Two new immigrant man are seen on bunks in a tenement in New York City, where the narrator says nine out of ten immigrants arrived in the period from 1880 to 1914. Two women pose, sitting beside a sleeping child in a tenement. An immigrant speaks about the hardship of arriving in a strange land where he did not speak the language and felt "lost." He says he gradually overcame that by going to night school to learn a little English and to read and write. He says he made a nice living as a peddler, and expressed appreciation for the opportunities America gave to immigrants. In the next scene, children enjoy rides on a traveling merry-go-round visiting their neighborhood. The operator runs it manually, by turning a wheel. View of children riding and others watching on the street. Streams of pedestrians crossing a bridge across a busy city street. Pedestrians on sidewalks and horse-drawn wagons and electrified street cars moving on the street in the commercial center of a city. Workers heading home after their shift in a factory. View of workers producing products in a factory. A line of women punching a time clock at their place of work. Women working in a clothing factory. Men standing atop a shipment of steel rails for the building of a railroad. Views of rails being moved into position for a new segment of the railroad. Glimpse of a steam shovel scooping a bucket full of raw material. Black smoke rising from funnel on a steam locomotive, and also from nearby steam shovel. Iron workers on a the wide open upper floors of the 60-story skyscraper Woolworth Building under construction in Lower Manhattan, New York City, in 1911. Pilings being put in place for a new building. Riveters guiding a section of steel column into place for a new building . Views inside a heavy manufacturing plant of the W. E. & M. company in New York City. Their products appear to be large dynamos and motors. View of the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island in New York harbor, with its arm appearing to hold up a full moon.
Montage of scenes related to European mobilization and preparations for World War I, from 1914 through 1919, plus brief views of Mark VIII tank maneuvers, circa 1924. Patriotic French citizens fill a street as France mobilizes for World War 1. Italian soldiers marching to war through a town. British King George V seen with Prime Minister David Lloyd George and other British officials. British First Lord of Admiralty, Winston Churchill poses and "mugs" for camera. British troops being transported along a country road on double-decker buses and slogging through the mud in France. Two French soldiers join the line of "tommies" to be photographed, and then step out of line to watch. King George V with Field Marshal Douglas Haig, and other officers, next to their automobiles in field, during the King's visit to his troops in 1916. The King and British officers observe tests of Mark IV tank, circa 1917. Scene shifts to August 10, 1916 showing the Prince of Wales and King George V, accompanied by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, and other officers, observing the Battle of Pozières (in Battle of the Somme) from a safe distance, using a telescope. U.S. Army Mark VIII International Tanks in daytime and nighttime maneuvers (likely at Fort Meade, Maryland) circa 1924.
American soldiers in an Army passenger truck, ride into a field at an Army base in the United States, during World War 1. They step from the truck, remove boxes of ammunition, and a French M1914 Hotchkiss machine gun. They set up the machine gun and prepare to fire it. Scene shifts to closeup of a soldier back at the truck, opening its compartments and checking the contents.
The college football Orange Bowl of 1944 between Louisiana State University and Texas A&M University Aggies in Miami, Florida, at the Miami Orange Bowl. The crowd in the stands of Orange Bowl Stadium. Band and flag corps march on the field carrying flags of various nations. A large float of a bald eagle with a crowned young woman rides atop the float. The game in progress. A cheering crowd in the stands. Highlights shown include two rushing touchdowns by LSU's Steve Van Buren and a passing touchdown by A&M. Louisiana State University beats Texas A&M University Aggies by a score of 19-14.
Camera pans shoreline in vicinity of Trebizond (Trabzon), Turkey, on the Black Sea. Views are from the Ocean Liner, United States Army transport, USAT Martha Washington, as it carries passengers (unseen) westward, including members of the American Military Mission to Turkey and Armenia. Next, are shown scenes as the Martha Washington traverses the Bosphorus Strait, at its narrowest point, where the "Fortress of Europe" aka "Rumeli Castle" or "Fortress Rumeli Hisari" is seen on the so-called European shore.
Germany celebrates completion of the widening of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal (aka Kiel Canal) allowing dreadnought warships to navigate directly between the Baltic and North Seas. German Stern view of a German Nassau-class battleship near the canal. Camera pans across the water showing several other large ships and buildings in background. German Naval officers celebrate the completion of the wider canal. Ice forming on the bow of a German warship as it plows through the North sea in Winter. Sheets of ice covering the sides of other warships. German warships forming lines as they practice battle maneuvers. The Crown Prince William and Prince Joachim of Germany along with other young men and women.