Citizenship at Camp Colt

A lone bugler at Camp Colt in Gettysburg, PA, during World War I

National Archives and Records Administration

During World War I, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania became a training ground for American soldiers. Over fifty years after the Blue and the Gray had shed blood in Gettysburg, over ten thousand Americans trained and prepared for tank warfare at Camp Colt in Gettysburg under the leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In June and July of 1918 over 300 men were naturalized in two ceremonies at Camp Colt. These ceremonies reflected the importance of immigration in the United States, the significance of changing policies regarding naturalization, and the changing of notions of citizenship during and surrounding World War I.

Leading up to World War I the United States was experiencing a period of mass migration, however following the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, immigration into the U.S. slowed down significantly. Immigration into the U.S. reached a peak in 1914 of 1.06 million, but by 1915 it had declined to 198,000, and the decline continued into 1917.

Before World War I the process of naturalization was done according to the Naturalization Act of 1906, the first law to regulate naturalization since 1802. The main purpose of this law was to give the federal government control over the naturalization process. The law unified the procedures and fees linked with naturalization and put them under the Division of Naturalization in the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization which was part of the Department of Commerce and Labor.

During World War I, the United States drafted nearly 500,000 immigrants into military service. They comprised around 18 percent of the United States’ military force. These immigrants came from 46 different nationalities with their own cultural backgrounds. The immigrants who were naturalized at Camp Colt came from the following countries: Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Greece, Turkey, Spain, France, Serbia, Mexico, Sweden, and Austria.

On June 29th 1918, the first of Camp Colt’s naturalization was held. The majority of the 255 of the Tank Corps naturalized that day were British men. The ceremony was conducted by the Adams County Court at the Y.M.C.A. tent of the Casual Company of Camp Colt at two o’clock. Present at the ceremony were the following officials: President Judge McPherson, Associated Judges Miller and Dicks, Prothonotary G. Harry Roth, and Court Crier Lightner. At Camp Colt, during the session the petitioners were called forward and their company officers vouched for them before they were sworn in as American citizens, a brief address was made to the men, and then the ceremony concluded. The men who received citizenship were described as being very happy.

The naturalization court was held again on July 15th when fifty three more immigrants became citizens. Again, Great Britain contributed the most men at 30. This ceremony occurred in a similar manner to the former. However, one difference was that at the first ceremony, the certificates of citizenship were handed to the citizens, but in the second ceremony they were not. Instead, the court received a message from Washington directing them to send the certificates of naturalization to Washington for filing rather than to be given to the men. This was because the documents were viewed as sensitive information that the government did not want to end up in enemy hands if the men were to be captured during fighting.

Examples of immigrants who were at Camp Colt during the ceremonies and were likely naturalized include Samuel Gettman, a quiet Russian immigrant, Edward A. Underwood, an immigrant from England who died in October of Influenza, and a Scottish immigrant, Thomas B. Montguire, who also died of influenza in October of 1918.

The ceremonies at Camp Colt were possible because naturalization during World War I was simplified. This was an effort to make it easier for those serving in the armed forces to gain citizenship. In 1917, a series of debates occurred in congress over if immigrant men could or could not be drafted into the American army. This culminated in the Selective Service Act of 1917. This law required all male citizens between eighteen and forty-five years to register for the draft and carry on registration cards. These cards were the first mass, state-issued identification documents in US history. It also became a requirement for immigrants entering the United States to have passports and visas. This policy was intended to more rigorously document immigrants, and American society at large. By being able to identify citizens and immigrants more readily the federal government was able to draft them.

Additionally, The Selective Service Act of 1917 established that there were three classifications for foreign-born registries; declarant, non declarant, and enemy alien. Declarant immigrants were those who had filed their declaration of intent, which at the time was the first step in the citizenship process, were eligible to be drafted. Non-declarant immigrants, those who had not filed their declaration of intent for citizenship, were not technically eligible, and enemy aliens were also not compelled to serve as they would be fighting against their own countrymen. This explains why, in Camp Colt, out of all the nationalities naturalized, German was not one of them. Despite the 1917 policy, by September of 1918, almost 200,000 non-declarant immigrants had waived their exemption from draft status. Non declarant and alien enemies were exempt from the draft, but this was not maintained throughout the war. Additionally, if immigrant men refused to file their declaration of intent to claim exemption from the draft during the war, they were denied citizenship at a later date.

Furthermore, the naturalization ceremonies at Camp Colt were made possible by the Military Naturalization Act of May 1918. With this act, Congress waived certain requirements to become citizens, residency requirements and paperwork burdens for naturalization. For example, the declaration of intention and fee to noncitizens were no longer required for noncitizens. It became significantly easier for those who were serving or those who had been honorably discharged in the prior six months in the armed forces to become citizens. Because of these changes, around 200,000 soldiers naturalized during the war. The majority of these naturalizations took place in military camps like Camp Colt. Soldiers only had to demonstrate they were active duty and have two superior officers vouch for them. Their naturalization took precedence over all other naturalizations within the bureau of Naturalization.

The large scale and swift incorporation of immigrants into the American armed forces challenged the structures in place. In order to accommodate an expanding cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions they had to re-examine their training procedures. President Woodrow Wilson was worried that immigrants would organize into groups concerned solely with their self interest, so he wanted immigrants to Americanize and instead work towards the common goal of the nation. To cope with these new challenges the military invited Progressive reformers and ethnic group leaders to assist them in formulating new military policies. As a result of this, generally, in World War I there were policies within the military that demonstrated an awareness and regard for other cultures while still promoting Americanizations of those serving in the armed forces. For example, in January of 1918, the War Department established the Foreign-Speaking Soldier Sub-Section (FSS), which was meant to improve the treatment of immigrants within the army.

As a part of these efforts, the Secretary of War Newton D. Baker backed a plan where at training camps across the US, foreign born soldiers were to be reorganized known as the “Camp Gordon Plan.” This plan included an intensive search for bilingual and multilingual soldiers and called for ethnic companies which were to be led by the best qualified foreign-speaking, first and second-generation immigrant officers. The plan also tried to avoid native-born soldiers forming prejudices. At places like Camp Colt and Camp Meade, the exposure to the variety of languages and ethnicities could present a culture shock to the native-born and local men. Within Camp Colt an example of this is the description of the Seventy-Ninth, which consisted of men from many different nationalities and religions, and with varied occupational and education backgrounds.

Once the soldiers had been adequately trained, the Camp Gordon Plan then called for them to be placed back in regular divisions. Immigrants were often placed in platoons with their fellow countrymen, but integrated larger companies. This organization was thought to boost immigrants’ morale while still providing the foundation for Americanization. Despite these policies, Americanization of immigrant soldiers was still of the utmost importance to the army. The soldiers were integrated in such a way that they still could continue to learn English if not already fluent and learn American political values. Organizations such as The Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations, the Salvation Army, the Playground Association of America, the American Social Hygiene Association, American Library Association, the Knights of Columbus, and the Jewish Welfare Board assisted the military with socializing and training troops. For foreign-born soldiers, these efforts included English language and citizenship classes.

World War I reshaped the meaning of citizenship in the United States. The war created a linkage between citizenship, territorial limits, and military service that was strengthened by the revision of laws. Following the war, immigration policies became more restrictive. Examples of these laws include the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Acts of 1924 and 1929. By 1924, ideas and rules for how to citizenship had become more uniform. Citizenship was marked by a sole allegiance to America. This was shown a uniform documenting process and a federal government who took on a larger regulatory role in borders of citizenship, immigration, and naturalization.

World War I was a turbulent period regarding immigration and naturalization policies, but Camp Colt offers a snap shot of the complex set of policies that allowed for the naturalization of over 300 men in service of America.

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