Opening scene shows the Monument to the Battle of the Nations erected in Leipzig, in 1913, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the epic battle of Leipzig, and the defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of allies arrayed against the French. Notable are images of Teutonic knights standing guard around the upper periphery of the monument. Closeup of the base of the monument and entranceway. Some signs of war damage are visible. Camera pans upward. An American soldier is seen in lower left foreground, manning an M45 Browning .50 caliber Quadmount anti-aircraft gun. Camera continues to pan over details of the monument. (World War 2; WWII; WW2)
'Making of an American ' An immigrant comes to Gary, Indiana from South Central Europe. He gets employed as a laborer at Illinois steel company of United States Steel Corporation. A demonstration shows safety devices for workers while working at a railroad, steel plant and with machine tools. Men wear goggles while working to prevent chips from getting into the eye. Various other devices like locking of switches, guard for circulation saw, guard on emery wheels, guard over belt, pulley and a fan at the steel plant.
Various facilities provided by companies to its workers. Immigrant from Europe employed as a worker at Illinois steel company in Gary, Indiana attends a teaching session organized by the company for its workers. Worker and his family live happily. His children play at a playground provided by the company.
A couple performs several types of dances, in a studio, for a cinematographer (unseen). The man is dressed in a sailor's uniform, and his partner is a stylishly dressed woman. They perform several different dance moves requiring close coordination, as a couple. While taking a rest break, the two converse, and the woman apparently suggests that the man perform a solo dance for the camera. He agrees and skips to a center starting point in the studio. He then skips in a circle and commences dancing a sailor's hornpipe with professional ballet-style and modern dance flourishes.
U.S. soldier with shouldered rifle stands guard beside the Rio Grande river, separating the United States from Mexico, in 1913. A dog stands next to him. The river is rushing in the background. View of extensive stakes and barbed wire lining the U.S.Mexico border. U.S. soldiers perform changing of the guard at a checkpoint on the U.S. side of the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Two new American sentries replace those being relieved. Signs on the fence identify the respective country boundaries. Mexican refugees (mostly women and children) flee the revolutionary combat taking place in Mexico. U.S. soldiers monitor as they cross into the United States, and direct some passing inside a trench manned by American soldiers along the border. Scene shifts to an official looking building guarded by U.S. soldiers. Several Mexican men, including Pancho Villa leave the building, accompanied by two or more Americans. (One American, wearing glasses , and carrying a cane. is dressed in a white suit, and wears a bow tie and Edwardian style summer straw hat. Next, Pancho Villa is seen with a number of his soldiers. A group of Mexican men relaxing at a shaded table near rustic structures. Large cacti frame the foreground, where a girl is walking toward them. Closeup of the men gathered around the table.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson is named President of the United States in 1913. The inaugural address of the President at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC. Dignitaries and officials arrive in cloaks and hats for the ceremony. Guests include outgoing President William Howard Taft, British ambassador Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, German ambassador to the U.S. Count Von Bernstorff, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Joseph Gurney Cannon, Chief Justice of the U.S. Charles Evans Hughes, U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, and Ted Wilson. The President and other attendees take their place on the podium. A large crowd gathered to witness the ceremony. The Chief Justice along with the President. President Wilson addresses the crowd. The band and troops march on the streets.