American Education, Democracy, and the Second World War [Paperback]

American Education, Democracy, and the Second World War examines how U.S. educational institutions during World War II responded to the dilemma of whether to serve as weapons in the nation s arsenal of democracy or citadels in safeguarding the American way of life. By studying the lives of wartime Americans, as well as nursery schools, elementary and secondary schools, and universities, Charles Dorn makes the case that although wartime pressures affected educational institutions to varying degrees, these institutions resisted efforts to be placed solely in service of the nation s war machine. Instead, Dorn argues, American education maintained a sturdy commitment to fostering civic mindedness in a society characterized by rapid technological advance and the perception of an ever-increasing threat to national security.American Education, Democracy, and the Second World War examines how U.S. educational institutions during World War II responded to the dilemma of whether to serve as weapons in the nation s arsenal of democracy or citadels in safeguarding the American way of life. By studying the lives of wartime Americans, as well as nursery schools, elementary and secondary schools, and universities, Charles Dorn makes the case that although wartime pressures affected educational institutions to varying degrees, these institutions resisted efforts to be placed solely in service of the nation s war machine. Instead, Dorn argues, American education maintained a sturdy commitment to fostering civic mindedness in a society characterized by rapid technological advance and the perception of an ever-increasing threat to national security.List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Democracy's Citadel Promoting the 'Public Welfare' at Stanford University Palo Alto Schools at War 'An Avalanche Hits Richmond' Wartime Nursery Schools in Richmond Education in a Time of War Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Dorn has produced our best monograph to date abolc(