Long Island’s Gold Coast Elite and the Great War

Richard F. Welch, author of Long Island’s Gold Coast Elite and the Great War, will be at the library to discuss his new book. He will explore how the leading families of the North Shore -- through a potent combination of ethnic background, social status, clear-eyed geopolitical calculation, and financial self-interest -- mobilized to support the Allies at the outbreak of war in 1914. Morgan bankers, movie producers, society glitterati, government officials, politically connected lawyers and one ex-president arranged massive loans and supplies for the Allies, while agitating for militarization and intervention. These efforts undercut the Wilson Administration’s official policy of neutrality and set the country on a course that led inexorably to war with Germany in 1917. The participation of the Gold Coast elite, on the homefront and overseas, will also be discussed. Join us!

Books will be available for purchase and signing.