Effect of World War I on children in the United States

Basic Background of WWI

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who had been the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. This seemingly minor conflict quickly evolved into a war involving most of Europe's countries, later named World War I. The involved European countries were split between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, which eventually became the Central Powers and Allied Forces, respectively. The Central Powers consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, while the Allied Forces initially included the United Kingdom, France, and Russia; Italy and the United States joined later.

World War I continued for nearly 3 years before the United States became involved in February of 1917. This involvement changed the course of the war, and directly affected daily life, education, and family structures of children in the United States.

Impact on Daily Life

Home Life

    ideas: death tolls, husbands left – wives had to work, left children at home 

References

• Mackaman, Douglas and Mays, Michael. World War I and the Cultures of Modernity. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2000.

This book is relevant to our topic because it discusses women and waged labor. Women being in the working forced affects children at home during the war. In addition, this book mentions the perception that women were selfish because they chose to look for higher paying jobs. Women working higher paying jobs were often required to work longer hours, which took them away from their children longer.

• Herwig, Holger H. The First World War Germany and Austria-Hungary. New York: Arnold, 1997.

This book is relevant to our topic because it discusses the amount of young men who were sent to war. This is significant because many of the young men had younger siblings who were affected. In addition, this book discusses the importance of work and how the money earned by the women was necessary to feed the children at home. This book also discusses the sleeping conditions women who worked on the land, rather than the factories, faced with their children.

• Spring, Joel. Images of American Life. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.

This book is relevant to our topic because it talks about the importance of teachers helping their students build a good character and have strong morals. This book also talks about schools receiving federal funding, even during the war. In addition, this book mentions the influence teachers have over their students regarding their emotions and opinions of the war.

• Heyman, Neil. World War I. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.

This book is relevant to our topic because it talks about food shortages, and this affected children's lifestyles. This book also discusses pre and post war home-life situations, which directly relate dot children being affected by World War I. We can also use this book as a source of information about the cost of the war, and how the cost of the war affected children in different countries.

• Cohen, Debra Rae. Remapping the Home Front. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002.

This book is relevant to our topic because it discusses the changes in lifestyles of some women and families during World War I. Specifically, we will use the information about women finding jobs, and how this affected home life, especially children.

• Dowswell, Paul. True Stories of the First World War. U.S.A.: First Scholastic Printing, February 2007.

This book relates to this topic because it provides general information about the Allies and Central Powers during World War I. It also discusses the results of the war, as well as the influenza epidemic that affected the entire world. This book also mentions what men, women, and children saw during the war, and how this negatively affected their post World War I lives.

• Fromkin, David. In the Time of the Americans: FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur - The Generation That Changed America's Role in the World. New York: Aldred A. Knopf, Inc., 1995.

This book primarily focuses on the main leaders of the World War eras. This book focuses on government leaders and the decisions they made during war. Specifically, we will use this book to discuss Wilson's policies and the effects on American youth.

• Strachan, Hew. The First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

This book provides a comprehensive history of World War I, including different areas in which the war was fought. For our project, we will be focusing on a portion of the book describing youth organizations that developed as a response to the war.

• Horne, John, ed. State, society and mobilization in Europe during the First World War. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

This book focuses primarily on different aspects of World War I in Europe. Specifically, we will be using the parts of the book that deal with children, school systems, and education, like how curriculums changed during and after the war.

• Adams, Simon. Eyewitness World War I. London: DK Publishing, Inc., 2001.

This book provides a general account of World War I. We have used this book for references to general questions like dates, countries, different powers, and causes of the war.

• Neiberg, Michael S. Warefare and Society in Europe, 1898 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2004.

This book focuses on the impact of different wars in Europe. It specifically relates to our project because it explains the impact of the war including death tolls, impact of veterans, new country divisions, and economic aspects of Europe.

• Remack, Joachim, ed. The First World War: Causes, Conduct, Consequences. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1971.

This book is relevant to our topic because it discusses World War I from the standpoint of historians as well as witnesses. The main ideas that are prevalent to our topic are the impact of the Russian Revolution, the economic impact of the war, the lack of food and fuel, and the influence of technology on the war and society.

• Filipovic, Zlata, and Melanie Challenger, ed. Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, From World War I to Iraq. New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

This book chronicles war diaries from different eras. We will specifically use Piete Kuhr's diary which provides a child's perspective of World War I.

Footnotes

Donovank (talk) 05:03, 3 February 2010 (UTC) Santolinek (talk) 05:08, 3 February 2010 (UTC) Donovank (talk) 04:29, 24 February 2010 (UTC) Santolinek (talk) 04:48, 24 February 2010 (UTC)