Cultural Elite or Political Vanguard? American Volunteers Join the European War, 1914–1917
Title | Cultural Elite or Political Vanguard? American Volunteers Join the European War, 1914–1917 |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Jansen, Axel |
Journal | Journal of the Gilded Age & Progressive Era |
Volume | 17 |
Issue | 4 |
Pagination | 636-649 |
Date Published | 10/2018 |
Abstract | This article investigates the motives of American volunteers who volunteered in the war zone in Europe during the American neutrality period (1914-1917). Thousands of American men and women supported the Allies as nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, soldiers, or fighter pilots. However, even avid and well-connected supporters of the Allies rarely called for U.S. intervention. The absence of a political perspective was tied to peculiar personal motives. Calling for intervention in the war would have turned the fight into a national cause and public duty, reducing the value of a personal decision to go to war. When the U.S. finally did enter the war in 1917, some volunteers joined the American war effort to support their flag, whereas others abandoned a war they no longer considered interesting. These responses were part of a significant shift in the role of American government. |
URL | https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-gilded-age-and-progressive-era/article/abs/cultural-elite-or-political-vanguard-american-volunteers-join-the-european-war-19141917/F4B95599F58E7BFA00FFAEFF95B118F9 |