Beneath the Surface: American Culture and Submarine Warfare in the Twentieth Century

<p>Cultural perceptions guided the American use of submarines during the twentieth century. Feared as an evil weapon during the First World War, guarded as a dirty secret during the Second World War, and heralded as the weapon of democracy during the Cold War, the American submarine story reveals the overwhelming influence of civilian culture over martial practices. The following study examines the roles that powerful political and military elites, newspaper editors and Hollywood executives, and ordinary citizens – equal players in a game larger than themselves – assumed throughout the evolution of submerged warfare from 1914 to 1991. In each period, cultural discourse about the vessels propelled the on-the-ground realities of implementing a practical, yet acceptable, approach to an often misunderstood weapon system.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• McGrew, Matthew Robert

Contributors dc:contributor

• Andrew A. Wiest
• Andrew P. Haley
• Michael S. Neiberg

• submarines
• World War I
• World War II
• Cold War
• Cultural History
• History
• Military History
• United States History

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/209

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1233