World War I essentially determined the trajectory of twentieth-century world history, and the conflict had an important impact on American history. The historiography on WWI is immense, with historians (from all over the world) taking a number of different perspectives, contributing different arguments about the significance of the conflict, and examining a wide range of issues and topics.
This essay asks students to identify and discuss at least one aspect about WWI that they believe historians should focus on. What do you think is the most important story about WWI? If you were writing a history about WWI, what would you write about? What is the experience that students of WWI absolutely need to know about? What is the story that needs to be told? What is most significant about WWI history? What is the “big take away”?