"Individual liberty is ingrained in American culture. Yet, in contrast to this cherished ideal, American men were inducted into military service under a system that flourished for more than twenty years before its rationalization was seriously questioned by more than a small minority of citizens." "Analyzing this paradox, George Flynn provides the first comprehensive look at an institution that managed to sustain political and public favor through two wars before dying out under a barrage of protests during a third. Placing the American draft within a historical context, he shows how social and political considerations determined the character of conscription in the United States." "The draft developed as it did, he argues, not mainly because of military needs or strategy, but because of political decisions initiated by civilians with nonmilitary agendas. Explaining why the draft remained relatively immune to political criticism prior to the Vietnam conflict, Flynn chronicles the draft's military and strategic successes and failures in America's mid-century wars. He shows how major institutions and lobbies representing science, education, and various professions and religions influenced it and how, ultimately and ironically, the selective character of the draft eventually made the system inequitable and helped cause its downfall."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Chicano Movement, el movimiento, is known as the largest and most expansive civil rights and empowerment movement by Mexican Americans up to that time. It made Chicanos into major American political actors and laid the foundation for today’s Latino political power. Rewriting the Chicano Movement is a collection of powerful new essays on the Chicano Movement that expand and revise our understanding of the movement. These essays capture the commitment, courage, and perseverance of movement activists, both men and women, and their struggles to achieve the promises of American democracy. The essays in this volume broaden traditional views of the Chicano Movement that are too narrow and monolithic. Instead, the contributors to this book highlight the role of women in the movement, the regional and ideological diversification of the movement, and the various cultural fronts in which the movement was active. Rewriting the Chicano Movement stresses that there was no single Chicano Movement but instead a composite of movements committed to the same goal of Chicano self-determination. Scholars, students, and community activists interested in the history of the Chicano Movement can best start by reading this book. Contributors: Holly Barnet-Sanchez, Tim Drescher, Jesús Jesse Esparza, Patrick Fontes, Mario T. García, Tiffany Jasmín González, Ellen McCracken, Juan Pablo Mercado, Andrea Muñoz, Michael Anthony Turcios, Omar Valerio-Jiménez

This book provides a complete overview of the drafting process of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 20 November 1989. Chapter I by Nigel Cantwell, gives the reader an introductory look at the drafting process of the Convention within the context of the United Nations. Chapter II is a compilation of the main United Nations documents concerning the drafting of the convention. Part A deals with the futher development of the Polish proposal at the thirty-fourth session of the Commission on Human Rights to conclude a convention on the rights of the child. Parts B & C consist, respectively, of an article-by-article compilation of the general considerations made by the open-ended Working Group regarding the Convention during its eleven sessions (1979-1989). Chapter III , by Jaap Doek, concludes with observations concerning the ratification & -- effective -- implementation of the Convention which entered into force on 2 September 1990. The Appendix contains an exhaustive listing of all relevant United Nations documents. It further contains the official attendance lists of the open-ended Working Group. This important book will aid those concerned to achieve a better understanding of the provisions of the Convention.