Arts and Humanities Commons^™

What Is An Anzac? An American Response To Australian Warriors, Brandon P. Roos

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Rarely, in the annals of historical memory does one find a story as compelling and depressing as the narrative of the ANZACs. Never have men fought so bravely and ultimately so futilely to protect a land they only knew from history and geography books. With a deep sense of responsibility and youthful nationalism, these Australians and New Zealanders volunteered for service to the British Crown. Few knew their actions and the actions of their comrades and enemies would result in the war to end all wars, World War I. Few Australians knew their engagements would be covered in many of …

Christine: The Life And Death Of A Danish American Medical Missionary In The Middle East, Jim Iversen

The Bridge

Recent world events have spawned renewed interest in the people and history of the Middle Eastern country known as Iraq. For many centuries the people and territories of what was known as Mesopotamia were part of the Ottoman Empire, which was ruled by the Sultan of Constantinople from the city now called Istanbul. Iraq did not become a separate country until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist shortly after the "Great War," eventually called the First World War. The history of the area is complicated, but Iraq became a country essentially because the Western Allies, that is, Great Britain, France, …

Veterans Residing In Adams County, Pennsylvania, 1840-1930, Kevin L. Greenholt

Adams County History

The federal decennial census provides a wide-ranging set of data for analysis. The census forms for each ten-year cycle from 1790 until 1930 have been released to the public for access. The tabulations of 1840, 1910, and 1930 contain data relating to the military service of those interviewed by the census enumerator. Compiled here is a list of veterans, listed by Adams County township, who served in the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, or other military actions from 1840 through 1930.

Kitchener's Volunteers, Peter Brauer

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

The fourth of August 1914 was a day of jubilation throughout Britain. German armies, numbering in the millions, had overrun Belgian border stations the previous day and were advancing unchecked across the frontier. As the morning progressed, a buzz of enthusiasm began to grow. News placards throughout Britain broadcast the news of the German invasion to the eager public from every street corner. Those British in the big cities were first to hear. From London to Birmingham, Manchester to Cardiff, and Edinburgh to Belfast, people gathered to hear the news. By noon, Trafalgar Square was packed end to end with …

Sir Hiram Maxim And His Gun: A Literary Trail, Charles Shain

Maine History

Hiram Maxim, born near Sangerville, Maine, in 1840, enjoyed a brilliant career as an inventor and self-promotor. His best-known invention, the Maxim gun, proved appallingly successful during the British imperialistic ventures in Africa at the turn of the century and later in World War I. In this article, Emeritus Professor Charles Shain traces the literary usages for Maxim ’s invention, both as noun and as a verb - describing the scything action of the gun as it mowed down an advancing foe. Charles Shain published and taught in the field of American Studies at Carleton College and for twelve years …

Letters From 1915 To The End Of The War, Othmar Ammann, Lilly Ammann

Swiss American Historical Society Review

My dear parents,

Tomorrow the last steamship that can bring you our Christmas greetings is leaving, so that means: hurry. Just a few words, but from the heart.

One is carried along here in the non-ending stream of business so much that one can hardly catch one's breath in order to appreciate the ideal side of life. However, with the approach of the holidays, spirits are lifted. With great excitement and wonderment, young and old await the festive days. What will Christmas bring, how will the New Year begin? This is what each one is asking himself and with thousands …

New England Pilots In The Lafayette Flying Corps, William F. Hanna

Bridgewater Review

The Lafayette Flying Corps was the name given to a group of American pilots who flew with the French Air Service during World War 1. More than 200 Americans became expatriates, for a time at least, in order to try to qualify to fly the latest French fighter planes against the Germans. By war's end the 180 who succeeded were serving in 93 French squadrons. Although most later transferred to the U.S. Air Service, it was their days in the Lafayette Flying Corps and its most elite squadron, the Lafayette Escadrille which recalled the fondest memories among survivors. Of the …

Marcus Lee Hansen: America's First Transethnic Historian, Moses Rischin

The Bridge

In a world in flux, the historian must strike a balance between change and tradition. The historian of American immigration and culture particularly sits poised on the knife's edge, seeking universal categories of analysis and understanding while immersing himself in a loving study of distinct peoples, places, and ways of life in disarray. He is the boomer engineer committed to democracy and equality, progress and growth, mobility and technology, science and medicine, individualism and freedom. But he is also the artist, priest, and guardian of culture, the admirer of fragile arts and crafts and tastes perfected over generations, of customs, …

The Immigrant's Challenge To Dahs, Otto G. Hoiberg

The Bridge

During the half century preceding World War I, 300,000 Danish immigrants came to America, according to an estimate by Kristian Hvidt. Why did they come? Among many reasons, the Homestead Act of 1862 certainly stands out prominently. To the small-acreage farmers and the hired men in Danish agriculture, 160 acres of free, fertile land looked mighty inviting. Enthusiasm for migration was also generated by the glowing "Garden of Eden" advertising campaign conducted by America's railroads - a worthy prototype for today's Madison Avenue. Further, there were the so-called " America Letters" , received from relatives and friends already across the …

Immigrating To America, Andrew Christensen

The Bridge

To get the proper backdrop for this article, let me quote a few statements from the introduction of an outstanding book on immigration to America, sponsored by the Rebild Society and written by Kristian Hvidt, the Chief Librarian of the Danish Parlimentary Library:

"In the course of the fifty years preceeding the outbreak of World War I in 1914, well over 300,000 Danes left their homeland to become immigrants; ninety percent of them settled in the U.S.A. The illuminating facts stated in human terms show that our grand and great-grandparents saw every tenth one of their countrymen leave their land …

P.S. Vig And The Americanization Issue During World War I, Peter L. Petersen

The Bridge

World War I and the Americanization campaigns which accompanied it had a pr0found impact upon ethnic relations in the United States. Although German-Americans bore the brunt of rapidly emerging anti-foreign sentiments, no ethnic group was totally free of suspicion and public condemnation. In Iowa, Governor William Lloyd Harding defended his proclamation forbidding the public use of foreign languages by attacking the Danish element in the Hawkeye State's population. According to the Governor, who was speaking before a large crowd at Sac City on July 4, 1918, young Danes in Iowa were not getting a proper American upbringing. Pointing to the …