Date of Award

1-1-2018

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of History

Content Description

1 online resource (iii, v, 302 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Dan S White

Committee Members

Richard S Fogarty, Ryan Irwin

Keywords

Canada, citizenship, neutrality, repatriation, U.S. Enlistees, World War I, Military service, Voluntary, Soldiers, World War, 1914-1918

Subject Categories

American Studies | Canadian History | European Languages and Societies

Abstract

This study explores the close relationship between Britain, the United States, and Canada at the beginning of the twentieth-century. The true closeness of this relationship becomes more evident throughout the First World War when issues of citizenship between the three nations assumed a substantial level of fluidity. Analyzing the motivations that compelled almost 36,000 U.S. citizens to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War provides a window through which we can view this relationship. Some citizens of the United States sought to join the war effort through military service, even though their country was a declared neutral and doing so potentially put their citizenship at risk. These enlistments, mostly volunteers who crossed the border, took place from 1914 through 1918, including after the United States entered the war.

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