American Military History: A Survey From Colonial Times to the Present

by William Thomas Allison, Jeffrey G. Grey, Janet G. Valentine

Overview

Now in its third edition, American Military History examines how a country shaped by race, ethnicity, economy, regionalism, and power has been equally influenced by war and the struggle to define the role of a military in a free and democratic society.

Organized chronologically, the text begins at the point of European conflict with Native Americans and concludes with military affairs in the early 21st century, providing an important overview of the military’s role on an international, domestic, social, and symbolic level. The third edition is fully updated to reflect recent developments in military policy and the study of military history and war and society, thus providing students a foundational understanding of the American military experience.

This book will be of interest to students of American history and military history. It is designed to allow instructors flexibility in structuring a course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138735774
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/06/2020
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

William Thomas Allison is Professor of History at Georgia Southern University. He earned his Ph.D. at Bowling Green State University and teaches courses on American military history, the Vietnam War, and war and society. He has been a visiting professor at the U.S. Air Force Air War College, the U.S. Air Force Command and Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College, and has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Military History, on the U.S. Army Historical Advisory Committee, and as vice-president of the Society for Military History. He is the author of several works, including Military Justice in Vietnam: The Rule of Law in an American War, My Lai: An American Tragedy, and The Gulf War, 1991, and is the series editor for Modern War Studies at the University Press of Kansas.

The late Jeffrey G. Grey was Professor of History at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of New South Wales and has held several visiting professorships, including the Major General Matthew Horner Chair in Military Theory at the U.S. Marine Corps University. His numerous publications include The Commonwealth Armies and the Korean War: An Alliance Study, A Military History of Australia Australian Brass: The Career of Lieutenant-General Sir Horace Robertson, and "Up Top": The Royal Australian Navy in Southeast Asian Conflicts, 1955-1972, as well as volumes for the Centenary History of Australia and the Great War series. He served as president of the Society for Military History and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Military History, the Journal of the Australian War Memorial, War in History, and the Australian Army Journal, as well as editor for War and Society.

Janet G. Valentine is a retired Associate Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. A scholar of the Korean War and citizenship and military obligation, she earned her Ph.D. at the University of Alabama and worked as aa historian for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, the U.S. Air National Guard History Office, and the U.S. Department of Defense Joint History Office, and has held teaching positions at the University of North Florida and Mississippi State University. She has served on the editorial board for the Journal of Military History and the advisory board for H-WAR.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 The First American Way of War 1

2 The Colonies and Wars for Empire 21

3 Independence and the Birth of a National Military 49

4 Challenges for a New Nation 75

5 The Second War of Independence 96

6 Agents of Empire 118

7 Toward a Professional Military 140

8 Civil War and Reconstruction 159

9 Becoming a Modern Military 191

10 'Over There' 220

11 Learning and Preparing: The 1920s and 1930s 241

12 World War II 261

13 Postwar Reform and New Challenges 286

14 Challenges of the Cold War 308

15 Vietnam 329

16 Reform and Adjustment for a Changing World 351

17 Into the Twenty-First Century 375

Index 397