Rallying Americans for War, 1917-1918 - David Kennedy

America’s engagement in World War I was like that of no other major belligerent. The United States entered the war late, saw no bloodshed on its own soil, mobilized rapidly but only partially, and fought its major battles only in the war’s closing weeks. The totality of that experience tells us much about the nation’s geopolitical position in the early twentieth century, both before and after the conflict, about the nature of the progressive movement that the war allegedly snuffed out, and about some enduring aspects of the American national character. David M. Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus and Director Emeritus of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. Lecture given as part of the National WWI Museum and Memorial's 2018 Symposium, 1918: Crucible of War. Symposium presenting sponsor: Pritzker Military Museum & Library - http://www.pritzkermilitary.org For more information visit http://theworldwar.org