that our duty, honor, and safety demanded that we take up arms against the Imperial German Government, and by action of Congress the cause and the fight against that Government were declared our cause and our fight. The duty of loyal allegiance and faithful service to his country, even unto death, rests, of course, upon every American. But, if it be possible to speak of a comparative degree concerning what is the highest as it is the most elementary attribute of citizenship, that duty may almost be said to rest with an even more solemn and compelling obligation upon Americans of foreign origin than upon native Americans. For we Americans of foreign antecedents are here not by the accidental right of birth, but by our own free choice for better or for worse. We are your fellow citizens because we made solemn oath of allegiance to America. Accepting that oath as given in good faith, you have opened to us in generous trust the portals of American opportunity and freedom, and have admitted us to membership in the family of Americans, giving us equal rights in the great inheritance which has been created by the blood and the toil of your ancestors, asking nothing from us in return but decent citizenship and adherence to those ideals and principles which are symbolized by the glorious flag of America. Woe to the foreign-born American who betrays the trust which you have reposed in him! Woe to him who considers his American citizenship merely as a convenient garment to be worn in fair weather but to be exchanged for another one in time of storm and stress! Woe to the German-American, so-called who, in this sacred war for a cause as high as any for which ever people took up arms, does not feel a solemn urge, does not show an eager determination to be in the very fore-front of the struggle; does not prove a patriot's jealousy, in thought, in action, and in speech to rival and to outdo his nativeborn fellow citizen in devotion and in willing sacrifice for the country of his choice and adoption and sworn allegiance, and of their common affection and pride. As Washington led Americans of British blood to fight against Great Britain, as Lincoln called upon Americans of the North to fight their very brothers of the South, so Americans of German descent are now summoned to join in our country's righteous struggle against a people of their own blood, which, under the evil spell of a dreadful. obsession, and, Heaven knows, through no fault of ours, has made itself the enemy of this peaceloving nation, as it is the enemy of peace and right and freedom throughout the world. To gain America's independence, to defeat oppression and tyranny, was indeed to gain a great cause. To preserve the Union, to eradicate slavery, was perhaps a greater still. To defend the very foundations of liberty and humanity, the very groundwork of fair dealing between nations, the very basis of peaceable living together among the peoples of the earth against the fierce and brutal onslaught of ruthless, lawless, faithless might; to spend the lives and the fortunes of this generation so that our descendants may be freed from the dreadful calamity of war and the fear of war, so that the energies and billions of treasure now devoted to plans and instruments of destruction may be given henceforth to fruitful works of peace and progress and to the betterment of the conditions of the people-that is the highest cause for which any people ever unsheathed its sword. He who shirks the full measure of his duty and allegiance in that noblest of causes, be he German-American, Irish-American, or any other hyphenated American, be he I. W. W., or Socialist, or whatever the appellation, does not deserve to stand amongst Americans or, indeed, amongst free men anywhere. He who tries, secretly or overtly, to thwart the declared will and aim of the nation in this holy war is a traitor, and a traitor's fate should be his. Why was unity of sentiment and action of the greatest importance at the time this speech was delivered? What means does Kahn take at the beginning of his speech to secure the sympathetic attention of his audience? Contrast the growth of the American spirit with that of the Prussian military despotism. What seems to be Kahn's attitude toward the transplanting to America of European languages, customs, and modes of living? What means does Kahn take to induce German-Americans to oppose themselves against people of their own blood? Discuss the duties and privileges of an "American by choice." Why was this speech widely read and quoted? PRESIDENT WILSON'S ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE April 6, 1918 IN the spring of 1918 the forces of the Central Empires were apparently more successful than at any other time during the war. Hundreds of square miles of Italian territory were held by the Austrians and through the shameful treaty of Brest-Litovsk Russia had become the slave or vassal of Germany. The effect in America of this success on the part of our enemies was increased activity rather than discourage ment. It had required nearly three years of observation, study, and thought before America could be aroused from its dream of peace and induced to take part in the war. It took a year of participation in the war before activity really became an adequate measure of our resources. But no illusion regarding Prussian aims could be cherished subsequent to the publication of the terms of the Russian treaties. America had cherished the ideal of liberty through enlightenment even before the War for Independence and had throughout her career been incomparably peace-loving. But Prussian autocracy had forced her in a few brief years to organize herself into a great war-machine fitted to answer the Hun with the only arguments that he could understand. With vacillation and debate left behind, and with a unity of purpose and sentiment that was awe-inspiring, this great nation in April, 1918. devoted all its resources almost to the last man and the last dollar to the war for liberty. Two war loans had already been floated with remarkable success. Public opinion had demanded that every penny must be saved for the fight. Personal extravagance was a disgrace. The curtailment of display, the wearing of old clothes, extreme economy in food, were universal. When the Third Liberty Loan was announced, President Wilson was asked to take part in the opening of the campaign. On April 6, 1918, at Batimore, he reviewed twelve thousand troops from Camp Meade and a little later at the Fifth Regiment Armory was introduced by Ex-Governor Goldsborough to an audience of fifteen thousand persons to whom he addressed the speech which follows. In clearness, in directness, in general rhetorical excellence, it is unsurpassed by any other address called forth by the war. ADDRESS AT BALTIMORE WOODROW WILSON 1 of our FELLOW-CITIZENS: This is the anniversary acceptance of Germany's challenge to fight for our right to live and be free, and for the sacred rights of freemen everywhere. The nation is awake.2 There is no need to call to it. We know what the war must cost, our utmost sacrifice, the lives of our fittest men, and, if need be, all that we possess. The loan we are met to discuss is one of the least parts of what we are called upon to give and to do, though in itself imperative. The people of the whole country are alive to the necessity of it, and are ready to lend to the |