Child Soldiers: Militarism and American Youth

今天，“儿童兵”一词让人联想到发展中国家的年轻人被残酷地强迫参加战争。然而，直到最近，7至17岁的儿童在美国军队中占很大一部分。大批儿童还加入了按照军事路线组建的组织或学校。该项目有望首次对美国历史上童年与军国主义之间的关系进行研究。这本书探讨了关于儿童军事化的争论，以及儿童兵本身的经历，旨在揭示对儿童理解的变化与对美国作为一个军事国家的态度的演变是如何交织在一起的。

Today, the term 'child soldier' evokes images of youths brutally coerced into fighting wars in the developing world. Yet until recently, children aged seven to seventeen made up a significant portion of the American military. Masses of children also joined organisations or schools structured along military lines. This project is expected to provide the first examination of the relationship between childhood and militarism across United States history. Exploring debates over the militarisation of childhood, as well as the experiences of child soldiers themselves, it aims to reveal how changing understandings of childhood intersected with evolving attitudes toward America as a military nation.