This dissertation examines the identity crisis that the city of San Francisco experienced in the decade following the 1906 earthquake and fire and how the Great War intensified the debate over what urban characteristics should define the city in the future. The dual disasters of 1906, coupled with the economic and demographic growth of other cities along the Pacific Coast, compelled San Franciscans to search for ways to maintain their status as residents of the central metropolis of the Far West. However, by the time the United States declared war in April 1917 it was apparent that no city on the West Coast could reign supreme. As San Franciscans created a public image of patriotism and support for the Great War, they also continued to battle with each other over how to develop a modern metropolis that paid homage to its storied past while promoting future progress. The diversity of the San Francisco populace, the cornerstone of the city's development and identity since the Gold Rush days, fostered ideological conflict as individuals sought to define themselves, in part, by the city in which they lived. While labeling individual residents as members of a particular subset based on categories such as occupation, political party, neighborhood, or religion is impossible, this dissertation seeks to explain the divergent thoughts within the populace regarding urban identity by focusing on key institutions and groups whose views stood in starkest contrast. The Great War created an opportunity for residents to promote San Francisco as the "City that Knows How," but the war also exposed fears that, beyond helping the nation win a war, San Franciscans did not know what else their city could do.