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Just before the Great War began, the Serbs of America, motivated by their love for their homeland and the spirit of liberty and unity, formed the Serbian National Defense Council of America (SND) in July of 1914, in New York City. Many of the émigrés in America were young intellectuals, averaging in age between 25 and 30. There were older émigrés as well, among them the renowned Serbian scientist especially known for the advances he made in long distance telephone communication, Michael Pupin, who had come to the United States in 1874. He became the founder and the first president of this new Serbian-American organization dedicated to the preservation of Serbdom. Though based in New York, 83 local lodges soon formed in city centers throughout the United States. With the onset of World War I immediately upon its inception, the SND Council of America would find itself contributing to the Allied war effort overseas in the most meaningful of ways
