"What Kind of an American Are You?"
by Arthur Fields

As the first draftees appeared at their inductions in 1917, the nation's lyricists were already questioning the loyalty of the immigrants. "What Kind of An American Are You?" starts with a conciliatory tone, but turns brazen and demanding. "This land of the free," we and they are assured, "is for you and for me. / Or for anyone at all who is seeking liberty. / We welcome every stranger and we help him all we can." The open hand of friendship and aid is not a new ploy for these writers and, of course, there is a "gotcha." "And now that we're in danger," the trap begins to close, "we depend on every man." The same demand for loyalty and gratitude that is the prevailing oeuvre of these songs, comes to the fore again. "The Stars and Stripes are calling you to lend a helping hand," as one good deed demands reciprocation, and "If you're true blue, it's up to you to show just where you stand." Loyalty, unlike faith, depends on acts and appearances—especially under the Espionage Act. The refrain is a "Put up or shut up" and "Love it or leave it" all concentrated in one passage:

What kind of an American are you?
It's time to show what you intend to do.
If they trample on Old Glory, will you think that they are right?
Or will you stand behind your land and fight with all your might?

What kind of an American are you?
That's the question you'll have to answer to.
If the Star Spangled Banner don't make you stand and cheer,
Then what are you doing over here?"

The implication of the last line is that if you're "over here," then you came to get away from Over There, and, therefore, you don't want to go back; what, the song writer asks, are you willing to do? Perhaps life was that simple, then. The bridge is another saber-rattling potpourri of "Marching Through Georgia" and bugle calls. It sets the tone for the final blast. "This country's been dared," we are told in a relatively obvious reference to Germany's final ultimatum, "but they'll find us prepared. / And to try and gain our aim, not a penny will be spared." Even early in the war it was clear that no expense was too great to prepare the American Army to save Democracy. By the time the first training camps were built, it is estimated the government was spending one million dollars a day on the war effort. Wilson's war budget had deep pockets. "We are a friendly nation and we always look for peace," the song continues, reminding one and all of the President's three-year campaign to keep us out of the war and the patience he and the U.S. seemed to possess: "we've waited and we've waited, hoping that this war will cease." The lyric does not take note of the negotiations and diplomacy employed by the Wilson government in an attempt to bring the belligerents to the table, but it does mention that "The enemy across the sea won't take our good advice, / So now it's up to every man to make a sacrifice. / (refrain)." The real message is, that even the patience of Wilson has limits, and there is none left for those who are not loyal and obedient.

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