Heroes & cowards

Costa, Dora L.

Heroes & cowards the social face of war / [electronic resource] : Heroes and cowards Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2008. - xxvi, 315 p. : ill. - NBER series on long-term factors in economic development . - NBER series on long-term factors in economic development. .

Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-290) and index.

1. Loyalty and Sacrifice -- 2. Why the U.S. Civil War? -- 3. Building the Armies -- 4. Heroes and Cowards -- 5. POW Camp Survivors -- 6. The Homecoming of Heroes and Cowards -- 7. Slaves Become Freemen -- 8. Learning from the Past -- Appendix. Records and Collection Methods.

Heroes and Cowards demonstrates the role that social capital plays in people's decisions. The makeup of various companies--whether soldiers were of the same ethnicity, age, and occupation--influenced whether soldiers remained loyal or whether they deserted. Costa and Kahn discuss how the soldiers benefited from friendships, what social factors allowed some to survive the POW camps while others died, and how punishments meted out for breaking codes of conduct affected men after the war. The book also examines the experience of African-American soldiers and makes important observations about how their comrades shaped their lives. --from publisher description.


Electronic reproduction.
Palo Alto, Calif. :
ebrary,
2013.
Available via World Wide Web.
Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.






United States. Army --Military life--History--19th century.


Soldiers--United States--Biography.
African American soldiers--Biography.
Cultural pluralism--United States--Case studies.
Community life--United States--Case studies.
Social networks--United States--Case studies.


United States--History--Social aspects.--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--History--Psychological aspects.--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States--Social conditions--To 1865.


Electronic books.

E468.9 / .C67 2008eb

973.7/1