World War I and Ethnic Chicago-- Part 2: An Ethnic City

From that point on, the war was the talk of the town.  And this especially  applied to each of the belligerents as all had considerable groups living in Chicago.  The city was a checkerboard of ethnic neighborhoods.

The German community was especially targeted with almost a paranoid suspicion.  Chicago's clergy were  calling the war the biblical Armageddon.  One preacher said, "If Germany is victorious, then every Christian ideal will be destroyed and brute force will prevail."

Leaders of the German community tried to deflect the blow with a well-publicized war bond drive.  "We have shown our loyalty by sending our sons to war, "said Henry G. Zander.  "But we must overcome the feeling on the part of many Americans that we are not loyal."

But, the Tribune in a news story said:  "Will County, populated largely by Germans, is a dangerous place for a man wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam to go."

--Cooter