Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the Major Problem in American History Series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in US history. The text, designed to be the primary anthology - or even the textbook - of the course, covers the subject's chronological span.

This volume traces the evolution of the American military, its institutions, strategic doctrines, and technology. The selections provide a social and institutional focus of the "new" military history, and follow the metamorphosis of the militia, the professionalization of the officers' corps, and the course of civilian control of the military.