LibGuides: US History: World War I

Research Tips

See the "Women" and "African American" pages for the military experiences of these specific populations

Recommended web sites

A Guide to World War I Materials (Library of Congress)
The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material related to World War I, including photographs, documents, newspapers, films, sheet music, and sound recordings. This guide compiles links to World War I resources throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, this guide provides links to external Web sites focusing on World War I and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.
Artists
Artists, Illustrators, Cartoonists
Australian artists
British National Archives
The National Archives is home to millions of documents, files and images that cover 1,000 years of history. Find out how we can help your research, through guides, tutorials, and podcasts.
Documents of World War I (Mount Holyoke College)
First World War Poetry Digital Archive (University of Oxford)
The First World War Poetry Digital Archive is an online repository of over 7000 items of text, images, audio, and video for teaching, learning, and research.
History Channel
search for articles, videos, audio files, timelines, and photo galleries
Lost Poets of the Great War
Rupert Brooke, John McCrae, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Alan Seeger, Edward Thomas
Military History films (American Experience - PBS)
Stars & Stripes (Library of Congress American Memory Collection)
military newspaper
The Great War (PBS)
timeline, maps, videos, articles

World Digital Library This link opens in a new window
The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.

World War I (Fordham University)
links & primary sources
World War I (USHMM)
World War I postcards from the Bowman Gray Collection (UNC)
The Gray postcard site features a collection of war-themed cards produced in Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. during World War One (1914-1918). More than 6,400 cards will eventually be displayed in a CONTENTdm collection. These will be searchable and browsable by different categories. The cards were collected as mementos of a world at war during the second decade of the 20th century.
World War I Records (National Archives)
World War One (BBC)
Read and listen to stories of the War from the people who lived it. Explore diaries, letters, scrapbooks, newspaper cuttings, photos and keepsakes.
World War One History (Internet Public Library)
This pathfinder was created to help Internet users find reliable information about the First World War for either personal knowledge or formal research. Both print and Internet sources are covered.

Books in the collection

Exploring the Lusitania : probing the mysteries of the sinking that changed history
Call Number: 940.4514 BAL
ISBN: 0446518514
Publication Date: 1995
Voices of World War I : stories from the trenches
Call Number: 940.4 HEI
ISBN: 142964737X
Publication Date: 2011
Describes the war experiences of five survivors of World War I, including an American pilot, a Russian peasant, an African warrior, an American soldier who served in Great Britain, and a German U-boat commander.
Silent night : the story of the World War I Christmas truce
Call Number: UDO 940.4 WEI
ISBN: 0684872811
Publication Date: 2001
Tells the true story of the truce that spontaneously arose between German and British soldiers manning the trenches on Christmas Eve 1914, just weeks after the start of the Great War.
The Illustrated History of the Weapons of World War One by Ian Westwell
Call Number: 940.4 WES
ISBN: 978-1-84476-956-8
Publication Date: 2011-12-16
An illustrated history of the weapons of World War I, covering army, air force and navy weaponry.
Unraveling Freedom by Ann Bausum; Ted Rall (Foreword by)
Call Number: ODON 940.3 BAU
ISBN: 1-42630702-0
Publication Date: 2010-11-09
Looks at how U.S. presidents from Wilson to George W. Bush have suspended or revoked guaranteed freedoms in the country during times of war, and includes first-person stories and illustrations.
The War to End All Wars by Russell Freedman
Call Number: ODON 940.3 FRE
ISBN: 0-547-02686-2
Publication Date: 2010-08-02
A narrative history of World War I for young readers that features archival photographs, and describes how advanced military weaponry impacted the course of the war.

Causes of World War I

Treaty of Versailles Ends World War I

German resentment over harsh peace terms leads to a rise in nationalist sentiment and the eventual rise to power of Adolf Hitler.

Germans Attack U.S. Navy Boats

In this History Rewind video clip, take a step back in time to the beginning of World War 1. The repeated sinking of American ships caused the President to declare war. Watch the historic black and white footage of some of the attacks.

Dogfights: SPAD 13

See the Spad 13 in action during World War I in this Dogfights video. The Spad 13 was one of the most successful aircrafts flying in the First World War, and it allowed the French and the Allies to compete with the Germans.

U-Boats sink the Lusitania in 1915

When Germany torpedoes a British passenger ship believed to be smuggling arms, anger at the resulting American deaths increases pressure on President Wilson to enter World War I.