Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Humanities

Committee Chair

Andrew Wiest

Committee Chair School

Humanities

Committee Member 2

Heather Stur

Committee Member 2 School

Humanities

Committee Member 3

Kevin Greene

Committee Member 3 School

Humanities

Committee Member 4

Kyle Zelner

Committee Member 4 School

Humanities

Committee Member 5

Richard Clark

Abstract

This dissertation explores one of the most fundamental questions in the War & Society field of American history: how the American people organize for war and how the citizenry has negotiated with themselves and their government to formulate a compromise that is culturally acceptable and militarily practical. Addressing such an elemental yet sweeping question of how a society organizes for war necessitates engagement with a broad swath of historiography, including institutional history, traditional and new military history, cultural assumptions of race and masculinity, politics, and civil-military relations. By taking a holistic approach, the various interests that shaped American military policy and organization can be better ascertained.

The Army National Guard has a unique role in both war and peace, serving both the states and the federal government of the United States of America. Because of its local nature and dual affiliation as a reserve component of the Army, this institution is often overlooked in historical studies of the U.S. Army. The years between World War I and World War II offer one of the best case studies for understanding how the Army prepared for future conflict and how it integrated its reserve forces into a single fighting force. The interwar era remains a neglected subject in military history, overshadowed by the great harbingers of change and suffering that were World Wars I and II. The historians who have researched this era have focused on political infighting and material development. Even fewer historians who have delved into the Guard of this period have done so either as part of a larger synthesis of Guard history or specific unit studies.

A new examination of the National Guard during the interwar years is strongly needed. As America transitions into a new postwar or interwar era, careful consideration of its military past is needed. Studying the implementation and impact of changes made to the Guard after the reforms of the National Defense Act of 1920 offers fertile ground for understanding how America’s preparation for combat in the years before World War II and how that preparation stood up in the real-world test bed of combat.

The National Guard's status as a reserve force with state affiliations means it shares many unique local identities and community ties with its soldiers and the broader American military establishment. This bond of communities and the military means that exploring the Guard beyond a military context is necessary to understand the institution. It is equally important not to neglect the raison d'être of military service in favor of the cultural or societal implications of National Guard service. To fully understand this unique American war-making institution, it is necessary to strike a balance and understand the interplay between military affairs, the guard's social function, and the cultural identities of its part-time servicemen.  This examination argues that, due to several institutional barriers, the National Guard was unable to fulfill its intended role as the ready reserve of the United States Army and instead adapted to serve as a foundational element of the war-winning U.S. Army in World War II. The argument draws on archival collections, oral histories, and government publications to deepen understanding of the Guard as it prepared for and went to war. This argument finds support in analyses of governmental policy, military modernization efforts, Guard culture and identity, and, in the pre-war test of federalization and early combat experience. Ultimately, this dissertation reveals how the American people organize for war and the Guard's capability as a uniquely American institution of war-making.

Download

Share

COinS