During World War II, the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 required conscientious objectors (COs) who opposed any form of military service to perform "work of national
importance under civilian direction." The program that carried out this alternative service was the Civilian Public Service (CPS), in which approximately 12,000 pacifists served at 151
camps established across the nation during the war. Some of those camps were in Florida and Mississippi, where CPS men worked with state and local public health authorities to combat
diseases that plagued the South's poor, including hookworm and malaria. Though an advance over previous options for COs, CPS was not always well-received, by either the American people or
the men who served within it. This dissertation will examine the camps in Florida and Mississippi to assess the success (or lack thereof) of the CPS alternative service program during the
war, and also to explore the larger question of how well the United States upholds and protects the right of its citizens (particularly, nonconformist citizens) during a time of national
crisis. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 30, 2015. / Alternative Service, Civilian Public Service, Conscientious Objection, CPS, Selective Service, World War II / Includes bibliographical references. / Maxine D. Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine L. Montgomery, University Representative; James P. Jones, Committee Member; Jennifer L.
Koslow, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_291388 |
| Contributors | Tomlinson, Angela E. (authoraut), Jones, Maxine Deloris (professor directing dissertation), Montgomery, Maxine L., 1959- (university representative), Jones, James Pickett (committee member), Koslow, Jennifer Lisa, 1970- (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of History (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (273 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Coverage | United States |
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