A Tale of Two Nations Series

Drawing on contemporaneous accounts of the First World War from Canada and the United States, freelance journalist Melina Druga offers readers an insightful exploration of early-20th-century attitudes toward the conflict, in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WWI.   The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in 1914 Sarajevo plunged the globe into a massive war — one that would completely reorganize life as we once knew it. Little more than a month after the Austro-Hungarian heir's death, Great Britain formally joined the fray with a declaration of war against Germany. And, far across the Atlantic, the costs of international engagement weighed heavily on two neighboring countries.   On the surface, the United States' and Canada's predominant viewpoints on the war served only to magnify pre-existing tensions between the nations. Yet news reporting from either side of the U.S.-Canadian border reveals deeply divided reactions among public officials and private citizens alike. Despite the country's longstanding commitment to neutrality, many major U.S. newspapers sang profiteering's praises. In the north, Canadian reporting divided along party lines as debates raged over whether the nation should fight alongside Great Britain or remain neutral in the face of British involvement.   1914 is the first installment of the A Tale of Two Nations series.

Drawing on contemporaneous accounts of the First World War from Canada and the United States, freelance journalist Melina Druga offers readers an insightful exploration of early-20th-century attitudes toward the conflict, in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WWI.   The newly founded Canadian Expeditionary Force's first sortie was the Second Battle of Ypres, which stretched on for more than a month in the spring of 1915. There, Germany unleashed nearly 200 tons of chlorine gas upon Allied trenches, leaving France's defense in the hands of the untested Canadians, who managed to secure victory by avoiding catastrophic losses.   Fifteen days after the chemical attack on Allied troops, the German Navy sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner, killing more than 1,100 passengers and crew. The 128 American casualties complicated U.S. neutrality; violent outbreaks between American citizens soon followed.   Germany's use of chemical weaponry and attacks on civilian targets made it clear that the Allies were fighting a war unlike any other in recorded history. But the question remained: Would President Wilson declare war in retaliation?   1915 is the second installment of the A Tale of Two Nations series.

Drawing on contemporaneous accounts of the First World War from Canada and the United States, freelance journalist Melina Druga offers readers an insightful exploration of early-20th-century attitudes toward the conflict, in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WWI.   The Battle of the Somme claimed more than 700,000 Allied casualties between July 1 and November 13, 1916. Among them were 24,000 Canadians. Additionally, 710 members of the small Newfoundland Regiment — then independent from Canada — were injured or killed on the first day of the offensive. Despite the high number of casualties and the Canadian Corps' lauded performance at Courcellette, Canadian newspapers largely ignored the Somme Offensive, leaving a huge gap in the journalistic record.   As war raged across Europe, the United States found itself preoccupied with homegrown violence. Although Democrats successfully renominated incumbent President Woodrow Wilson to the November ballot, business was far less smooth for Republicans and Progressives. Fights broke out between Progressive Party founder Teddy Roosevelt's supporters and detractors, and the Republicans' "America First" platform proved shaky, thanks to a disappointing delivery from keynote speaker Warren G. Harding.   Throughout the year, journalists in both countries favored domestic news over coverage of the European conflict. Little did they know that the war would soon grow too great to ignore.   1916 is the third installment of the A Tale of Two Nations series.

Drawing on contemporaneous accounts of the First World War from Canada and the United States, freelance journalist Melina Druga offers readers an insightful exploration of early-20th-century attitudes toward the conflict, in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WWI.   Following its victories at Ypres and Courcellette, the Canadian Expeditionary Force secured yet another hard-won victory, this time at Vimy Ridge — an escarpment in northern France that both French and British troops had previously failed to hold. This historic win would later be viewed as Canada's coming-of-age, but were the news reporters back home aware that a watershed moment had transpired across the Atlantic?   After years of speculation in the United States, President Woodrow Wilson finally declared war on Germany, plunging America into the international conflict. The prediction that U.S. involvement would provoke a German surrender proved false. A wave of patriotic fervor washed over the country — even as domestic unrest continued to stir among U.S. pacifists — in spite of the fact that the American military was ill-prepared. Thus did the United States finally enter the fray.   1917 is the fourth installment of the A Tale of Two Nations series.

Drawing on contemporaneous accounts of the First World War from Canada and the United States, freelance journalist Melina Druga offers readers an insightful exploration of early-20th-century attitudes toward the conflict, in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WWI.   The war ended on November 11, 1918. By the time of the Allies' armistice with Germany, Canada had been at war for more than four years, and the U.S. for nineteen months. All in all, World War I had lasted for 1,576 days. Civilians in both nations celebrated the close of hostilities abroad.   No one could have predicted that a bigger, deadlier shadow was just over the horizon. The Spanish influenza pandemic was brewing for months before the ceasefire. In the final months of 1918 alone, the illness would claim nearly 300,000 American lives. By the time the pandemic ended in 1920, Spanish flu had killed more people than the war itself.   This final volume in Druga's history series finds both countries wrestling with whiplash. Thrown out of the frying pan of combat, Canadians and U.S. citizens alike fell directly into the fire of a global health crisis.   1918 is the fifth installment of the A Tale of Two Nations series.

How did newspapers report the events of World War 1?  How much of the story was the media able to tell?   Author Melina Druga asked these  questions and weaves together details from key events using contemporary newspapers as her main source.  As a consequence, the events in A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WW1 do not have the benefit of hindsight and analysis.  The reporting is chaotic, incomplete and often inaccurate, but it paints a picture of the war as our ancestors knew it.   A Tale of Two Nations: Canada, U.S. and WW1 is the story of two  countries that found themselves embroiled in a world war – one by circumstance, one by choice.    This is the complete edition in the journalism history series originally published in five parts:   Part one, 1914:  The war begins.  Canada is proud to contribute to the war effort while the United States declares its neutrality.   Part two, spring 1915 is consumed with two traumatic events.  The Canadian Expeditionary Force passes its trial by fire, entering battle for the first time and winning glory while becoming victims of a chlorine-gas attack.  A month later, the United States is shocked that German submarine warfare has killed civilians.  The Lusitania is sunk, and war rhetoric is on the rise.   Part three, 1916:  Canada participates in the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in history and the conflict that introduces the tank, yet papers back home are preoccupied elsewhere.  In the United States, the presidential election of 1916 brings out opposing viewpoints and results in a narrow re-election victory for President Woodrow Wilson.    Part four, 1917:   The Battle of Vimy Ridge often is called Canada's coming of age, but is that how contemporary newspapers viewed the victory?  Meanwhile, President Woodrow Wilson, after years of pledging American neutrality and his re-inauguration, declares war on Germany.   Part five, 1918:  Armistice is declared at last, ending the Great War.  However, joy is tempered by the Spanish Flu pandemic.   Melina Druga is a freelance journalist and the author of nine nonfiction books and several novels.