Torchbearers of Democracy

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472 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 18 halftones, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-0985-0
Published: August 2013
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-9935-9
Published: September 2010
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-8125-0
Published: September 2010

John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture

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Audio Interview

Awards & distinctions

2011 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award, Organization of American Historians

A 2011 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

2011 Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award

For the 380,000 African American soldiers who fought in World War I, Woodrow Wilson's charge to make the world "safe for democracy" carried life-or-death meaning. Chad L. Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in the global conflict and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens, committed to fighting for democracy at home and beyond. Using a diverse range of sources, Torchbearers of Democracy reclaims the legacy of African American soldiers and veterans and connects their history to issues such as the obligations of citizenship, combat and labor, diaspora and internationalism, homecoming and racial violence, "New Negro" militancy, and African American memories of the war.

About the Author

Chad L. Williams is associate professor of African and Afro-American studies at Brandeis University.
For more information about Chad L. Williams, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"This well-written, accessible book illustrates the impact of the war in the context of the wider freedom struggle. . . . A fine addition to the growing literature on the relationship between war and democracy." —Journal of American History

“A masterpiece of interpretative social history . . . . Essential.”—Journal of Southern History

“The balance between the stories of black culturalists and those of black objects of terror, along with an astonishing breadth of scholarship and a graceful style. . . makes Torchbearers of Democracy the best account yet of a complex and decisive moment in African American social, civic, and cultural history.”—African American Review

“Torchbearers of Democracy provides more than a new account of a pivotal chapter in the history of African Americans in the military, it reintroduces us to those who fought for democracy.”—Journal of African American History

"William's account of the experiences of African American servicemen in World War I and the transformative impact on them is a model study and one well worth reading."—Journal of American Ethnic History

“Williams places the experiences of African American soldiers during the World War I era front and center. In doing so, he illuminates the powerful, and often shifting, connections between citizenship and military service in a democracy.”—U.S. Military History Review