Home Front U S A

New scholarship on World War II continues to broaden ourunderstanding. With each passing year we know more about thetriumphs and the tragedies of America’s involvement in themomentous conflict. Tapping into this greater awareness of theaccomplishments of both soldiers and civilians and a betterrecognition of the consequences of decisions made, Allan Winklerpresents the third edition of his highly popular series volume. Informed by the latest historical literature and featuring manynew thoughtfully chosen photographs, the third edition of HomeFront U.S.A. continues to ponder the question of "the good war,"the moral implications of the use of the atomic bomb, theimplications of expanding wartime roles for women, AfricanAmericans, American Jews, the imprisonment of Japanese Americans atthe hands of the federal government, and the experiences of themany other people who, though relegated to the fringe of mainstreamsociety, contributed in important ways to the nation's successfulprosecution of its greatest challenge.

Tells of the Amerian efforts to provide equipment for World War II and tells of the situation in America at the time.

Examines the home-front achievements and repercussions of World War II on the United States, arguing that the process of mobilization forever changed the character of American life, and looking at the impact of the conflict on women, African-Americans, and other minorities, the Japanese-American people, politics, and the government.

Text and illustrations depict life in the United States during World War II.

American soldiers overseas during World War II were famously said to be “overpaid, oversexed, and over here.” But the assaults, rapes, and other brutal acts didn’t only happen elsewhere, far away from a home front depicted as safe and unscathed by the “good war.” To the contrary, millions of American and Allied troops regularly poured into ports like New York and Los Angeles while on leave. Euphemistically called “friendly invasions,” these crowds of men then forced civilians to contend with the same kinds of crime and sexual assault unfolding in places like Britain, France, and Australia. With unsettling clarity, Aaron Hiltner reveals what American troops really did on the home front. While GIs are imagined to have spent much of the war in Europe or the Pacific, before the run-up to D-Day in the spring of 1944 as many as 75% of soldiers were stationed in US port cities, including more than three million who moved through New York City. In these cities, largely uncontrolled soldiers sought and found alcohol and sex, and the civilians living there—women in particular—were not safe from the violence fomented by these de facto occupying armies. Troops brought their pocketbooks and demand for “dangerous fun” to both red-light districts and city centers, creating a new geography of vice that challenged local police, politicians, and civilians. Military authorities, focused above all else on the war effort, invoked written and unwritten legal codes to grant troops near immunity to civil policing and prosecution. The dangerous reality of life on the home front was well known at the time—even if it has subsequently been buried beneath nostalgia for the “greatest generation.” Drawing on previously unseen military archival records, Hiltner recovers a mostly forgotten chapter of World War II history, demonstrating that the war’s ill effects were felt all over—including by those supposedly safe back home.

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.