# WORLD WAR I DOCUMENTARY AMERICA GOES OVER REEL 1 22684

This silent film is Reel 1 of AMERICA GOES OVER, a silent documentary propaganda film produced by the US Army Signal Corp in 1918. The film documents the activities of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I under General John J. Pershing. The movie was a product of the Division of Films of the Committee on Public Information, the Washington, DC-based federal agency in charge of wartime propaganda in the United States. This reel opens with the "freedom of the seas" being denied to American vessels, as German U-boats sink American ships on the high seas (1:30 mark). On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany. Th film then shows the Allies fighting the Germans (3:00), with artillery, trenches, gas attacks, etc. all documented by the camera's unblinking eye. At the six minute mark, America is shown preparing for the war, building gigantic training bases and constructing weapons, ships, and more for the war effort. At 7:30 a ship is launched, and at 8:30 a draft is begun. Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt is seen at 8:39, reviewing the troops. The training of U.S. forces is shown for much of the rest of the film. U.S. forces, actually an expeditionary force and not the main body of the army, are seen arriving in France at the 12:30 mark, and a review at Lafayette's tomb is conducted. At this stage, American forces are deployed in the "quiet sectors". The film contains many "human interest" clips about doughboys on KP, using slop buckets,…

- Kind: Documentary
- Genres: War, Documentary, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/22684AmericaGoesOverPt1Mos)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/22684AmericaGoesOverPt1Mos?play=1)