RICHARD SLOTKIN. Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality. New York: Henry Holt. 2005. Pp. xii, 639. $35.00
2007; Oxford University Press; Volume: 112; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1086/ahr.112.5.1561
ISSN1937-5239
Autores Tópico(s)Asian American and Pacific Histories
ResumoIn his latest book, Richard Slotkin revisits themes from his previous award-winning books as he presents a complex analysis of race, manhood, citizenship, and war in U.S. culture during the first half of the twentieth century. He does so through the stories of men who fought in two U.S. Army regiments during World War I, both recruited from New York City. One, nicknamed the “Harlem Hell Fighters,” consisted of African American men; the other, part of a division sometimes known as the “Melting Pot Division,” was largely immigrant and included Polish Jews as well as men from Italy, Ireland, Germany, and China. The stories of these men, writes Slotkin, reveal that “democracy, for which the world was to be made safe, had not resolved the most fundamental issues of its own national organization: Who counts as ‘American,’ and what civil rights must citizenship guarantee?” (p. 3). Slotkin sets the context for U.S. entry into the war with a compact account of the coming of age of the nation during the Progressive era, laying out the contradictions of American democracy and citizenship during the ascendancy of scientific racism and Social Darwinism. He describes the debates over the suitability of African American and immigrant men for military service. The heart of the book consists of ten chapters of sometimes mind-numbingly detailed descriptions of personal and official decisions made by men in combat. Those who enjoy the minutiae of military tactics and strategy should appreciate this. Others may find it a slog, but, as it turns out, it is a necessary one. Slotkin's approach surely conveys the confusion and disorientation that existed both on the battlefield and in command headquarters. More importantly, it shows how racial and ethnic prejudices held by political leaders, military brass, and the press could determine the fates of men at the front. Through it all, the utter senselessness of this particular war becomes clear.
Referência(s)