The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines...

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Justin F. Jackson

The Work of Empire

War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines

Justin F. Jackson

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English

The University of North Carolina Press
06 May 2025

Military history; Comparative politics

In 1898, on the eve of the Spanish-American War, the US Army seemed minuscule and ill-equipped for global conflict, yet its soldiers defeated Spain and pacified nationalist insurgencies in Cuba and the Philippines over the next fifteen years. Despite its lack of experience in colonial administration, the army also ruled and transformed the daily lives of the 8 million people who inhabited these tropical islands.

How did the relatively small and inexperienced army succeed in managing the day-to-day operations in its new territories? The US military depended on tens of thousands of Cubans and Filipinos to fight its wars and do the work of civil government. Whether compelled to labor for free or voluntarily working for wages, Cubans and Filipinos, suspended between civilian and soldier status, enabled US foreign rule by interpreting, guiding, building, selling sex to, and performing numerous other labors for American troops. In The Work of Empire, Justin Jackson reveals how their work disrupted the islands' older political, economic, and cultural hierarchies in ways that endured in postwar and post-occupation ""civilian"" regimes. Jackson offers new ways to understand not only the rise of US military might but also how this power influenced a globalizing imperial world.

By: Justin F. Jackson
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 155mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 576g
ISBN: 9781469660325
ISBN 10: 1469660326
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 06 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Justin Jackson is associate professor of history at Bard College at Simon's Rock.