The Flu Pandemic of 1918, As Reported in 1918
The Spanish Influenza pandemic 100 years ago was the most lethal global disease outbreak since the Black Death. What were people thinking at the time?
How World War I Put Boys on Bikes
The first modern bicycles were for adults. Ads for boys’ bikes drew from, and fed into, a changing vision of boyhood during World War I.
Does Political Violence Generate Real Change?
U.S. law prohibits American leaders from assassinating their counterparts in other nations. But targeted assassination has long been a part of history.
“Give Us Bread!”
In 1917, a food riot erupted in Brooklyn over the prices of staples. These forms of protest, sadly, are not quite yet ready for the dustbin of history.
When American Schools Banned German Classes
When American troops headed to Europe for WWI, hostility to all things German intensified across the country. Schools even banned German fairy tales.
How WWI Sparked an Artistic Movement That Transformed Black America
African-American literary works born out of the ashes of World War I went on to spur the bold spirit of resistance of the African-American protest movement.
What Americans Thought of WWI
What did Americans think of World War I before the US entered the conflict 100 years ago? “Public opinion” was no more universal in 1917 than it is today.
The Forgotten Women Physicians of World War I
For women physicians, WWI was an opportunity for service that highlighted their deeply ambiguous position, as Ellen More explained in a 1989 paper.
The Power of Deterrence
The First World War witnessed the first major use of chemical warfare, but by the Second World War deterrence seemed to work.
The Map That Created The Modern Middle East
The Sykes-Picot remade the Middle East for British and French control. A century later, their legacy is a disaster.