The Year of Peril: America in 1942

by Tracy Campbell

Overview

This fascinating chronicle of how the character of American society revealed itself under the duress of World War II "place(s) today’s myriad social traumas and dislocations in perspective." -- George Will, Washington Post

The Second World War exists in the American historical imagination as a time of unity and optimism. In 1942, however, after a series of defeats in the Pacific and the struggle to establish a beachhead on the European front, America seemed to be on the brink of defeat and was beginning to splinter from within.
 
Exploring this precarious moment, Tracy Campbell paints a portrait of the deep social, economic, and political fault lines that pitted factions of citizens against each other in the post–Pearl Harbor era, even as the nation mobilized, government‑aided industrial infrastructure blossomed, and parents sent their sons off to war. This captivating look at how American society responded to the greatest stress experienced since the Civil War reveals the various ways, both good and bad, that the trauma of 1942 forced Americans to redefine their relationship with democracy in ways that continue to affect us today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300233780
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	05/19/2020
Pages:	408
Sales rank:	157,771
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Tracy Campbell is the E. Vernon Smith and Eloise C. Smith Professor of American History at the University of Kentucky. His previous books include The Gateway Arch: A Biography and Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American Political Tradition, 1742–2004.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

December 1941-"The Most Tremendous Undertaking" 1

1 January-State of the Union 13

2 February-"The Worst Week of the Century" 43

3 March-Total War 76

4 April-"General Max" 100

5 May-"These Fascist Economic Measures" 120

6 June-Rumors of War 145

7 July-"The Principles of Democracy" 175

August-"Insuperable Difficulties" 195

9 September-"Threat of Economic Chaos" 217

10 October-"Pay As You Go" 240

11 November-Second Fronts 262

12 December-A New Democratic Capitalism 285

Epilogue 309

Notes 313

Bibliography 357

Index 373

Editorial Reviews

Thought-provoking. . . . A compelling narrative showing how a large, complex nation grappled with a giant, transcendent event.”—Paul Kennedy, Wall Street Journal

"The shock of Pearl Harbor seemingly united Americans to fight a 'total war,' but The Year of Peril reveals how intensely many citizens resented wartime taxes, rationing, and price setting, and how divided they remained due to deep-seated racial prejudices.Tracy Campbell splendidly recreates the era and dispels its myths."—Donald A. Ritchie, historian emeritus of the U.S. Senate and author of Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932
 

"It seems incredible today that the U.S. had no confidence, in the chaos of 1942, that it would win the war or even remain a world power. Tracy Campbell, in this robust and engaging read, has built a mesmerizing narrative recreation of that momentous year on the home front, a retelling built on assiduous research, the perfect selection of small details, and the discipline to write as if he didn’t know the outcome."—Hank Klibanoff, co-author of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in history
 

“A war-torn world menaced by fascism, a fragile democracy crippled by racism, as ordinary citizens confront the crisis; Campbell’s riveting history reveals our current predicaments to be the same poisons that almost killed America in 1942.”—Timothy B. Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till

From the Publisher

04/24/2020

The U.S. response to the threat of the Axis powers after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1945 was not the swift and divisive response of the historical imagination. Campbell (history, Univ. of Kentucky; The Gateway Arch) makes a compelling case that the stressors post-Pearl Harbor revealed long-simmering divisions and inadequacies in the country's populace and infrastructure. The year 1942 stands as one of widespread U.S. struggle, and the author takes an in-depth look at what happened throughout the country in terms of social, political, and economic events. Chapters are divided by month, with each focusing on a mix of domestic, political, and military issues. While Pearl Harbor looms large, the book also addresses events that would impact policy over the coming years. Campbell jumps from the Pacific Theater, where American troops were challenged on the battlefield, to the domestic front, where new immigrants faced hostilities. In addition to focusing on U.S. military build-up to World War II, Campbell also explores social and economic stresses from the Civil War and Great Depression that continued to influence the nation. VERDICT While this may appear to be yet another history of World War II, Campbell's book sets itself apart by revealing a fractionalized society and showing the moment of fragility before America became a contender on the global stage.—John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston

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