Determining If the Actions of African American Combat Forces during World War I Positively Affected the Employment of African American Combat Soldiers during World War II

摘要

The purpose of this thesis is to examine if the United States government considered the voluntary services of World War I African American combat soldiers during the interwar years and determined them to be combat multipliers for future conflicts. The thesis identifies trends in African Americans' military service from the Revolutionary War through their actions along the Mexican border during the first decade of the 20th century. The War Department's recruitment, assessment, and induction practices in its preparation for the Great War are explored, and the impact of Jim Crow practices on the process of African American troop force generation are examined. The paper includes discussions of the efforts of civil rights organizations, civil rights leaders, statesmen, soldiers, and the media (national and international) to influence African American combat participation either positively or negatively. The author concludes that in World War I the African American combat soldiers' experiences did not significantly change the segregated employment practices of World War II; however, there were shifts in training opportunities and leadership positions. Civilian activists used documented sources of combat utilization during the Great War to reinforce their positions for increased African American combat employment during World War II. These changes were made via civilian-military relations between members of Congress, the War Department, African American/mainstream media, and leaders of organizations for social change.