Dear Senator Smith - by Eric R Crouse (Paperback)

About the Book

Dear Senator Smith presents compelling war views of ordinary people living in small centers. The only female senator of those years, Smith appeared to encourage a high level of honest, heart-felt commentary from Americans; letters sent to her concerning America's involvement i...

Book Synopsis

Dear Senator Smith presents compelling war views of ordinary people living in small centers. The only female senator of those years, Smith appeared to encourage a high level of honest, heart-felt commentary from Americans; letters sent to her concerning America's involvement in the Vietnam War reveal the contested terrain of foreign policy ideas in a turbulent era of rebellion and reaction.

Review Quotes

An interesting and very informative book about the life and times of Margaret Chase Smith during the years of Vietnam. Offers a significant element to our understanding of her relations with her constituents.

Eric Crouse has put together a fascinating volume of letters from small-town Maine to their senator regarding the Vietnam War. Arranged chronologically and thematically, the letters are illuminated by Crouse's carefully researched 'editor's notes' which set the context and explain references in the letters. These missives reflect the heartfelt and often poignant views of ordinary people trying to come to terms with a costly and unpopular war. Especially in the light of our involvement in yet another costly and unpopular war, these letters speak not only to their own time but to ours.

With the United States now embroiled in another protracted, controversial war, the letters in Dear Senator Smith seem familiar for their collective expression of the toll war takes on the home front. Eric Crouse has done well to recover a wide range of voices from small town Maine-voices of anger, confusion, and anguish-that echo loudly today.

About the Author

Eric R. Crouse is associate professor of history at Tyndale University College, Toronto.