History Day - World War I

VHP description: "It was the coming-of-age war for the United States, and for the men who served in combat overseas, it provided a sobering lesson in the realities of twentieth-century warfare. Barrages of immense artillery shells snuffed out lives by the thousands, trenches filled with water and rats and worse were home for months on end to weary soldiers, and geographical orientation was often impossible. Though Americans had a sense that the tide had turned with their arrival, the sense of certain victory remained a rumor until the very end."

Site: "The recordings fall into two distinct series. The 1918 series was devoted mostly to World War I topics and was apparently distributed only to political organizations and other groups. The notable exception is the recording of General John Pershing (with Ambassador James Gerard speaking on the reverse side), which was sold commercially. All of the recordings from the 1918 series were pressed on ten-inch discs. The 1919-1920 series was devoted mostly to postwar issues and the 1920 presidential election. Recordings in this series were released at a rate of two per month, one Republican and one Democrat. The recordings were pressed on twelve inch discs and sold for two dollars each. With two exceptions, the reverse side of the records in both series consisted of patriotic music, usually a march. These selections are not duplicated here. "

Site: "This online collection includes the complete seventy-one-week run of The Stars and Stripes World War I edition. The Stars and Stripes was published in France by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) of the United States Army from February 8, 1918, to June 13, 1919."

LOC: "This vast online collection of World War I era newspaper clippings is from a single unique source: the 400-volume, 80,000-page set, World War History: Daily Records and Comments as Appeared in American and Foreign Newspapers, 1914-1926. Beginning with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 and extending to the November 11, 1918 armistice and years after, the clippings yield significant information about the political, social, cultural, and economic impact of the war as it is taking place and its aftermath. The clippings cover far beyond the valuable contemporary news reports and contain war-related editorials, features, cartoons, photos, maps, and more. Front pages and full-page features of New York City newspapers are frequently presented, while many newspapers from around the country and some foreign ones are represented through clipped individual articles and cartoons."

Be sure to check the second page, linked on the left menu.
Library of Congress (LOC): "Established in 1881, the American Red Cross became a major humanitarian organization during World War I. This guide provides access to material related to the "American Red Cross in WWI" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers."

Library of Congress (LOC) research guide: "Two shots in Sarajevo ignited the fires of war and drew Europe toward World War I. This guide provides access to materials related to the "assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers."

WWI and WWII

Site: "The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material related to World War I, including posters, photographs, manuscripts, newspapers, films, sheet music, and sound recordings. This guide compiles links to World War I resources throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, this guide provides links to external websites focusing on World War I and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers."
"Furthermore, as part of our commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the U.S. involvement in World War I, the Library of Congress has created a World War I portal to its extensive holdings on the subject of the war. This page also includes WWI-related content for teachers, blog postings, and details on lectures, programs, concerts and symposia related to the conflict."

FDLP is reworking their subject guides and URL may change. This URL has been updated.