Creating a National Home

Creating a National Home examines Congress's decision to build a federal network of soldiers' homes.

Kelly explores the efforts of the Home's managers to glean support for this institution by drawing upon the reassuring language of domesticity and "home." He also describes the manner in which the creators of the National Homes used building design, landscaping, and tourism to integrate each branch into the cultural and economic institution of surrounding communities, and to promote a positive image of the state.

Drawing upon several fields of American history - political, cultural, welfare, gender - Creating a National Home illustrates the lasting impact of war on society and the nature of the American state. The building of the National Home marked the permanent expansion of social benefits offered to citizen-veterans. The creation of the National Home at once defined an entitled group and prepared the way for the later expansion of both the welfare and the warfare states.