America In The Great War

Submitted By LayZboy
Words: 343
Pages: 2

Ronald Schaffer’s America in the Great War gives new insights into World War I.

The book gave historical accounts about the war that other books negated to included.

The thesis that Schaffer tries to prove that the Great War was the start of the American

welfare state and the beginning of “big” government. America in the Great War was

structured in chronological order of the war, from America’s mobilization to the actual

fighting. What the book did not include is a detail account of the fighting. This was the

biggest draw back in a otherwise well thought book.

The book begins with the mobilization of the United State’s industry and man

power. The first two chapters dealt with how the Federal Government shaped the view of

the war in America’s minds. The methods that the Federal Government used varied from

propaganda to coercion. The point behind the Federal Government’s involvement in

propaganda was to rally the country to fight the war. The first step in shaping the

people’s mind was to get the labor and industry to work together. The Federal

Government established committees and teams to persuade the minds of the United States.

One of these committees were the Committee on Public Information established in April

13 1917 by order on the President of the United States. The committee was led by

George Creel, former social reformer. He had great power in wha...

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