The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century
This is a very extensive and rich site that covers all aspects of the Great War (WWI). Includes a timeline, articles, images, interviews and much more. A great place to start to learn about this historical event. See also: The Great War Articles and Interviews (comments by the a group of historians who focus on the causes and consequences of the Great War.)

WWI Causes (From PVHS)
An article with links to websites that provide information about WWI and its causes.

The Great War: 80 years on
It is more than 80 years since the armistice ended World War I. The war lasted from 1914-18, claimed 10 million lives and forever changed the political map of Europe. Using personal accounts and historical analysis BBC News Online looks back at what became known as "the war to end all wars".

The War to End All Wars
Very thorough and easily understood overview of the war, its major battles and their casualties and its effects, a special report by BBC News.

Armies Mobilized and Casulaties: 1914-18
Figures on the size of WWI armies from the different countries who fought are available here on a handy chart. See also: French Property Losses (1914-1918) which shows figures on WWI property losses of France are available here. Also  Financial Cost of War with figures on WWI costs.

The Eastern Front: A WWI Summary
"The Eastern Front of that great war had a profound impact on the remainder of the 20th century, even though the Western Front with its British, French and American combatants achieved somewhat greater fame. The statistics for the Eastern war are grim. More than three-million men died in the fighting, more than nine-million men were wounded, and every major country which participated lost its form of government."

Great War Books and Articles
An impressive collection of books, reports and articles by and about those who participated in the Great War.

The World War I Document Archive
A very thorough and well-documented archive of primary documents from World War I. Includes: Conventions, Treaties, & Official Papers; Memorials, Personal Reminiscences; WWI Image Archive; Special Topics and Commentaries.

WWI Sites: Links to Other Resources
Lots of connections to various types of resources about WWI. Groups links according to the participating countries.

World War I - Trenches on the Web
A very extensive and well-organized collection of WWI resources. These sections, Photo Archive, Posters From the Great War, Map Room,  is especially useful in illustrating reports.

More Posters of World War I
Many additional war posters from WWI are displayed here.

WWI Editorial and political Cartoons
These are mostly cartoons related to effects of German U-Boats (submarines).

Great War In the Air: WWI
These aircraft took to the skies during the Great War in the air--World War I.

The Art of World War I
Exhibition of 110 paintings brought together by the major history museums of Europe. "The war gave rise to the most lively and surprising emotions and artistic reactions to patriotic feeling, to the emerging new technologies, and most of all to the horror of the first experience of modern warfare."
 

The Peace Treaty of Versailles

Versailles and Peacemaking (From BBC)
"The peace settlement was drawn up at the end of a long and gruelling war which cost over eight million lives and, according to one estimate, around 260 billion dollars - or to put it another way, over six times the sum of all the national debt accumulated in the entire world from the end of the 18th century to 1914." Nice examination of the conference and its results.

The Peace Settlements: Treaty of Versailles
Overview of the background events, data and decisions made at the WWI Peace Conference.

The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919
This copy of the Treaty of Versailles has been broken into user friendly sections for easy study and analysis.

The Versailles Treaty and Related Documents
In addition to the complete Versailles Peace Treaty, this website has many links to related documents, such as maps, charts, photos, cartoons, and links to information.

The Economic Consequences of Peace
A rather complex and detailed  explanation of how the WWI Peace Treaty relates to economics, written by the famous economist, John Maynard Keynes.

The Truth About the Treaty
French writer, André Tardieu's explanation of how the WWI Peace Treaty affected the countries. "He was a participant in the events of which he writes. As a member of the Chamber of Deputies, he knew the currents of French political life, and he can write understandingly of the causes leading up to the great conflict and was an officer in the French Army"
 

Culture and Daily Life

The Ohio Dry Campaign of 1918
The Decade and the adoption of Prohibition which followed are better understood after reading about the campaign against alcohol. This Ohio campaign was successful, and includes the  prohibition campaign advertisements and posters at the bottom of the page.

The Jazz Age Chicago
"Between 1900 and 1930... by popularizing not just jazz music, but countless other amusements as well, Jazz Age Chicagoans laid the groundwork for the spread of mass culture across the nation during the twentieth century. This extensive web site examines some of the ways by which this occurred."

The Chicago Race Riot
The drowning of a boy "led to 5 days of rioting in Chicago that ultimately claimed the lives of 23 blacks and 15 whites, with 291 wounded and maimed." Read about that event here. See also Gangs and the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, which explains the role of gangs in this infamous event. See also "Ghastly Deeds of Race Rioters Told" (be sure to see the links to additional articles on the subject at the bottom of that page.)

1919 World Series "Black Sox" Scandal
"The 1919 World Series resulted in the most famous scandal in baseball history. Eight players from the Chicago White Sox (later nicknamed the Black Sox) were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds."

The Palmer Raids
The "Red Scare" was used in this period to limit freedom of speech by those who disagreed with U.S. government policy. The "Palmer Raids" of 1918-1921 were led by the the U.S. Attorney General against those believed to by communists or socialists.

Chicago Daily News Photographs (1902-1933)
This collection at the Library of Congress offers approximately 54,000 images of urban life captured on glass plate negatives between 1902 and 1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News, one of Chicago's leading newspapers.

Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
This Library of Congress collection "includes 3042 pieces of sheet music published in America. It presents a wide variety of types of vocal music: bel canto, minstrel songs, protest songs, sentimental songs, patriotic and political songs, plantation songs, Civil War songs, spirituals, dance music, songs from vaudeville and musicals, "Tin pan alley" songs, and songs from World War I. Illustrations provide an important source of information for popular contemporary ideas on politics, patriotism, race, religion, love, and sentiment."

My Adventures as a Spy
The founder of the Boy Scouts was a former spy, and published a book about it during WWI. "My Adventures as a Spy by Sir Robert Baden-Powell was published in 1915 during the first years of the Great War. It reads like an adventure story as it recounts B-P's experiences in espionage during his military career."

Lost Poets of the Great War
Includes poems by Rupert Brooke, John McCrae, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Alan Seeger, Edward Thomas. There is also a timeline and statistical information on the huamn toll of the war. This site was developed by Harry Rusche, English professor at Emory University. Click here for a direct link to the poets.

Small-Town America: Stereoscopic Views from the Robert Dennis Collection, 1850-1920
"12,000 stereoscopic photographs of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from the 1850s to the 1910s. The views show buildings and street scenes in cities, towns, and villages as well as natural landscapes. They also depict agriculture, industry, transportation, homes, businesses, local celebrations, natural disasters, people, and costumes."

Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs, 1880 - 1920
Collection includes over 25,000 glass negatives and transparencies as well as about 300 color photolithograph prints, mostly of the eastern United States. The group also includes views of California, Wyoming and the Canadian Rockies.

Recordings From World War One and the 1920 Election
From the American Memory at the Library of Congress, "fifty-nine sound recordings of speeches by American leaders at the turn of the century. The speeches focus on issues and events surrounding the First World War and the subsequent presidential election of 1920. Speakers include: Warren G. Harding, James Cox, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Samuel Gompers, Henry Cabot Lodge, and John J. Pershing. Speeches range from one to five minutes.

The South Texas Border
Photographs form the Texas-Mexico border area from the period 1900-1910, including some that document the Mexican Revolution. An excellent essay accompanies the collection, The Mexican Revolution: Conflict in Matamoros.

Russian Revolution

Bolsheviks
Explains about the Bolsheviks and the people involved with them.

Mensheviks
Explains about the Mensheviks and the people involved with them.

The Bolsheviks
Index to the biographies and writings of members of the Party that made the October 1917 Revolution in Russia.

Bolshevism and Menshevism
Explains about the two main branches of the beginnings of Russian communism.

Russian Revolution Page
A large set of links regarding the Russian Revolution. Here is another collection on the Russian Revolution from the CHS Library.

Russian Revolution Posters
This is a nice collection of posters on events and people, along with a commentary.