World War I Podcast

When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, it had an absolutely miniscule standing army. As the US Army General Staff began frantically preparing to mobilize an American Expeditionary Force, an internal debate arouse about the type of army the United States should send to France. Should they wait for enlistment to swell the ranks of the regular army? Or should the National Guard be used? At the time, Major Douglas MacArthur was working in Washington, D.C. as part of the General Staff. He had a deep belief in the value of the National Guard and believed that federalizing Guard units would be the best way to put large numbers of American troops in the field quickly. He had the backing of Secretary of War Newton Baker, and in the early months of American participation in the war, Major MacArthur helped to create the 42nd “Rainbow” Division out of National Guard troops from around the nation. His involvement with the “Rainbow” Division would go on to shape his experience of World War I.