The decades preceding 1914 marked a period of peace around the world, but this was to change during that summer. In Europe, two very powerful ideologies threatened to destroy the fragile peaceful relations: nationalism and imperialism. Nationalism is defined as identifying and supporting one’s own country even if this means making decisions that may be detrimental to other countries. Imperialism is the idea of extending a country’s influence over others, often through political and military force. Both of these played a key role in uprooting and disrupting the lives of Europeans as well as other countries, including the United States. For the 350,000-plus Black Americans who served in the military, the effects of World War I would be even more far reaching.