‘World War I and America’ Art Exhibition on Display at UW Libraries

Documents and images from World War I are showcased in a traveling exhibition on view through Friday, Oct. 12, in the Level 3 Gallery at the University of Wyoming’s Coe Library.

The exhibition, located in the Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections Room, is part of a two-year national initiative of the Library of America to support discussions in communities across the nation focused on the firsthand accounts of men and women who experienced World War I.

Documents in the exhibition discuss what Americans involved in World War I believed they were fighting for; how they understood America’s changing position; why they supported or opposed intervention; their experience with military service; how the war affected their views of other people; and the transformation of American’s coming home.

“World War I and America” allows readers to “explore differences and similarities between the past and the present and come to a deeper understanding of historical events and their lasting impact,” according to the exhibition website.

Multiple distinguished scholars also added essays to the display that discuss larger themes and questions that arose from the readings displayed in the exhibition.

“World War I and America” is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and the World War I Centennial Commission. To honor the 100th anniversary of America entering the war (1917-2017), the exhibition travels throughout the country.