In January 1918, Congress began public hearings on the American war effort in World War I due to widespread reports of gross inefficiency and incompetence within the War Department. In particular, unhealthy conditions and the outbreak of disease at hastily constructed training camps led to the deaths of thousands of newly drafted soldiers and prompted a public outcry. The criticism was led by Democratic Senator George Chamberlain, and the adversarial response of Secretary of War Newton Baker and President Wilson established a cleavage between the legislative and the executive branches during the last year of World War I that carried over into the postwar period. Furthermore, it highlights tensions within the progressive movement, as the use of expanded federal authority led some progressive Democrats to emphasize loyalty to the Wilson administration, while others continued to emphasize reform and governmental transparency.

1918 年 1 月，由于战争部严重低效和无能的广泛报道，国会开始就美国在第一次世界大战中的战争努力举行公开听证会。尤其是仓促建造的训练营的不健康状况和疾病爆发导致数千名新兵死亡，并引发了公众的强烈抗议。批评是由民主党参议员乔治张伯伦领导的，战争部长牛顿贝克和威尔逊总统的对抗性反应在第一次世界大战的最后一年建立了立法和行政部门之间的分歧，并延续到战后时期。此外，它突出了进步运动中的紧张局势，