LibGuides: WWI: Minnesota in the Great War: Newspapers

Suggested Newspapers & Dates

The Minnesota Historical Society has the largest collection of Minnesota newspapers anywhere. Try searching our catalog to see what titles are available - make sure to select "Newspapers" in the drop-down selection before clicking search.

Digitized and keyword searchable newspapers are available in the:

Digital Newspaper Hub and the Historic Minneapolis Tribune.

However, newspapers in the library's microfilm collection, which includes local papers from around the state, are organized chronologically. As a result, you may wish to have dates in mind before begin your searches.

Some important dates for American and Minnesotan involvement in WWI include:

July 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated in Sarajevo.
August 1-4, 1914: WWI Begins. Germany and its ally, Austria-Hungary, go to war with France, Britain and Russia. Fighting begins in Europe.
May 7, 1915: British passenger ship Lusitania sunk by a German U-Boat. There are 128 Americans among the 1,198 passengers killed in the attack.
April 2, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress for a Declaration of War against Germany. The declaration passed on April 6, 1917.
April 10, 1917: Creation of the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety
April 28, 1917: The Minnesota Commission of Public Safety creates the Minnesota Home Guard.
August 1917: Food and Fuel Control Act passed by Congress.
May 10 - July 2, 1918: Goodhue County loyalty trials. Multiple individuals were convicted of speaking against the government and were sentenced to jail.
October 12, 1918: Cloquet, Duluth, and Moose Lake fires. The Minnesota Home Guard assisted in recovery after this disaster.
November 11, 1918: Armistice declared and WWI ends.

Search for Newspapers

Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub
A searchable website of Minnesota newspapers. Contains geographically and culturally diverse papers from 1856 to 1924.
Historical Minneapolis Tribune
Search or browse in the 1867-2001 issues of the Minneapolis Tribune. This database is only available in the library.
Library Catalog-Newspapers
Search by city and title of newspaper (i.e. Granite Falls Tribune) or by the city and "newspapers" (i.e. Granite Falls newspapers).
Newspapers at MNHS
Search various historic newspapers for advertisements and articles about people, events, and activities.
Chronicling America
Access digital historic newspapers from MN and other states through this project by the Library of Congress.
Electronic Library of MN
MN residents can search online magazine, journal, newspaper, and encyclopedia articles and eBooks.