Featured Articles
America’s Children at War
America's schoolchildren served on the home front during World War I. Although American children were geographically removed from the physical destruction of the European front, World War I deeply impacted their lives.They were ceaselessly [...]
Who were the American mothers to France’s orphaned children during the First World War?
During the entire course of World War I, approximately 25,000 American women crossed the Atlantic Ocean to attend to the needs of wounded soldiers and civilian communities in Europe. Women traditionally operated in medical units and helped care [...]
Finding the Hello Girls: Pacific Northwest Connections
”Goodbye U. of W.; Hello France” was the headline in a Seattle-area newspaper I came across while researching the University of Washington’s response to World War I. It has led me on a decade-long [...]
“Hell and Maria!” Charles Gates Dawes Tells Off Congress and Becomes a Celebrity
Charles Gates Dawes (1865–1951) was one of the most colorful and substantial characters of America's 20th-century history. Lawyer, banker, musical composer, first head of Bureau of the Budget, vice president of the United States, and [...]
The Mysterious WWI Service of Hortense Schoenfeld Doob
It began with discovery of this compelling photocopy in our files, labeled on its rear as simply, “Hortense Schoenfeld Doob.” Nothing more. Fortunately, some sleuthing has helped us to shed at least a little [...]
Ten Interesting WWI Images I Found in the New York Public Library Digital Archives
As you may guess, since the New York Public Library has vast collections of stuff on just about every topic under the sun, it has a great collection of First World War material. I've [...]
“She Was Glorious”—The Pre-Sinking History of RMS Lusitania
Inception The Liverpool-based shipping company Cunard ordered the R.M.S. Lusitania and its sister ship, the R.M.S. Mauretania, in 1902. Lusitania was built by the shipyard of John Brown & Co. in Scotland. For Cunard, the two ocean liners had [...]
As War Broke Out in Europe, America Lost a First Lady
U.S. First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson died of Bright's Disease on 6 August 1914. She had been born on 15 May 1860, in Savannah, Georgia. She was the first of four children born to [...]
WWI Liberty Loan operation produced some of the 20th century’s most recognizable commercial art
Every major American war has been paid for with some combination of taxes, borrowing, and — in a few cases — inflation. This page is about the borrowing part: the war loans and bonds the U.S. [...]
