World War I

What were the causes and consequences of America’s involvement in World War I? This seminar seeks to address that question by tracing the nation’s movement from the neutrality of 1914 to the declaration of war in 1917. What forces moved us to war? What forces resisted that movement? And what impact did the War have on the homefront? The seminar focuses on the Espionage and Sedition Acts and the Supreme Court cases that tested them and inspired a new interest in civil liberties. In addition to analyzing documents, the seminar examines the War’s powerful propaganda posters to see how they inflamed emotion then and how they may be used to teach now.