World War I, Americanism
by Dr. H - September 26th, 2010
For Wednesday, 9/29 – Chapter 25. It’s only in retrospect, of course, that we refer to the war in 1914-1918 as “World War I.” At the time, and until 1941, it was simply “The Great War.” What made it “great”? What was horrifically new about the way this war was conducted? What began with the Great War; what did it end?
If there was one popular song of the war, it was patriotic songster George M. Cohan’s catchy tune, “Over There.” You can listen to the audio here, or see some newsreel/army film clips and hear a poorer-quality rendition on this Youtube video. Even the title (Over There) suggests the emotional distance many Americans had from the conflict, and the lack of national unity with which we entered the war. You can see that as well in Wilson’s effort to convince the Congress that American participation would make the world “safe for democracy.” Did it?
On Friday 10/1, we’ll look at nativism and efforts to Americanize people living within the borders of the US during this era in Chapter 26, “The Modern Temper.” Were those efforts an outgrowth of Progressivism, or do they have their genesis somewhere else in American culture? Who was affected? How successful were Americanization campaigns?
