One hundred years ago this week, the U.S. formally entered World War I. To commemorate the “war to end all wars,” we launch today a series that recalls some lesser-known aspects of the war and describes their lasting impact.

Anya Jabour from the University of Montana tells the story of the Woman’s Peace Party, which protested “the madness and the horror of war” and helped establish the engaged citizenship we see in contemporary American civic culture. Kyle Greenwalt from Michigan State brings the lessons of World War I to present day classrooms by asking whether a more nationalistic or global view of the war should be taught to U.S. students.

When the U.S. finally did enter the war, its isolationism was a military liability, says David Longenbach from Penn State, who describes the armed forces’ reliance on emerging technology, such as tanks, chemical warfare and machine guns, from its allies. And Elizabeth J. West from Georgia State explains how the experience of black soldiers, who discovered a new freedom and mobility during the war, paved the way for the Harlem Renaissance.