World War I was hard on Wisconsin.
Its central European population supported Germany and Austria until America’s declaration of war became inevitable; its Scandinavians remained as neutral as their homelands; its socialist politicians (and there were many in high office) opposed the war.
As Richard L. Pifer reminds us in The Great War Comes to Wisconsin, the Badger State was reviled around the nation as the “traitor state” and yet, “when the United States finally became an active belligerent, outward opposition to the war disappeared virtually overnight.”
When war came Wisconsin rallied, contributing soldiers to the 32nd Division, which fought bravely on the Western Front; its industry and farms kept the military supplied; and its people bought Liberty Bonds to finance the war.
In the face of repressive laws aimed at quelling “disloyalty,” mental reservations were concealed and Wisconsinites, like most Americans, were swept up by patriotism fueled by the fear that the nation was in danger.
