World War I | Preparedness | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In June 1914, a gunman assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This event set off a chain reaction that plunged Europe’s major powers, and the wider world, into all-out war. President Woodrow Wilson was determined to keep the United States out of the conflict, but when German submarine attacks put American lives at risk, the American people would become divided over how to respond to the increasing threat

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Imagine it's July 22nd, 1916, and you're outside the Ferry Building in San Francisco, California.
0:20.0	Today you're marching along with tens of thousands of people to urge America to get ready for the possibility of war.
0:27.0	So far America has stayed neutral in the Great War that's been ravaging Europe for the last two years. But with each passing month it seems that the fighting spreads,
0:36.0	you believe President Woodger Wilson should be doing more to prepare the country to enter the war.
0:41.0	And all summer, Americans like you have been marching in major
0:44.1	cities to make that point. You and your fellow marchers call them Preparedness Parades.
0:48.8	Though today's parade is political, it has a carnival atmosphere, complete with floats and watermelon
0:54.8	eating contests. You hear whistles blowing and cheers. A marching band starts playing the Star Spangled Banner
1:01.1	and My Country Tis of Thee.
1:03.2	And as the parade fully gets underway, you turned to your friend beside you, who you met serving
1:07.5	overseas in the Spanish-American War.
1:10.4	Despite all the festivities, he looked grim-facedfaced and poke him in the ribs.
1:14.5	Hey you gonna walk around with that hang dog look for the next six hours?
1:18.0	Why so glom?
1:19.0	Well I'm worried.
1:20.0	Haven't you heard the rumor?
1:21.0	No, what rumor?
1:22.0	No, what rumor? It was gonna be trouble. I heard all the leftist,
1:24.9	anarchists, and trade unionists in the city had a big meeting a couple of days back.
1:28.5	Well, it is San Francisco. I'm surprised they found somewhere big enough to fit the mall.
1:33.0	No, I'm serious.
1:34.0	Look at this, they're talking violence.
	...

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