ABSTRACT
In addition to these shortcomings, three evidences of national bias appear with alarming frequency. Nearly all texts imply that the American army became effective in Europe far sooner than it did, thus denying the Allies credit for holding back the Central Powers until May 28, 1918 when massive American forces first became active. March, 1918, is a favoured date with most authors who write that the expeditionary force assumed the brunt of fighting from that time on, although one places Americans in the front line trenches as early as October, 1917, without mentioning that this was a token force. Secondly, no textbook gives evidence on the casualties among all the Allies; to present statistics on American dead and wounded alone obscures the fact that England, France, and other nations sacrificed far more than the United States. A simple table would supply this information, and would be more effective than some of the many cartoons that crowd information from the pages of present volumes; similar tables on the comparative economic losses of the warring nations would also reveal the contributions of each nation. Thirdly, no textbook pays proper attention to the burdens carried by Britain and France for the three years before the United States entered the war; many create the impression that the conflict began with the arrival of American troops.
