WWI Exhibit Home | Letters From Home | War Comes to Texas | The German-Texan Experience |
Texas "Does Its Bit" for the War | Texas Women in World War I | The Texas Soldier's Experience |
Panoramas in World War I
Texas "Does Its Bit" for the War
With the revelation of the Zimmerman telegram in January 1917, Texas likely experienced the most outrage at such a plot given its proximity to Mexico. Public sentiment began to shift against Germany and built patriotic fervor among Americans to enter the war.
Texans supported the war in a variety of ways. They held numerous patriotic rallies to boost morale and donated money to organizations such as the American Red Cross. Civilians were encouraged by the U.S. Food Administration to keep war gardens at their homes to reduce demand for agricultural goods being directed to the military.
Texans supported the war in a variety of ways. They held numerous patriotic rallies to boost morale and donated money to organizations such as the American Red Cross. Civilians were encouraged by the U.S. Food Administration to keep war gardens at their homes to reduce demand for agricultural goods being directed to the military.
Families of soldiers hung service banners in their front windows as a reminder to the community that one of their own was fighting for their freedom.
The Texas State Library participated in the American Library Association's efforts to raise money to create libraries of books and magazines for soldiers and sailors serving stateside, on vessels, and overseas, particularly in France.
"Suggested Songs for District Patriotic
Conferences" leaflet, 1918. American
Legion collection, 2-22/868. Click or tap
on thumbnail for larger image.
"Help Win the War by Preventing
Unnecessary Sickness," Texas State
Council of Defense Committee on
Sanitation and Medicine, no. 28, 3
June 1918. American Legion collection,
2-22/868. Click or tap on thumbnail
for larger image.
Items in this Exhibit
"District Patriotic Conference of Older Boys and Girls… of the United War Work Campaign" leaflet, 1918. American Legion collection, 2-22/868. Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.
Eyes for the Navy certificate for Miss Charlcie Bewley, Austin, Texas, January 1919. Eyes for the Navy collection, 2-22/971.
Charlcie Bewley of Austin, aged 13 at the time, received this certificate of appreciation, signed by Secretary of War Franklin D. Roosevelt, for her loan of a pair of binoculars to the U.S. Navy during World War I. The binoculars were used aboard the USS Matsonia transport ship and are on display in the second case to the right. The Navy received over 50,000 optical and navigational instruments from the American public in response to its appeal. When the war concluded, the Navy returned the items with a certificate featuring an engraved illustration of a blindfolded naval officer reaching out to find his way. Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.
Photograph of patriotic rally at Fort Brown, Brownsville, Texas, about 1918. Harry Lund collection, 1964/263-102.
When the U.S. entered World War I, American patriotism found expression in rallies such as this one at Fort Brown, where "The Battle Song of Liberty" was part of the musical program. Fort Brown became headquarters for the U.S. Army 12th Cavalry regiment at the start of World War I. The regiment had orders to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border during the Border War of the 1910s, when the unrest of the Mexican Revolution spilled over into conflicts in U.S. territory. Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.
War Libraries: Official Organ of the War Service Committee, American Library Association, vol. 1, number 3, 19 September 1918. American Legion collection, 2-22/868.
The American Library Association established a War Service Committee, originally the Committee on Mobilization and War Service Plans, in 1917, to direct its Library War Service and raise money to create libraries of books and magazines for servicemen. At the war's conclusion, the ALA was one of seven organizations participating in the United War Work Campaign, whose mission was to provide aid and wholesome entertainment to the troops continuing to serve in France through early 1919. Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.
"Service Over There" banner, 1918. Artifacts, Papers of Clarence Lincoln Test, Clarence Lincoln and Nellie Donnan Test papers, 1964/191.
Window banners such as this were purchased and displayed by families with a son serving in the military during World War I. This particular banner represents the service of Texas veteran Clarence Lincoln Test as adjutant of the 71st Infantry Brigade, 36th Division, U.S. Army. Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.
Photograph of "Corn and cabbage on the Sanderson 640-acre farm," about 1918-1919. Kathy Manoucheri postcard collection, 2016/128-25.
The U.S. Food Administration issued bulletins to each of its state offices recommending that businesses close early each day in the interest of energy conservation and to allow their employees time for recreation and gardening. Wheat was needed to feed the troops, so corn was increasingly used as a substitute in civilians' diets, and recipes such as "Victory Cabbage" made it clear that meal planning was a patriotic duty.
Click or tap on thumbnail for larger image.