Letters from the Southern Home Front: The American South Responds to the Vietnam War

Joseph A. Fry's Letters from the Southern Home Front explores the diversity of public opinion on the Vietnam War within the American South. Fry examines correspondence sent by hundreds of individuals, of differing ages, genders, racial backgrounds, political views, and economic status, reflecting a broad swath of the southern population. These letters, addressed to high-profile political figures and influential newspapers, took up a myriad of war-related issues. Their messages enhance our understanding of the South and the United States as a whole as we continue to grapple with the significance of this devastating and divisive conflict.

About the Author :
Joseph A. Fry is Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is the author of numerous books, including The American South and the Vietnam War: Belligerence, Protest, and Agony in Dixie and Lincoln, Seward, and US Foreign Relations in the Civil War Era.

Review :
"Collectively, they are the voice of a region that was united, at times, in its effort to serve but divided by race during a time of tremendous domestic and international strife. Individually, they are the tales of those whose emotions ran the gamut. I highly recommend Letters from the Southern Home Front for southern specialists and Vietnam War historians alike."--Journal of Southern History "Andy Fry tells us in his newest book that Southerners had a lot to say about the Vietnam War. Much of what they wrote to national leaders and newspapers was in support of winning the war. But they also wrote a lot that was poignant, prescient, and heart-breaking, especially about the experience of losing loved ones in the war. . . . Letters from the Southern Home Front breathes life into the complex views Americans expressed about the Vietnam War. It is a great resource for teachers and anyone interested in better understanding the war from a Southern perspective."--Journal of East Tennessee History "Letters from the Southern Home Front amplifies the voices of average Americans during the Vietnam War and takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. The letters in this volume are taut with feeling, and collectively they reflect the racial, class, and other distinctive cultural and economic markers that distinguish the American South. Ranging from hostile to pleading, desperate to grief-stricken, the anguished expressions that fill this book provide a valuable and intimate look at the cost of this tragic conflict."--Kari Frederickson, author of Cold War Dixie: Militarization and Modernization in the American South "Letters from the Southern Home Front is an indispensable primary-source guide to the divided America of the Vietnam War era. Fry's careful curation of the correspondence sheds light on the complexities of both international affairs and lingering regional distinctions within the United States."--Tore C. Olsson, author of Agrarian Crossings: Reformers and the Remaking of the US and Mexican Countryside "A riveting new portrait of southern feelings about the Vietnam War drawn from letters of everyday citizens written amid that tortuous experience."--Tennant S. McWilliams, author of The New South Faces the World: Foreign Affairs and the Southern Sense of Self, 1877-1950 "In this unique and extraordinary collection, Joseph A. Fry expertly highlights the contours and complexities of the South's broad engagement with the Vietnam War from every side of the debate. A remarkable achievement."--Andrew L. Johns, author of Vietnam's Second Front: Domestic Politics, the Republican Party, and the War