With a Cup of Tea | Ken Robison
Channel: This House of Books
Date: 30/09/2018

With a Cup of Tea visits with Ken Robison about his book, WORLD WAR I MONTANA: THE TREASURE STATE PREPARES.

When the United States entered World War I in the spring of 1917, we had an Army of only 300,000. In a very short time, the U.S. had to build up a focused war effort, including 4 million men under arms. Men were taken from every job and women stepped in. There was no draft for women, but large numbers of Montana women volunteered as nurses and for other military duties. 

Compared to other states, World War I affected Montana disproportionately. Montana contributed more men under arms per capita than any other state, and a very large number of Montana women volunteered for duty, many of whom were directly exposed to combat. For that matter, it is said that every bullet fired in World War I was encased in Butte copper. 

Robison's book gives substantial emphasis on the contributions of women and of minority populations and talks about the social changes that came out of World War I.

The War was not so long ago. Although this war is largely neglected now, many of us grew up knowing people who participated in this war, often our grandparents or great-grandparents. This is the first book about Montana's role and contribution during World War I.