The Great American Story: The Great War and Its Aftermath

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of Progressive foreign policy on the U.S. entry into World War I and reflects on American history and patriotism.

On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan discuss how Progressive foreign policy brought the United States into World War I before introducing Wilfred McClay. Americans have overcome many challenges throughout our history, including the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the Cold War. Studying the great stories from our past inspires us to preserve the blessings of liberty in our day. Now you can study these stories with Hillsdale College. Hillsdale’s free online course, “The Great American Story: A Land of Hope,” explores the history of America as a land of hope founded on high principles. In presenting the great triumphs and achievements of our nation’s past, as well as the shortcomings and failures, it offers a broad and unbiased study of the kind essential to the cultivation of intelligent patriotism. Despite efforts to remain neutral, the United States entered World War I in 1917. The Americans helped the Allied powers secure victory a year later. The war took the lives of millions, and resulted in immense destruction and political instability in Europe and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeremiah, Juan

Guest: Wilfred McClay

Topics covered

• World War I
• American history
• Progressive foreign policy
• liberty
• patriotism

Keywords

• World War I
• Progressive foreign policy
• American history
• liberty
• patriotism
• Hillsdale College
• Wilfred McClay

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hillsdale College

Books & works: The Great American Story: A Land of Hope

More episodes of Hillsdale College Podcast Network Superfeed

• The Spirit of America's Founders · June 12, 2026 · 45 min
• The Joy of Literary Analysis · June 11, 2026 · 1h 2m
• The Great American Story: The Finest Hour · June 10, 2026 · 42 min
• Matthew Spalding: The Story of our Declaration of Independence · June 9, 2026 · 1h 3m
• The Future of California · June 8, 2026 · 34 min
• Launching a Second Scientific Revolution · June 8, 2026 · 13 min