Above Photo: First World War: Soldiers of the English infantry in France, running out of their trenches at the signal to assault. Somme, France, 1916. Fototeca Gilardi / Getty Images.
Adam Hochschild examines the untold history of WWI in his new book, “American Midnight.”
Behind the triumphant narrative of the American entry into WWI is another story of a society riven by powerful contradictions. In 1917 the US was overwhelmed by labor disputes, rising anti-immigrant ‘nativism,’ and unrelenting racial violence, particularly against Black people. In his new book, American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis, historian Adam Hochschild traces the untold story of how WWI reshaped America’s domestic politics. The Great War provided the occasion to clamp down on the Socialist Party of America and the International Workers of the World, muzzle the press, and stroke ethnic and racial strife between communities of workers left to fight over scraps. Adam Hochschild joins The Chris Hedges Report to discuss the secret history of WWI and its relevance over a century later to our current political crises.
Adam Hochschild is an American author, journalist and historian. His works include King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918, and Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves.