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World War I was a war like no other, and U.S. participation in this global conflict had a profound impact on those who fought and on the future of the nation.

The Outbreak of War in Europe and the Debate

over U.S. Involvement

War broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914,

after months of international tension. The spark

that ignited open hostilities was the assassination

of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne

of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo,

Bosnia. By the end of the year, the Central Powers, led

by Germany and Austria-Hungary, were battling the

Allies, led by Britain, France, and Russia.

The United States initially declared itself neutral,

leading to years of argument over whether to join

the conflict, and when. The debates surrounding

isolationism and interventionism took place in popular

culture and the arts as well as in the political sphere

and the news.

The sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania on May

7, 1915, killed almost 1,200 people, including more

than 120 U.S. citizens. Many Americans, appalled that

the German submarines, or U-boats, would sink a

passenger ship, saw this as a brutal attack on freedom

of movement and U.S. neutrality. The Lusitania

was one of dozens of ships sunk carrying American

passengers and goods.

Mobilization for War

The United States entered World War I on April 6,

1917, when the U.S. Congress agreed to a declaration

of war. Faced with mobilizing a sufficient fighting force,

Congress passed the Selective Service Act on May 18,

1917. By the end of the war, the SSA had conscripted

over 2.8 million American men. The hundreds of

thousands of men who enlisted or were conscripted

early in the war still faced months of intensive training

before departing for Europe. In an effort to finance the

extensive military operations of the war, and to help

curb inflation by removing large amounts of money

from circulation, the United States government issued

World War I

teacher’s guideprimary source set

Historical Background

‘Over the top’ American soldiers answering the bugle call to ‘charge.’ https://www.loc.gov/item/96505415/

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Liberty Bonds. Bond drives, parades, advertisements,

and community pressure fueled the purchase of

bonds, which played a crucial role in financing the U.S.

war effort.

War on the Homefront

However distant the battlefields, World War I led to

dramatic changes in the United States. American

women served in a multitude of capacities including

agriculture, factory and munitions work, the medical

field, and non-combat roles in the Army, Navy, and

Marines. The expanded role of women in the American

workforce during the war was an important factor in

the growing support for women’s suffrage and the

eventual passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in

1920.

The U.S. Congress passed the Espionage Act on

June 15, 1917. The Act prohibited individuals from

interfering with draft or military processes, expanded

the punishment for insubordination in the military, and

barred Americans from supporting enemies in a time

of war. Supporters saw it as a necessary precaution to

promote domestic and military security, while critics

viewed it as an attack on freedom of speech and

argued that this law unfairly targeted immigrants and

ideological dissenters.

War Overseas

When U.S. troops arrived overseas, they found

themselves in the midst of a war waged on the ground,

in the air, and under the sea, using new weapons on an

unprecedented scale. Combatants suffered casualties

in quantities never before seen. Many U.S. soldiers

recorded the experience of participating in such an

overwhelming and sometimes disorienting conflict

in diaries and letters home, as well as in poems and

songs.

Often regarded as the world’s first modern war, it

used military technology including tanks, airplanes,

modern machine guns, and poison gas. Technological

innovations extended beyond the military. The

medical field also experienced a proliferation of new

technologies, including blood transfusions, x-ray

machines, and prosthetics. Communication systems

drastically changed during the war, as the telephone

was adapted to meet wartime conditions, and the

wireless telegraph, a precursor to radio technology,

became more widely used.

World War I saw unprecedented participation by

African American troops, with over 350,000 African

American soldiers serving. However, African American

troops were only able to serve in segregated units,

and many were excluded from combat, allowed only

to provide support services. The return of African

American soldiers to their home communities after

the war was followed by both a series of bloody racial

conflicts and a wave of civil rights activism.

Armistice and Plans for Peace

On November 11, 1918, an Armistice agreement

effectively ended the fighting. The conditions of the

Central Powers’ surrender were agreed upon when

the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919.

The Treaty assigned responsibility for the war to the

Central Powers and required that they pay reparations

for war damages.

In addition to drafting the Treaty, the Paris Peace

Conference also formed the League of Nations, an

organization intended to prevent aggressive conflict

by uniting the major military powers of the world into

one body. The harsh punishments of the Treaty and

the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations are widely

regarded as catalysts for the outbreak of another global

war two decades later. The U.S. Senate ratified neither

the Versailles Treaty nor U.S. entry in the League of

Nations, primarily out of opposition to mandatory U.S.

military involvement in foreign conflicts.

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Print a selection of items from the set that depend on visual elements to convey a message. Allow students to

select an item and examine it, attending closely to visual techniques. Pair students who selected the same item

and allow them to compare their thinking. What techniques can they identify? Why do they think the creator of

the item used those techniques? If time allows, also pair students with someone who selected a different item,

to compare messages and techniques.

This set includes memoirs, poetry, and news reports. Provide time for students to analyze information from

various genres, and then list or diagram similarities and differences.

Select items that represent changes in social conventions and customs of the time, such as contributions to the

war effort by women or racial minorities. Before students analyze the items, ask them to jot down what they

think they know. As students analyze the primary sources, encourage them to think about what they notice that

surprises them, and what questions they have. Support individuals or small groups in research to find additional

information.

Allow students time to study a small set of items, and then list technology featured or mentioned in the items.

Assign or allow each student to research to learn more about a particular technology.

Suggestions for Teachers

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Additional Resources

A Guide to World War I Materials

https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/wwi/wwi.html

World War I

https://www.loc.gov/wwi

World War I Sheet Music

https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-i-sheet-music/about-this-collection/

World War I Remembered 100 Years Later

https://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-wwi-100.html

World War I: American Artists View the Great War

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/american-artists-view-the-great-war/

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The war of the nations: portfolio in rotogravure etchings: compiled from the Mid-week

pictorial, “Geography and Chronology of the World War.” New York, January 1, 1919. From

Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/19013740/1919-01-01/ed-1/

The Democratic Banner, “Victim of Assassin’s Bullets.” Mt. Vernon, Ohio, June 30, 1914.

From Library of Congress.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88078751/1914-06-30/ed-1/seq-1/

Topeka State Journal, “Lusitania Is Sunk.” Topeka, Kansas, May 7, 1915. From Library of

Congress.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016014/1915-05-07/ed-1/seq-1/

Anti-War League of the District of Columbia. [The anti-war league of the District of Columbia

will hold a big peace meeting in Bethesda Hall on Rockville electric line, Bethesda, Md.]

Washington, 1916. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.20802100/

Flagg, James Montgomery, Artist. I want you for U.S. Army: nearest recruiting station. Ca.

1917. Image. From the Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/96507165/

Rogers, W. A., Artist. Now for a round-up. New York, 1918. Image. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2010717793/

Remember! The flag of liberty--Support it! Buy U.S. government bonds, 3rd Liberty Loan / /

Heywood Strasser & Voigt Litho. Co., N.Y. [1917] Image. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2002707406/

Primary Sources with Citations

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Cohan, George M. and Murray, Billy, Composer, Performer. “Over There.” Sound recording.

Edison, 1917. From Library of Congress. MP3, WAV.

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010567/

“302nd Eng. repairing road over trench and 92nd Div. (colored) machine gunners going into

action, Argonne Forest, France.” Photograph. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2016645661/

“‘Over the top’ - American soldiers answering the bugle call to ‘charge.’” Photograph.

Meadville, Pa.: Keystone View Co., c1918. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/96505415/

Smith, Earle C. Bound Hand Written Diary of Chemical Warfare School of Earle C. Smith.

Diary. From Library of Congress, Earle Covington Smith Collection.

ht tp: / /memory. loc .gov/d ig l i b /vhp-s to r i es / loc .na t l i b .a f c2001001.12817/

pageturner?ID=pm0026001&page=40

Campbell, Lucie Eddie and Griggs, Allen, Composer, Lyricist. Are They Equal In The Eyes of

The Law? Campbell-Griggs Pub. Co., Memphis, Tenn., 1919. Notated Music. From Library of

Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2013571025/

Seegar, Alan. The Evening Herald, “I Have a Rendezvous with Death.” Albuquerque, NM,

May 6, 1919. From Library of Congress.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn92070582/1919-05-06/ed-1/seq-8

“[Women immersing bouchon assemblies for hand grenades in Vatudrip to prevent rust,

Gorham Manufacturing Co., Providence, Rhode Island, during World War I.]” Photograph.

Providence, RI.: 1914-1918. From Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/item/96510723/

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Chamberlain, Kenneth Russell. The Weaker Sex? / Chamberlain. Illustration. New York:

Puck Publishing Co., November 7, 1914. From Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Division.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2011660506/

“[At Walter Reed Hospital, a soldier who is missing a foot lights a cigarette for another

soldier who is missing both arms.]” Photograph. Washington D.C.: 1918. From Library of

Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3d01812/

Frieman, Harry. Diary of Harry Frieman. Journal. From Library of Congress American Folklife

Center.

h t tp: / /memory. loc .gov/d ig l i b /vhp-s to r i es / loc .na t l i b .a f c2001001.23600/

pageturner?ID=pm0003001&page=56

Corpus Christi Caller, “League of Nations Idea Is Adopted.” Corpus Christi, TX, January 26,

1919. From Library of Congress.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86071134/1919-01-26/ed-1/seq-1/