The Great War and Modern Amnesia: Studying Pennsylvania's Great War, Part 1

This article is an introduction to this journal's special two-part edition on Pennsylvania in World War I. At the centennial of the Great War in Pennsylvania it is uncertain how much residents of the Keystone State remember about World War I. World War II, fought by the greatest generation, overshadowed their fathers' war. In order to remind Pennsylvanians about this critical period in the state's history, this edition, Part 1 of a two-part series, highlights important historical issues, including religious history, military history, and the history of criminology. The goal of these editions is to commemorate the service, suffering, and sacrifices of Pennsylvanians—men and women, black and white, at home and overseas—at the centennial of the war that was supposed to end all wars.