1920: America's Great War

Postscript

While some of the names of the participants in 1920 are very familiar to those with knowledge of twentieth-century history, some are not. In order to satisfy the curious, here is a summary of the real people and what they actually did in real history during and after the period covered by the novel.

Of the Germans, von Trotha, Scheer, the Crown Prince, Mackensen, and Hutier were real and were major players in World War I. The diplomats, Bernsdorff and Eckhardt were also real. After the defeat of Germany in 1918, they largely disappeared from the public eye. The crown prince followed his father into exile and was no longer a factor in Germany. Von Seekt gained some notoriety by helping rebuild the German Army through a secret accord with the Soviet Union. To my knowledge and with the exception of Rommel, he is the only one who had any significant Nazi connections.

The genially corrupt Italian diplomat, Golitti, continued in Italian politics until he and his cronies were pushed out by the rise of the even more corrupt Benito Mussolini.

The governors of Texas and California, as well as the mayor of San Francisco were also real people, although I used my imagination regarding their behavior, etc.

Some of the American military: Sims, Pershing, Liggett, Nolan, Connor, and Harbord, played major roles in our World War I and after.

Robert Lansing resigned as Secretary of State in 1919 and went into private law practice.

Charles Evans Hughes was named Secretary of State in 1921 and later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Carranza was overthrown by his numerous enemies and murdered in 1920.

A number of American military personnel are recognized as major players in World War II, including Patton, Nimitz, MacArthur, and Marshall. Herbert Hoover and Eisenhower both served as presidents of the United States, with Hoover unfairly getting much of the blame for the Great Depression. John Lejeune became the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Dr. Grayson was Woodrow Wilson’s personal physician.

D.W. Griffith continued to make movies, but none were as successful, or as controversial, as Birth of a Nation.

Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937 while flying over the Pacific.

Most of the other characters: Luke Martel, Kirsten Biel, Elise Thompson, Josh Cornell, Marcus Tovey, Mrs. Tuttle, the Dubbins boys, Steiner and Olson, and others were all figments of my imagination.

If I’ve missed anyone and you’re still curious, do what I did and look it up.