The Great War Comes to Wisconsin

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Sacrifice, Patriotism, and Free Speech in a Time of Crisis

Richard L. Pifer

Immerse yourself in the Wisconsin experience during World War I—a conflict that demonstrated America’s great capacity for sacrifice and generosity, but also for prejudice, intolerance, and injustice.

296 pages, 6 x 9, 55 b&w photos
Paperback: $26.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-782-2
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-783-9
Publication Date: 10/31/2017

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Front cover of The Great War Comes to Wisconsin

Description

Known at the time as “The War to End All Wars” or “The Great War,” World War I was the first “total war” of the twentieth century, a war so all-encompassing that it affected virtually the entire world, whether on the battlefields or on the home front. The war also demonstrated the United States’ great capacity for sacrifice and generosity, as well as the limitations brought about by its prejudice and intolerance. The Great War Comes to Wisconsin captures the home front experience during this tumultuous time: the debates over war policy, the worry over loved ones fighting overseas, the countless everyday sacrifices, and the impact of a wartime hysteria that drove dissent underground.

In examining the home front, author Richard L. Pifer quotes letters and newspaper accounts to bring forward the voices of everyday Americans, elected officials, and soldiers from Wisconsin’s famed 32nd Division. The book also sheds new light on the meaning of patriotism and the ways in which war threatens the survival of freedoms that Americans hold dear. Indeed, The Great War Comes to Wisconsin challenges us to consider questions about patriotism, loyalty, and dissent that are as relevant today as they were more than a hundred years ago.

Author Bio

Richard L. Pifer

Richard L. Pifer is a respected historian with deep ties to Wisconsin’s historical landscape. He earned his PhD in American History from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and served as the Director of Reference and Public Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society until retiring in 2015. Pifer is a leading scholar on home-front history during the two World Wars. He is also the author of A City at War: Milwaukee Labor During World War II. Pifer lives in Madison, Wisconsin.