Building Community: Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, and Changing the United States Military
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Graduate
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Olga Koulisis
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Over the last several decades, scholars have analyzed World War I from a social perspective. This project takes elements of social history and blends them with military history by using Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky as a case study to explore the Great War’s effects on soldiers in training, communities that surrounded training camps, and the U.S. military’s role in defining citizenship. The paper draws on a number of sources such as oral history memoirs, newspaper articles and the personal papers of soldiers that trained at the camp. This essay describes how life in the camp was in many cases enjoyable for the soldiers. In addition, the presence of the camp affected the landscape of the city of Louisville. While the camp was active, military leaders and the local community went to great lengths to provide everyday amenities and recreation activities for the soldiers in the camp while the camp poured back into the local community by providing entertainment and an economic boom. Also, the camp reflected the growing professionalization of the United States Army and changing ideas about American citizenship.
Fall Scholars Week 2026
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HIS 697
Building Community: Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, and Changing the United States Military
Over the last several decades, scholars have analyzed World War I from a social perspective. This project takes elements of social history and blends them with military history by using Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky as a case study to explore the Great War’s effects on soldiers in training, communities that surrounded training camps, and the U.S. military’s role in defining citizenship. The paper draws on a number of sources such as oral history memoirs, newspaper articles and the personal papers of soldiers that trained at the camp. This essay describes how life in the camp was in many cases enjoyable for the soldiers. In addition, the presence of the camp affected the landscape of the city of Louisville. While the camp was active, military leaders and the local community went to great lengths to provide everyday amenities and recreation activities for the soldiers in the camp while the camp poured back into the local community by providing entertainment and an economic boom. Also, the camp reflected the growing professionalization of the United States Army and changing ideas about American citizenship.