ch.19 sct.3 C.T.#5

I think the war had positive effects on American society, BUT the negative effects outweigh the good. Even though it opened job opportunities for women and African Americans, I think it gave the government too much power and made the people behave ignorantly and narrowmindedly.
The demand for work in the speeding economy opened many jobs for women and blacks. Many blacks migrated to the northern cities to work (p.599), and women filled in those empty spots where men had been (p.600). They certainly benefited from that, but I think society as a whole "declined" (for lack of a better word) slightly.
The government's power expanded so much that I think they slightly outstepped their limits. The Constitution is still the Constitution in wartime, but they violated it with the passing of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. Also, the way the government took over the economy was a little beyond their "call of duty". Wilson got to control most of the economy, fixing prices and such. People and business should not have been basically controlled by the president, just because it was wartime.
The propaganda campaign influenced peoples behavior. People were being fed propoganda, and all they were told is how good the war was (ignorance), and the government "shielded" the public from the "bad" views of the war, silencing all those with opposing views. Supporting the war became the expected, and those who didn't agree or even those who were simply non-native Americans were persecuted (narrowminded).
So, I think the war most affected American society negatively. Although the war created opportunities for many people, it gave the government too much power and twisted the behavior of America's society through propaganda.