Pittsburgh in World War I: Arsenal of the Allies

by Elizabeth Williams, Dr. Joseph F. Rishel (Foreword by)

Overview

When the whole of Europe went to war in 1914, Pittsburgh watched the storm clouds gather at home. Yet Pittsburgh was a city of immigrants—the large Polish community urged leaders to join the side of the Allies, while German immigrants supported the Central powers. By the time the country entered World War I in 1917, Pittsburghers threw their support into the war effort united as Americans. With over 250 mills and factories, the Steel City and Allegheny County produced half of the steel and much of the munitions used by the Allies. Pittsburgh gave more than steel—sixty thousand men went to war, and women flocked to the front lines as nurses. One of the first gas masks on the western front was developed at the Mellon Institute, while the city's large Red Cross provided tireless support on the homefront. Historian Elizabeth Williams traces the remarkable story of Pittsburgh during the Great War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609498238
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	10/15/2013
Series:	Military
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Williams is a Pittsburgh native and the college archivist at La Roche College. She earned her BA in history with a minor in marketing from La Roche College in 2007, and her MA in public history from Duquesne University in 2009. She previously worked as an assistant archivist at Duquesne University. Dr. Joseph F. Rishel is a professor emeritus of history at Duquesne University and the author of Pittsburgh Remembers World War II.

Table of Contents

Foreword Joseph F. Rishel 9

Acknowledgements 15

Introduction 17

1 Civilian Organizations in Pittsburgh 23

2 The Arsenal of the World 36

3 Tension and Dissent in the Steel City 57

4 Immigrant Communities 68

5 Pittsburgh's Universities 90

6 Pittsburghers at War 99

Conclusion 123

Selected Bibliography 133

Index 141

About the Author 143