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    FROM DEPENDENTS TO INTERDEPENDENCE: THE ARMY WIFE IDEAL AND THE MAKING OF ARMY FAMILY POLICY, 1942-1983

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    Issue Date
    2017-12-31
    Author
    McMurray, Mary Angelina
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    290 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    History
    Rights
    Copyright held by the author.
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    Abstract
    This dissertation examines the cultural concept of the Army wife ideal as it appeared and was negotiated in prescriptive literature, periodicals, and lived experiences from 1942 to 1983. Codified in response to the massive influx of married soldiers entering the Army during WWII, the historically-rooted Army officer’s wife ideal provided a platform for the Army to shape the millions of brides into what military leaders needed for success—devoted morale boosters dedicated to the Army and its mission. In codifying the ideal and altering it after the war to engage soldiers’ wives as advocates for the Army and its mission, purveyors of the ideal also created a platform for wives to shape the Army into what they needed to meet the unique demands associated with life married to service. Actual Army wives, as individuals and as part of national advocacy organizations, modeled the foundational elements of the ideal while simultaneously challenging the Army, Department of Defense, jurists, and national leaders to help them address the realities they faced married to the Army. Their efforts made it clear that the strength of the Army was closely tied to the strength of the Army family. Those who engaged in defining and shaping the meaning and responsibilities of Army wives (and, more broadly, military wives) shaped U.S. Army family policy and transformed the Army from an institution that viewed families as merely dependents to one that embraced them as interdependent partners.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/27835
    Collections
    • Dissertations [4475]
    • History Dissertations and Theses [250]

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
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    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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