Degrees of Allegiance: Harassment and Loyalty in Missouri's German-American Community during World War I (Law Society & Politics in the Midwest)

Historians have long argued that the Great War eradicated German culture from American soil. Degrees of Allegiance examines the experiences of German-Americans living in Missouri during the First World War, evaluating the personal relationships at the local level that shaped their lives and the way that they were affected by national war effort guidelines. Spared from widespread hate crimes, German-Americans in Missouri did not have the same bleak experiences as other German-Americans in the Midwest or across America. But they were still subject to regular charges of disloyalty, sometimes because of conflicts within the German-American community itself. Degrees of Allegiance updates traditional thinking about the German-American experience during the Great War, taking into account not just the war years but also the history of German settlement and the war’s impact on German-American culture. American Yet German: The State Of German-american Culture And The Relationship Between Germans And Non-germans In Missouri On The Eve Of World War I -- Divided Opinions And Growing Suspicions: Missourians And German-americans During The Neutrality Period -- No Time For Slackers: The Missouri Council Of Defense And Governor Gardner's Approach To Fighting The Kaiser At Home -- From The Most American City To Seeing German Ghosts Everywhere: St. Louis During The Great War -- Resisting Interference In Daily Life: Gasconade County During World War I -- Superpatriotism In Action: Osage County During World War I -- Conclusion: Becoming Americans Of German Heritage On Their Own Terms: The Impact Of World War I On German Culture In Missouri. Petra Dewitt. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Historians have long argued that the Great War eradicated German culture from American soil. Degrees of Allegiance examines the experiences of German-Americans living in Missouri during the First World War, evaluating the personal relationships at the local level that shaped their lives and the way that they were affected by national war effort guidelines. Spared from widespread hate crimes, German-Americans in Missouri did not have the same bleak experiences as other German-Americans in the Midwest or across America. But they were still subject to regular charges of disloyalty, sometimes because of conflicts within the German-American community itself. __**Degrees of Allegiance**__