The role of federal military forces in domestic disorders, 1877-1945 /
by Clayton D. Laurie and Ronald H. Cole.
Description
- Language(s)
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English
- Published
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Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, U.S. Army : 1997.
- Summary
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The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1877-1945, the second of three volumes on the history of Army domestic support operations, encompasses a tumultuous era--the rise of industrial America, with attendant social dislocation and strife, as well as the appearance of racial tensions caused by civil rights legislation intended to benefit African Americans. Clayton D. Laurie and Ronald H. Cole trace the evolution of the Army's role and its adherence to law while conducting these often unpopular operations, starting with the first major U.S. Army intervention in a labor dispute, the Great Railway Strike of 1877, and concluding with the War Department seizures of strike-plagued industries during World War II. As Laurie and Cole reveal, the national leadership began to rely on Army units as a peacekeeping constabulary of first resort, not only to enforce federal authority but also to aid local and state officials in maintaining law and order, in protecting lives and property, and in preserving social and political stability. The Army responded promptly and decisively to potentially destabilizing social and political unrest, serving as a bulwark against seemingly sinister forces of anarchy and chaos. Given the significant geopolitical turmoil in this more unpredictable world marked by long-simmering ethnic, religious, territorial, and economic disputes, Laurie's and Cole's volume offers important lessons, especially the value of highly disciplined and trained Soldiers, careful operational and logistical planning, flexibility, and initiative at the lowest levels of command. Those planning and commanding today's irregular operations will benefit from studying this work.
- Physical Description
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xvi, 475 p. :
ill., col. maps, ports. ;
26 cm.
- ISBN
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0160489830
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