Recruitment poster for the United States Army. Marching soldiers. Some soldiers are making an inviting gesture. Text:
'Fight alongside Your Friends.
Fill up the National Guard.
All branches of Army Service are open to you.
Committee of Public Savety, Department of Military Service, South Penn Square, Philadelphia'.
When the war began the United States proclaimed a policy of strict neutrality. But after the sinking of seven U.S. merchant ships by German submarines and the Zimmerman Telegram the U.S. called on war on Germany on 6 April 1917. The United States had a small army, but, after the passage of the Selective Service Act, it drafted 2.8 million men, and, by summer 1918, was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day. In 1917, the U.S. Congress gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the Jones Act.
Peace Palace Library | Poster collection