A cross of iron : Harry S. Truman and the origins of the national security state, 1945-1954 / Michael J. Hogan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hogan, Michael J., 1943- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.

Truman, Harry S.

National security--United States--History--20th century.

National security.

Cold War.

Political culture--United States--History--20th century.

Political culture.

United States--Foreign relations--1945-1953.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 525 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In A Cross of Iron, one of the country's most distinguished diplomatic historians provides a comprehensive account of the national security state that emerged in the first decade of the Cold War. Michael J. Hogan traces the process of state-making as it unfolded in struggles to unify the armed forces, harness science to military purposes, mobilize military manpower, control the defense budget, and distribute the cost of defense across the economy. At stake, Hogan argues, was a fundamental contest over the nation's political identity and postwar purpose. President Harry S. Truman and his successor were in the middle of this contest. According to Hogan, they tried to reconcile an older set of values with the new ideology of national security and the country's democratic traditions with its global obligations. Their efforts determined the size and shape of the national security state that finally emerged.

Contents:

The national security discourse : ideology, political culture, and state making

Magna Charta : the National Security Act and the specter of the garrison state

The high price of peace : guns-and-butter politics in the early Cold War

The time tax : American political culture and the UMT debate

"Chaos and conflict and carnage confounded" : budget battles and defense reorganization

Preparing for permanent war : economy, science, and secrecy in the national security state

Turning point : NSC-68, the Korean War, and the national security response

Semiwar : the Korean War and rearmament

The iron cross : solvency, security, and the Eisenhower transition

Other voices : the public sphere and the national security mentality

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-511-82537-4

1-316-17502-2

1-316-17069-1

1-316-17392-5

0-511-97247-4

1-316-17809-9

0-511-66498-2