The World War II Bond Campaign

Lawrence R. Samuel is an independent scholar based in Miami and New York City. The most recent of his books are Diversity in the United States: A Cultural History of the Past Century; Making Long Island: A History of Growth and the American Dream; Literacy in America: A Cultural History of the Past Century; and The American Teacher: A History.

List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction xiii Part One: The Development and Marketing of World War II Bonds Chapter 1: The Voluntary Way 3 Chapter 2: Democracy in Action 20 Chapter 3: The Biggest Selling Campaign in History 45 Part Two: War Bonds and Labor, Class, and Ethnicity Chapter 4: On This We Are United 77 Chapter 5: Consent of the Governed 94 Part Three: African Americans and World War II Bonds Chapter 6: William Pickens and the Inter-racial Section 127 Chapter 7: The NAACP and War Bonds 152 Chapter 8: African American Notables and War Bonds 171 Chapter 9: African American Investment in War Bonds 186 Conclusion 207 Notes 219 Index 243

[An] interesting piece of social history.... Scattered throughout this volume are photos rarely seen in any text, which make a positive contribution.-- "Choice" A fascinating story of how the government managed to sell a bad financial deal -- U.S. Savings Bonds -- to a patriotic citizenry during World War II.-- "Star Tribune" Interesting observations -- most notably on the role of African Americans in the Second World War.-- "Washington Monthly" Samuel offers ample evidence that ethnic Americans and African Americans participated enthusiastically in the war-bond drives.... [and] some suggestive insights, especially as he traces the civil rights movement back to the war years....-- "Publishers Weekly" Samuel writes engagingly, especially on the African American community, whose participation was not a "given" in those days for good reason.-- "Library Journal" Samuel's principal contribution lies in his careful delineation of the techniques used to promote bond sales and the way in which the bond campaign was received -- and often converted into agents of community cohesion -- by various segments of society. Particularly striking are his four chapters on bond drives among African Americans.-- "Journal of American History" Pledging Allegiance [The World War II Bond Campaign] shows how the black bourgeoisie -- including the NAACP, African American newspapers, business and religious groups, and college presidents -- used bond drives not only to defuse separatist forces and racial tensions, but also to lend validation to their own role and vision.-- "The Historian" As described in Pledging Allegiance [The World War II Bond Campaign], [patriotism] translated into a bond bandwagon that knew no bounds.-- "Smithsonian Magazine" Students of history who have time to read only one monograph on the war bonds should consult Pledging Allegiance [The World War II Bond Campaign].-- "North Carolina Historical Review"