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ADAMSTAR PICTURES
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The making of OVER HERE: The Homefront During World War I
presents a
Mark Adams film OVER
HERE: The
Homefront during WW I
World War I activities on the homefront literally changed the In early 1917, on the eve of America's entry into World War I, South Carolina was more rural than urban...with many people living on farms and relying on horses for transportation. Jim Crow laws meant South Carolina was strictly segregated. For African-Americans and Whites, poverty was widespread, education limited, and poor health common. With their own problems at home, South Carolinians showed little interest in fighting a war across the Atlantic. But by spring of 1917, the attitude was changing.
Should
We Fight? Pro-war and anti-war sentiment grew in a state that called President Wildrow Wilson “one of their own”
"He kept us out of the war." President Woodrow Wilson had won re-election on that slogan. By late winter 1916, Wilson's determination to find a peaceful solution wasn't enough. In March, the Germans sank three U.S. ships and on April 2nd, 1917, Wilson urged Congress to "keep the world safe for Democracy." Would America...would South Carolina...support him?
On April 6th, America declared war. In South Carolina, Governor Richard Manning supported Wilson. Former Governor Coleman Blease was one of the loudest voices against U.S. involvement...and though Blease had his supporters, Manning was on the side of Wilson...and to South Carolinians, Wilson was one of their own.
South Carolina's affection for Wilson seemed to fuel Coleman Blease's outspoken opposition. Supported by newspapers in Aiken and Charleston, Blease tried to use race to stir opposition. It was a battle Blease would have trouble willing, even among his supporters in the mill villages. Along with loyalty to Wilson, South Carolinians were swept forward by a nationwide propoganda campaign to rally support for the war. United in opposition to the Kaiser, South Carolinians rejoined the Union, closing the rift created by the Civil War. Eventually, even Coleman Blease changed his position and adopted a pro-war stance...South Carolina was in, with Governor Manning hoping that war in Europe could solve problems at home.
Seeds of Change
African-American participation is explored – why African-Americans supported
the war effort and how they were disappointed by response to their efforts.
In 1917, South Carolina's African-American leaders were at a turning point. Educated and ambitious, a new generation was emerging with the means to create a new way of life. In South Carolina, the 371st Infantry embodied that hope. But like other attempts to attain equality, this one met with resistance. The 371st was a unit that fought with exceptional bravery...a unit that became a symbol of what African-Americans could contribute...and also a story of how those achievements and sacrifices would not be enough. On the South Carolina homefront, both African-Americans and women discovered that lasting change was hard to achieve.
Women Step Up
Women’s roles at home and in the military played a part in the national
women’s movement.
When thousands of men showed up at training camps in South Carolina, local businessmen saw opportunity...and so did at least one woman. In Greenville, Mrs. Eugenia Duke went into business making sandwiches for the soldiers at Camp Sevier and wound up launching a brand of Mayonnaise that is an icon of southern cooking - and eating. Duke's Mayonnaise doesn't use sugar - a recipe that gives it an edge in the market today. This recipe was started during World War I due to rationing, and continues today.
By 1917 South Carolina women were seeing more opportunities for education. A number of women from South Carolina were involved in the Woman's Suffrage Movement, both locally and nationally. Women were needed...to support soldiers training in South Carolina...and to fill jobs so that men could go to the front in Europe. Though some felt the War slowed the suffrage movement, women did at last secure the support of President Wilson. On January 9, 1918, President Wilson announced his support of the 19th Amendment. For the moment, though, South Carolinians were swept up in the whirl of training camps, bond drives, volunteer work...and promise that war brought to the homefront...
Boomtown Days
Military camps sprang up quickly and had a lasting effect on the state of
War was also big business, a fact not lost on South Carolina's leaders in their quest to bring Camp Jackson to Columbia. On June 2nd, 1917, Camp Jackson was established just eleven days after the construction contract was signed, and the first trainees arrived. The mood was bright among local businesses...as owners got ready to sell them goods and services. True to the city father's vision in 1917, Fort Jackson today is an engine for the Columbia economy. The Charleston Navy Yard eventually became a major military installation. Now privately owned, it houses among others, artists, architects and craftsmen.
Deadlier Than War: The Flu Epidemic
The influenza epidemic in the fall of 1918 began in the military camps, and had
a big impact on the state as well as the country and the world.
Like thousands who came to Camp Jackson, Camp Sevier, Camp Wadsworth in South Carolina...Norman Rockwell arrived at the Charleston Navy Yard in the summer of 1917. Rockwell was already a well-known illustrator. The Navy had no intention of treating him like a regular recruit. Little did they know that keeping him away from the action in Europe would put him at risk of dying...from Spanish Influenza on the homefront. Rockwell recalled in his autobiography catching the flu and being sent away from the base hospital, back to his barracks. The doctor told him: "Get out of here. This place will kill you. The germs are as thick as blackstrap molasses."
By September of 1918, the flu had arrived full force in South Carolina, making its way from military camps into towns and rural areas. Dr. Joe Gettys is 100 years old now. He was 11 when the Flu epidemic reached his family in rural York County. Dr. Gettys was one of the few lucky ones - he and his family survived. But in a span of months, a nation stretched thin by war faced the dual challenge of fighting a deadly battle in Europe and on the homefront. Because of the flu epidemic, almost six times as many Americans died on the homefront than died fighting the war. Across South Carolina, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people died in a two-month period. Nationwide the estimated American deaths from the flu epidemic was over 600,000. Over 110,000 Americans died fighting in World War I. Norman Rockwell was, of course, also one of the lucky ones. Despite being 17 pounds underweight when he joined the Navy, Rockwell recovered fully...just in time for the Armistice. The Armistice on November 12th, 1918, brought the end of a terrible war, and the return of the soldiers home. But what lasting change did it bring to the homefront? For South Carolina, World War I brought unity...and initiated many of the changes we'd see throughout the 20th century. South Carolina not only rejoined the Union...it opened its eyes to the world.
The Forgotten War
In
OVER HERE: The Homefront During World War I won a Bronze Telly at the 29th Annual Telly Awards.
For more information about the Telly Awards visit:
Directed
& Edited by Mark
Adams Written
& Produced by Jenny
Maxwell Narrator Beryl
Dakers Videographers Mark
Adams Scott
Smoak Arthur
Joseph EFP
Crew Richard
Wolford Titus
Davis Steve
Yountz Mike
Miller Still
Photography Support Allen
Sharpe Research
Assistants Richard
Wolford Josh
Bishop Kenneth
Dyer Opening
Title Christine
Brouwer On-Line
Editor Danielle
Kent Production
Manager Keith
Galloway Executive
Producer Amy
Shumaker
Kerry
Feduk CEO
and President of ETV Moss
Bresnahan Images
provided by Jonathan
Brooke Bruce
Cotner Richard
Sawyer Marcia
Synnott Russell
S. Wolfe, Jr. Historic
The
Joseph M. Bruccoli Great War Collection South
Caroliniana Library The
C. F. Sauer Company The
The
S.C.
Confederate Relic Room and Patriots
Point Naval & Maritime Museum The
National Archives Special
thanks to The
C.F. Sauer Company The
Dr.
Judith Bainbridge Beth
Bilderback Dr.
Kendrick Clements Fred
DeMag Dr.
Bobby Donaldson Kristina
Dunn Dr.
Walter Edgar First
Presbyterian Church in Dr.
Joe Gettys Dr.
Blease Graham Dick
Gregory Dr.
Fritz Hamer Joe
Long Allen
Roberson John
Sherrer Jai
Cassidy-Shaiman Jason
Shaiman Elizabeth
Sudduth Dr.
Marcia Synnott Tut
Underwood The
Navy Yard at Noisette Elizabeth
West Julie
Wiegand E.L.
Wimett Russell
S. Wolfe, Jr. Forward Together:
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