History Research Essay

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
A Letter to the Editor
Patriotic Citizen
1234- 0123
Belmont, CA
To the Editor
Big Wars Newspaper
Belmont, CA
2nd January 1919.
Dear Editor,
Re: The US involvement in the War
Our country’s involvement in the just concluded world war has been a matter of endless discussion due to its nature and the pressure it has put on us citizens. One way the US populace is currently divided on this matter is on whether our government should have gotten involved in the war in any other way than its initial stand of neutrality (Kazin 2). Although it is challenging to speculate how the war would have been without the US’s entry, the conditions of the war two years before we got involved as a country indicates that it was necessary for the US to take a side and engage the enemy.
Although we as citizens were pressured to let our youth and able men go to war among other ways, it has left us in a better position in the following ways (Kazin 10). Specifically, it has given us the need for coming up with new policies regarding food administration, weaponry production and purchase, sharing of information, and citizens’ participation in national service to guard our growth as a country.
The Food Administration program that Herbert Hoover introduced in 1917 (Allen 2) has given us citizens a sense of conservation and improving our food production. We civilians adjusted our eating habits while at the same time increasing our production, voluntarily and as an expression of our patriotism.

As a result, we fed our forces. The best thing about this is that now the war is over, and the American spirit of food conservation and production will continue. Since there is no war, there will be surplus food for us citizens.
The need leading to the establishment of the War Industry Board (WIB) in the US may not be important for the US citizens anymore, but it ensured our unguaranteed victory. The organization streamlined the ways war equipment were produced and manufactured. Especially, the WIB president Bernard M. Baruch steered the activities of the board towards prioritization of ammunition needs (Alchin 3). For this reason, manufacturers had to improve their production both in technology and volumes. Eventually, the US forces had speedily acquired new technologies that probably could have taken longer without the involvement in the war. Despite WIB dismissal in 1918, it remained positively influential to the coming ages or New Deal, World War II, and Great Depression.
Another improvement that can be used to justify the US involvement in the establishment of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) in 1917 (Funk 121) to promote war efforts through communication and sharing of information. It is important to agree that this committee is criticized tor hiding some truths of the war through censorship, but how some information would have influenced the troops and our civilians’ effort is definitely to our defeat as a country (Funk 131). My opinion is that the CPI kept us focused on the impending victory and away from distractive ideas that would have reduced out voluntarism and patriotism in war. And we celebrate our win in the war, let us remember it is the effort of such functional committee that enabled it.
Finally, the involvement of the war enabled the participation of all Americans in the service and this created jobs for the previously unemployed Americans. The Selective Service Act that was passed on May of 1917 allowed a military expansion that allowed registration of young and older men to enroll for military service. Due to its effectiveness, it this act can be considered in other wars to come. Therefore, it has given us a way to address the shortage of military men while at the same time promoting the unity and equality of US citizens.
In brief, the US involvement in the war was a wise decision. Up to that time in 1917, there was no other alternative to participation in the war for the US had sustained several attacks by other nations including German. At the same time, other countries including Mexico had begun rising against the US. Therefore, it was important for the US to enter into the war. The most important outcome our involvement is that war ended significantly sooner than it would have without the US. As a result, more resources of warring countries and lives were saved. Ultimately, the US flag rose high regarding global powers as well as international relations.
Yours Sincerely
Patriotic One
Works Cited
Alchin, Linda. “War Industries Board (WIB): WW1 History for Kids”. American-Historama.Org, 2014, http://www.american-historama.org/1913-1928-ww1-prohibition-era/war-industries-board.htm. Accessed 19 Oct 2018.
Allen, John. “The Food Administration of Herbert Hoover and American Voluntarism in the First World War | Germina Veris.” Easternct.Edu, 2018, http://www.easternct.edu/germinaveris/the-food-administration-of-herbert-hoover-and-american-voluntarism-in-the-first-world-war/. Accessed 19 Oct 2018.
Funk, Clayton. “The Committee on Public Information and the Mobilization of Public Opinion in the United States during World War I: The Effects on Education and Artists.” Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, vol 14, no. 1, 1994, pp. 120-144., https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol14/iss1/10/. Accessed 19 Oct 2018.
Kazin, Michael. “Opinion | Should America Have Entered World War I?” Nytimes.Com, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/opinion/should-America-have-entered-world-war-i.html. Accessed 19 Oct 2018.