Preparing A Great Machine: Militarism In America, Volume II, 1914-1924

Preparing a Great Machine opens with the dramatic events leading up to America’s entry into World War I. The American Union Against Militarism led the fight against preparing to fight in Europe, and continued to oppose large military forces after the war. In 1922 a naval treaty limited great power naval forces, much to the chagrin of the admirals. Anti-militarists opposed an expanded army throughout the 1920’s. Supporters of the military were cheered by the Mobilization Day event in 1924, in which 13 million men participated. Opponents of military expansion were not daunted, however, and their opposition continued. Many people in the past believed that the United States was always unprepared for military action until it was attacked. Preparing a Great Machine shows that this not quite the way it was.