The U.S. Food Administration was created during World War I when President
Wilson issued Executive Order 2679-A. Its job was to
- assure the supply, distribution, and conservation of food during the war,
- facilitate transportation of food and prevent monopolies and hoarding, and
- maintain governmental power over foods by using voluntary agreements and
a licensing system.
Herbert Hoover, former head of the Belgian Relief Organization, lobbied for
and won the job of administrator of the Food Administration. The Lever Act had
given the President power to regulate the distribution, export, import, purchase,
and storage of food. Wilson passed that power on to Hoover. As head of the U.S.
Food Administration, Hoover became a "food dictator." To succeed,
Hoover designed an effort that would appeal to the American sense of volunteerism
and avoid coercion. He called for patriotism and sacrifices that would increase
production and decrease food consumption. "Food," Hoover and the administration
proclaimed, "will win the war."
While Hoover preferred the emphasis on the "spirit of self sacrifice,"
he also had authority to coerce. He set wheat prices and bought and distributed
wheat. Coercion plus volunteerism produced results. By 1918 the United States
was exporting three times as much breadstuffs, meat, and sugar as it had before
the war.
To achieve these results, the Food Administration combined an emphasis on patriotism
with the lure of advertising created by its own Advertising Section. This section
produced a wealth of posters for both outdoor and indoor display All of these
posters, now part of Record Group 4, the Records of the U.S. Food Administration,
testify to the government’s intent to mobilize the food effort during
World War I. An executive order of August 21, 1920, terminated the remaining
branches of the U.S. Food Administration.
Teaching Suggestion:
Find a color version of this poster online in the National Archives Archival Research Catalog (ARC) database (ARC # 512685), and share it with students. Ask them to identify the countries
represented by the flags in the poster. Using their textbook and library resources,
ask students to answer the following questions:
- How did each of these countries fit into the general scheme of the war?
- Were they part of alliances and if so, which alliances?
- What other countries were a part of other alliances in World War I, including
the United States?
Review the circumstances surrounding Our Documents #60, Zimmermann Telegram,
1917, and #61, Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against
Germany, 1917. Lead a class discussion about the role of alliances in World
War I, and assign students to create their own poster illustrating the alliances.
