Product Description

How does a democratic government conscript citizens, turn them into soldiers who can fight effectively against a highly trained enemy, and then somehow reward these troops for their service? In Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America, Jennifer D. Keene argues that the doughboy experience in 1917–18 forged the U.S. Army of the twentieth century and ultimately led to the most sweeping piece of social-welfare legislation in the nation's history—the G.I. Bill.

Keene shows how citizen-soldiers established standards of discipline that the army in a sense had to adopt. Even after these troops had returned to civilian life, lessons learned by the army during its first experience with a mass conscripted force continued to influence the military as an institution. The experience of going into uniform and fighting abroad politicized citizen-soldiers, Keene finally argues, in ways she asks us to ponder. She finds that the country and the conscripts—in their view—entered into a certain social compact, one that assured veterans that the federal government owed conscripted soldiers of the twentieth century debts far in excess of the pensions the Grand Army of the Republic had claimed in the late nineteenth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #711201 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"...An impressive piece of work, based on excellent primary sources in both France and the United States—a model of original research on an important topic." -- —Stuart McConnell, Pitzer College, Claremont

Review

"Jennifer D. Keene [has] illuminated these once unknown soldiers through scholarship of startling originality and insight." -- Steven Trout, American Studies

"Keene's work deserves an audience not only among scholars of military history and international relations but also among those interested in questions of race, social welfare, labor, and the relationship between the individual citizen and the state in the twentieth century." -- G. Kurt Piehler, Journal of American History

"Clearly written and magnificently researched... In the book's best passages Keene's Doughboys force the federal government to re-examine the relationship between itself and its citizen soldiers." -- Kerry E. Irish, Journal of Military History

"This book is a valuable contribution to the history of World War I." -- Edward M. Coffman, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"Superb history of American soldiers during and after World War I... Full of rich, new material and original and fresh insights, all presented in a lively and engaging style." -- Nancy K. Bristow, American Historical Review

"Her work should help return the First World War to a place of primary importance in American history." -- Michael Neiberg, Journal of Social History

"Keene's chapters on the military experiences of ordinary soldiers and the ways in which they perceived and articulated their careers as citizen soldiers are rich and engaging." -- Robert H. Zieger, Historian

"This is an impressive piece of work, based on excellent primary sources in both France and the United States -- a model of original research on an important topic. There is nothing exactly like this book at the intersection of social and military history. The writing is clear and effective, and Keene's arguments about conscription and her truly excellent chapter on the Bonus Army make her findings valuable to historians of all periods from the Civil War through the 1930s." -- Stuart McConnell, Pitzer College, Claremont

"Keene brings strong academic credentials to the work... this is an impressive addition to the scholarly base of American military hisotry albeit of decidedly different focus. Highly Recommended." -- Rene Tyree, Wigs Wags

Review

"This is an impressive piece of work, based on excellent primary sources in both France and the United States -- a model of original research on an important topic. There is nothing exactly like this book at the intersection of social and military history. The writing is clear and effective, and Keene's arguments about conscription and her truly excellent chapter on the Bonus Army make her findings valuable to historians of all periods from the Civil War through the 1930s." -- Stuart McConnell, Pitzer College, Claremont

Customer Reviews

World War I Did Change American Society
Americans have largely forgoten the United States war effort during World War I. There are obvious reasons for this -- the larger role played during World War II, the failure of the politicians to live up to the rhetoric of lasting peace, the limited combat exposure and comparatively low casualties suffered by US troops, etc. But World War I did more than prepare the US for World War II, it fundamentaly changed a whole generation of Americans (Stein called Hemingway and company the lost generation because of World WarI) and as Keane effectively argues changed the way the Army works and the nature of the social contract between citizens and the government. Along the way Keane discusses changes in Army procedures and, somewhat disapointingly, the precarious nature race relations during the war. This book exposes little that is relavatory to those who study American history, but by skillfully aranging the facts and details that are known or obvious Keane carefully builds an air tight case in support of her thesis: The soldiers who served during World War I paved the way not only for the GI Bill but for a wider acceptance of government aid to those in need. The modern concept of Entightlements began with the veterans of the "War To End All Wars."