Patriotism on Parade: The Story of Veterans' and Hereditary Organizations in America, 1783-1900 by Wallace Evan DaviesReview by: Thomas J. PresslyThe American Historical Review, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Oct., 1956), pp. 156-157Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1848565 .

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I S6 Reviews of Books antimilitaristic thought which have risen and receded with each successive war in our history. Half the book is devoted to the period since I900, with one chapter recording the attack on the R.O.T.C. programs in the i920's and '30's. "Toward the Garrison State" is the heading for the final section on developments since World War II. In preparing his work Mr. Ekirch has made good use of the Con- gressional Record, congressional hearings, and other governmental documents, and the records of various antimilitaristic organizations such as the American Union against Militarism of the pre-World War I era.

Professor Ekirch writes as an uncompromising antimilitarist, although he grants that the typical one "has opposed expansion overseas or intervention in world affairs" (p. vii). The story he tells shows clearly enough that Jefferson and others who have been of the author's general persuasion when out of power have changed their minds when charged with the responsibilities of office and forced to deal with the facts of international political life. But Mr. Ekirch does not choose to discuss in any detail the implications of such shifts or to consider whether the increase in the size and obligations of our present armed services may not neces- sarily produce in time certain modifications in outlook and a general improve- ment, if not a semi-civilianizing, of standard operating procedures. At times the reader may feel that the doctrinaire has prevailed over the historian, as when the author attempts to discredit recent public opinion polls which have regularly in- dicated popular support for conscription (p. 279). But within his chosen limits he has generally written with fully professional competence. He has undertaken to summarize the record of American antimilitaristic thinking and he has produced a readable and useful digest.

University of Michigan MARSHALL KNAPPEN

PATRIOTISM ON PARADE: THE STORY OF VETERANS' AND HEREDITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA, 1783-I900. By Wallace Evan Davies. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press. I955. Pp. x,

388. $6.oo.)

PROFESSOR Davies' book is described in its subtitle, The Story of Veterans' and Hereditary Organizations in America, i783-i900; since, however, few such or- ganizations existed in the United States during the years from 1783 to I865, that period is covered in one chapter of twenty-seven pages, and the rest of the book is devoted to the years from i865 to I900. For these years Professor Davies de- scribes or lists, if the count of this reviewer is correct, thirty-four veterans' and twenty-eight hereditary organizations, ranging in size from the Grand Army of the Republic's peak membership of 409,489, to groups with less than 500 mem- bers. He describes the composition and varied activities of the veterans' and here- ditary organizations-activities such as, among others, social functions, efforts to influence the writing and selection of school textbooks, efforts by veterans' groups to secure legislation favorable to veterans, the expression of "judgments

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Davies: Patriotism on Parade 157

on public questions," and the support of newspapers and magazines. Professor Davies estimates that there appeared "nearly seventy newspapers and magazines specifically catering to the new audiences opened up" by veterans' and hereditary groups (p. 105). Finally, the book contains comments on the reaction of the rest of the nation to the veterans' and hereditary organizations. No previous book covers the same ground as Patriotism on Parade, so far as this reviewer knows, and it is clear that this volume is based on extensive research in the sources. Some portions and some aspects of the story told in this book, however, have been dis- cussed in the published writings of Oliver, Glasson, McMurry, Pierce, Buck, Schlesinger, Gabriel, Heck, Wecter, Curti, and Dearing. Professor Davies makes careful acknowledgment of the writings of these authors, but the excellence of many of their studies reduces the contribution that even an able synthesis like Patriotism on Parade can make.

This book has a number of admirable qualities, two of which can be noted in the space available here: the sense of historical perspective and the judicious interpretation which characterize it throughout. Professor Davies constantly re- lates his account of veterans' and hereditary organizations to the social and in- tellectual trends in society at large, thus avoiding a parochial approach and placing his subject in realistic perspective. Similarly, he shows intelligent awareness of the problems involved in evaluating the organizations he studies, and he handles this problem of evaluation in an understanding fashion; the book does not contain the stereotyped judgments either of uncritical sympathizers with veterans' and heredi- tary organizations or of uncritical antagonists of those organizations. Professor Davies evinces a historical outlook and temperament which could well serve as models for all historians.

Patriotism on Parade would have been of greater value to its readers had it presented all the available evidence, or a systematic.summary and analysis of all the available evidence, pertinent to its major generalizations. For example, the volume contains such important and interesting generalizations concerning the membership of veterans' and hereditary organizations as these: that the members of veterans' 'societies came from comparatively low income groups and did not possess a high level of formal education, while the members of the hereditary societies were drawn from propertied business and professional groups with a high level of formal education; and that the hereditary organizations drew their membership primarily from cities in the area extending from the District of Columbia to Massachusetts. It would have been worth while indeed had this volume contained a comprehensive summary and analysis (in tabular form if necessary) of all the available data bearing on these and its other significant gen- eralizations. Such a body of data would go far toward answering any questions concerning the validity of the generalizations contained in the book, and it would also serve as a mine of information for anyone interested in the subject now or in the future.

University of Washington THOMAS J. PRESSLY

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