David Kennedy Over Here Summary

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Jeremy Soto HIST 7602-U50 Book Overview: Over Here by David M. Kennedy This book by Kennedy dives deep into the events that led to World War I and shows the culture of the American people during very tumultuous times. Secrets of legal organized militias are exposed along with desperate attempts by the Government to control and manipulate the minds of Americans through the Sedition act and the introduction of citizen spies. Kennedy is very descriptive about this war in general and sets the tone for this entire scene in the prologue. The references made to Orwell, which can also be made today, tell how deeply involved the federal government was in the lives of everyday people. Many have questioned President Wilson’s motives and reasoning…show more content…
I especially enjoyed his analysis on the vigilantes and in particular the American Protective League (APL) which is a fairly significant picture of the state of affairs within our country and moreover, the lack of control the government had against the people. The “conspiracy theorist” inside of me has always believed in false flag terror, citizen spies and inside jobs and the existence of the APL was complete confirmation for me. While most would argue that these types of organizations couldn’t exist today, Kennedy opens the door to this type of behavior, which seems illegal in its very fibers. As discussed last week, this time period was rich with reform and political parties were eager to trump the other in any way possible. In Over Here, Kennedy touches on the elites pulling the strings behind the scenes spreading political influence and propaganda along the way. Overall, Kennedy crams into one book what could be crammed into a series of books. I enjoyed how he focused on the soldiers and how he spent a great deal of time setting the stage for those at home. He is able to advise on a very dark topic during a very dark time in this great

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