Oregon Secretary of State

On the Home Front

4 images serve as a preview for content in this section of the exhibit.
Clockwise from top left: this 83-year-old woman participated in a library book drive; a female home defense volunteer shown in a poster; the little boy Vartan was the poster child for a relief fund campaign; "Mad Brute" German in an American propaganda poster.
Most Oregonians have never experienced the home front challenges and sacrifices associated with a world war. Those who lived during World War I were the first in the history of the state to respond to "total war." Their stories are at once familiar and foreign. This section shows some of the changes that war brought to Oregon's homes, schools, and communities.

Oregon Mobilizes

The Draft Board Wants to See You

To Be an American

Protecting the Homeland

Oregon's New Police Force

Fighting the "Venereal Menace"

Shortages and Inflation Hit Hard

Conservation Becomes Second Nature

Controlling Oregon's War Economy

The Red Cross at the Center of It

War Drives and Campaigns Tap the State

"Libraries for Our Soldiers and Sailors"

Boys and Girls Pitch in Too

College Campuses Mobilize for War

War Triggers Social and Cultural Change