African-American Community during Mobilization Measures 1917–1918: Hope and Practice

Abstract

The article is devoted to the military mobilization of the African-American community to the USA Army during the First World War; the expectations of African-Americans of participating in hostilities on the fronts of World War I in the U.S. Army; and the point of view of the U.S. government and military on the role of African-Americans as part of the U.S. Army. This question remains relevant today, as some aspects of the problem are still not studied enough in world historiography. The research methodology involves general scientific and special historical research methods. The integrated approach helped to combine different theoretical aspects of the issues under the study and relate them to specific historical events, based on which it was possible to trace the positions of different segments of society on both national and financial grounds regarding the role of African-American soldiers at the  front. The  chronological approach contributed to the  study of  the topic in  historical retrospect, the  study of  the sequence of  events of  the mobilization activities and the  arrival of  African-American soldiers on the  European front. The  biographical approach identified certain individuals who played a key role in the mobilization of African-Americans and their further distribution in the military. A statistical approach to studying the problem made it possible to determine the number of African-Americans involved in the American armed corps in Europe and their relationship between combat and support battalions. The scientific novelty of the paper is that the study of the position of the African-American community in  the mobilization of  the First World War, their expectations and realities, called the  racist position of the establishment and the army, are studied. The paper concludes that World War I was the first global event to give the African-American community hope for equal rights within its state. In practice, due to the  predominance of  racists in  the command structure, the  recruitment of  African-Americans to the  military was soon reduced, and segregation and racial discrimination remained within its borders.