Designed to give students a concise compass to probe the history of World War II America and to assess the war’s impact on American life, the new edition of Wartime America retains the framework of the original edition but adds new important focus on topics such as other home fronts, the lives of veterans, expanded coverage of World War II as the Good War, and the concept of “the Greatest Generation.”Jeffries paints a picture of a people emerging from the Great Depression and eager for a better life, yet often reluctant to abandon the touchstones of their past. Combining both an original interpretation and synthesis of recent scholarship, Wartime America offers students a concise exploration of the war’s transformative role in American life.

"When is wartime? In common usage, it is a period of time in which a society is at war. But we now live in what President Obama has called 'an age without surrender ceremonies,' where the war on terror remains open-ended and presidents announce an end to conflict in Iraq, even as conflict on the ground persists. It is no longer easy to distinguish between wartime and peacetime. In this inventive meditation on war, time, and the law, Mary L. Dudziak argues that wartime is not a discrete or easily defined period of time. Indeed, America has been engaged in some form of ongoing overseas armed conflict for over a century. Yet policy makers and the American public continue to view wars as exceptional events that eventually give way to normal peace times--a conception that Dudziak believes has two significant consequences. First, because war is thought to be exceptional, 'wartime' remains a shorthand argument justifying extreme actions like torture and detention without trial. Second, ongoing warfare is enabled by the inattention of the American people. More disconnected than ever from the wars their nation is fighting, public disengagement leaves us without political restraints on the exercise of American war powers. Articulately exposing the disconnect between the way we imaging wartime and the practice of American wars, Dudziak illuminates the way the changing nature of American warfare undermines democratic accountability, yet makes democratic engagement all the more necessary."--Dust jacket.

The US has been at war for 70 of the past 100 years. This startling collection of wartime letters, songs, poems, editorial cartoons, newspaper articles and government documents reveals the profound influence war has had on the country. Home Fronts offers a vivid cross-section of American intellectual, political and cultural life over the past century. Across the rich variety of social commentary, political critique and artistic expression, this title brings into sharp focus the startling continuities and contrasts of these experiences.

Among his discussions of civilian lives during the Pequot War, King Philip's War, and the Seven Years' War, Starkey also examines Native American attitudes regarding war, Puritan lives, and Salem witchcraft and its connection to war. Wayne E. Lee continues with his chapter on the American Revolution, investigating how difficult it was for civilians to choose sides, including a telling look at soldier recruitment strategies. He also surveys how inflation and shortages adversely affected civilians, in addition to disease, women's roles, slaves, and Native Americans as civilians. Richard V. Barbuto discusses the War of 1812, taking a close look at life on the ever-expanding frontier, rural homes and families, and jobs and education in city life. Gregory S. Hospodor observes American life during the Mexican War, examining how that conflict amplified domestic tensions caused by sharply divided but closely-held beliefs about national expansion and slavery

A sweeping history of emotional life that explores how 'Dear John' letters became a rite of passage for American servicemen.

Provides an insight into life on the American homefront that will be fascinating to people of all ages.

Explores how war has been reported and interpreted by the media in the United States and what effects those reports and interpretations have had on the people at home and on the battlefield.