The Great War

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that historians cite that the Great War was the first time that many young American men, who left the traditional restraints of a predominately conservative culture, were able to explore new boundaries and act in ways that would have never been permitted back home. The author analyzes two primary U.S. military propagandist documents from this period to understand the role men and women played in controlling the spread of venereal disease. Women were portrayed as taking away a man's "honor" and as proliferating disease and immorality. The paper also explores the differences between male and female honor, male restraint among females, and how men must work against the "whore" to keep his honor and promote the ideal of restraint. The paper has end notes instead of a bibliography.

From the Paper:

"Examining "You Kept Fit and Defeated the Hun," there is an image of a young solider bearing a hearty smile. He is dressed in his combat uniform and he is holding a rifle with a bayonet, a large bald eagle is poised upon his shoulders with wings stretched, and he is standing upon the helmets of a defeated German military. The imagery alone sets an important tone for the wholesome nature of the soldier. Victorious against the German Army, he is the symbol of virility as he has liberated Europe to "make the world safe for democracy", as President Wilson's stated."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "You Kept Fit and Defeated the Hun," Surgeon General of the Army, 1919.
• Clements, Kendrick A. "The Papers of Woodrow Wilson and the Interpretation of the Wilson Era." The History Teacher 27, no 4 (Aug 1994)
• Dictionary.com [Available- Online] http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hun
• Leisa Meyer, Creating GI Jane, New York and Colombia, University Press, 1996
• "Don't allow a whore to spoil the reunion" Card from Exhibit #8, U.S. War Department, 1919.

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