This photographic history documents Cleveland's substantial
contributions to the war effort at home and abroad during World War I.
Cleveland's contribution to the war front began on May 25, 1917, with
the Lakeside Hospital Unit becoming the first American detachment to
land in Europe. On the home front, the war accelerated the growth of
Cleveland, which became the fifth-largest city in the nation by the end
of the decade. When war broke out, Cleveland's growing industries could
no longer depend on the labor emigrating from Europe. At the same time,
40,000 Clevelanders would eventually leave the workforce and serve in
the military. Women replaced them in jobs that were not available in the
past. Scores of African Americans left the South, and this Great
Migration led to significant economic, social, and political
developments in the coming years. Cleveland's ethnic neighborhoods
included many who had come from the nations and regions of the Central
Powers. Americanization programs taught immigrants English and
patriotism.