Lange’s quotation of Yankee Doodle, with its references to the American Revolutionary War, is a typical representation of how the United States justified the switch from non-intervention to active participation in the War. The self-identified land of the free argued that, just as it had spread freedom and democracy across North America, it now had a duty to bring those values back to Europe. The cover illustration for America, I Love You (1915), composed by Archie Gottler (1896-1959), demonstrates this kind of historically-rooted patriotism. Artist Albert Barbelle (1888-1957) presents vignettes from United States history ranging from the Boston Tea Party to covered wagons heading west. America, I Love You does not specifically mention the war in Europe, but its positive presentation of the United States as a free country would have been acceptable both to the non-interventionists of 1914 as well as the growing contingent of Americans in favor of the war.

America, I Love You is musically distinctive because its verses are in a major key, but its chorus moves to the minor. In retrospect, this modulation may be heard as a reflection of Americans’ uncertainty of how their love of country should affect their participation in the first World War.