This inquiry set focuses on how the US government prepared for war. Speeches by American political leaders, documents that show ordinary Americans readying for war, and images that feature California as a central place in wartime mobilization frame students’ exploration into American involvement in World War I.

World War I began in 1914, and while the US began to supply the Allies with weapons and goods that year, American soldiers did not join the conflict until three years later. Although American entry into the Great War came later than the Allied Powers hoped for, when Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war in April 1917, he did so in an effort to continue promoting America’s vision for the world. When American troops arrived in Europe in the fall of 1917, their participation helped bring an end to the war and establish the United States as a global power.

This inquiry set focuses on how the US government prepared for war. Speeches by American political leaders, documents that show ordinary Americans readying for war, and images that feature California as a central place in wartime mobilization frame students’ exploration into American involvement in World War I.