This chapter presents some concluding thoughts about the impact of World War I on America. The war demanded moral resources, political capital, and even the very flesh and bones of national citizens. The war was also a crucial moment in the history of American political culture in the 20th century, part of a massive and sometimes contradictory restructuring of the relationship between Americans and state power — indeed, of the basic terms of American citizenship itself. The history of Americans' wartime obligations brings several themes into focus: the changing relationship between individuals, voluntary associations, and the state; the connections between duties and rights in theory and political experience; and the role of law and political violence in everyday life. It also helps explain some of the legacies of the wartime experience for later generations of Americans.
Keywords: World War I, wartime America, voluntarism, obligation, political culture, American citizenship,