the social insurance movement which enacted such things as workman’s comp, and benefits to military men and their families. Although many major cities considered health insurance, the issue did fall victim to the war, but it did however, stimulate a health movement which attempted to regulate venereal disease among United States soldiers, by halting prostitution through the elimination alcohol. The prohibition movement attempted to “reduce poverty, nearly wipe out prostitution and crime, improve labor organization and…increase our national resources by setting free vast, suppressed human potentialities” (Davis, 529).
Community organization movements for public housing, industrial education, and training camps also began to escalate during the war. The very first experiments with urban housing took place during the Progressive Era, which sparked dozens of housing projects. Even immigration restrictions and the protection of servicemen were also strengthened. Another attempt to reconstruct community was movements to improve schools, build better parks and playgrounds.
Although blacks and immigrants were common victims of racial hysteria and segregation during the war, some racial progress was achieved. When Southern blacks headed north, they were typically greeted with better wages, education, and hospitality. Some blacks even managed to achieve “recognition of [their] citizenship in the draft; One thousand Negro officers; Special representation in the War and Labor Departments…[and] Recognition as Red Cross Nurses” (Davis, 527). Other minorities, such as women, achieved suffrage and were welcomed into new departments in the workforce.
Unfortunately, the only parts of social reform that remained after the war were racial hysteria, immigration restriction, and prohibition; consequently, public housing among other things was abandoned by Wilson’s Administration shortly after the war. Before reading Davis’ examination of social justice during the war, I was clueless about when the major social justice movements emerged and how they ended up. I also was unaware that most of the social welfare movements were exhausted shortly after the war. It was not until years later, when most of the social welfare causes became legislation. Obviously, not all progressive movements exhausted before the war, because Davis clearly points out that many social welfare movements emerged during the war, which created the foundation for the social justice that was achieved several years later.
Works Cited
Allen F. Davis. “Welfare, Reform and World War I.” American Quarterly , Vol. 19, No. 3 (Autumn, 1967), pp. 516-533. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711070