Apr 7, 2017
This week we mark the 100th anniversary of the US entry into The
Great War, or what we’ve come to know as World War I. The US
declaration of war in April 1917 marked a decisive turning point in
American history, as for the first time the US engaged in a
European war. This decision marked a decisive break with the
nation’s longstanding tradition of isolationism when it came to
European affairs. But at the outset of the war in 1914, that spirit
of isolationism was running high in the US. Reflecting this view,
President Woodrow Wilson announced that the US would remain
neutral. But over the course of the next three years, many events
transpired that gradually moved a majority of Americans to accept
US involvement in WWI as inevitable. To help us understand this
crucial period in US history from 1914-1917, this episode has two
segments.
1) First, I provide a brief overview of the isolationist tradition
in US history and how it changed by 1917. To illustrate this
transition, I look at two hit songs from the period. In 1915, the
top song in the US was explicitly anti-war: “I Didn’t Raise My Boy
to be A Soldier.” But two years later, the #1 song in the US was
“Over There!,” a rousing patriotic ditty extolling America’s
commitment to military victory in WWI penned by the famed
songwriter George M. Cohan.
2) Second, I talk to historian Michael S. Neiberg about his new book, The Path to War: How the First World War Created Modern America. It’s a close examination of the years between 1914 – when WW1 began in Europe – and 1917, when the US finally chose to enter the conflict. It’s a fascinating and largely forgotten period in American history.
Show page and credits: http://inthepastlane.com/episode-024/