Short Synopsis
From Michael Kazin comes the untold story of the movement that came close to keeping the United States out of the First World War.

Full Synopsis
This book is about the Americans who tried to stop their nation from fighting in one of history's most destructive wars and then were hounded by the government when they refused to back down. In the riveting War Against War, Michael Kazin brings us into the ranks of the largest, most diverse, and most sophisticated peace coalition up to that point in U.S. history.

They came from a variety of backgrounds: wealthy and middle and working class, urban and rural, white and black, Christian and Jewish and atheist. They mounted street demonstrations and popular exhibitions, attracted prominent leaders from the labor and suffrage movements, ran peace candidates for local and federal office, and founded new organizations that endured beyond the cause. For almost three years, they helped prevent Congress from authorizing a massive increase in the size of the U.S. army—a step advocated by ex-president Theodore Roosevelt.

Soon after the end of the Great War, most Americans believed it had not been worth fighting. And when its bitter legacy led to the next world war, the warnings of these peace activists turned into a tragic prophecy—and the beginning of a surveillance state that still endures today.

"Smoothly written and solidly researched . . . Kazin's book fills in gaps of knowledge surrounding the peace movement that took place prior to the Vietnam War, offering an excellent introduction to domestic politics during World War I." ---Library Journal

"With his customary clarity and insight, Kazin draws our attention to the remarkable group of individuals who argued eloquently and with great moral urgency against intervention in World War I." ---Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War

"The dissenters against American participation in the First World War are still a model for us, and Kazin evokes them with care and grace." ---Adam Hochschild, bestselling author of To End All Wars

"In elegant and engaging prose, Michael Kazin tells a story about politics, morality, social forces and a fascinating cast of personalities with power and clarity." ---E. J. Dionne, Jr., bestselling author of Why the Right Went Wrong

"[A] fine, sorrowful history . . . Kazin’s work is an instructive one, an important book in chronicling a too often neglected chapter in our history." ---New York Times

"[Michael Kazin] expertly conveys the complex and electric prewar political landscape, and the constellation of reasons that many Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, farmers, feminists, left-wing trade unionists, segregationists and liberal immigrants had for banding together in this common cause, and then for breaking apart again." ---Shelf Awareness