In this volume, fourteen American and European historians analyze various aspects of the American Experience of War. The term Experience of War refers to the fact that individuals and societies reflect on the wars they live through. As this reflection enters the nation’s consciousness it shapes the country’s domestic and foreign policy. In three major sections, the book addresses the role wars played in America's rise to power, it analyzes the experience of war among soldiers and civilian opulations, and asks how Americans remember and interpret wars.