Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

World War I

• CLC home page
• Introduction
• Report

Summary

• Purpose
• Commissioners
• Survey & Hearings
• Prominent Deficiencies
• Underlying Problem
• Migration
• Agriculture Challenges
• Public Health
• Role of Farm Women
• Conservation & Land Use
• General Corrective Forces
• Commission Recommendations
• Legislative Recommendations
• Remedies
• The Call for Leadership

Legacy

• American Country Life Association
• Rural Sociology
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• Highways
• Agricultural Economics

Resources

• Bibliography
• Web Resources
• Timeline

After the United States entered the war, the Army swelled from 200,000 soldiers to more than four million. The impact on rural areas was significant. The war eroded the agricultural workforce, resulted in increased farm production, and moved rural residents into an increasingly urbanized national and international political economy. The war also strengthened the commercial basis of farms and farm families (Wunderlich, 2003).

Recommended Resource