Foreword / Paul Buhle

I: The internal empire ; The Massacre at Wounded Knee ; Certain white men ; The Pullman strike ; The open door policy

II: The Spanish-American War ; Antonio Maceo and the Cuban Revolution ; The drumbeat for war ; Smoked Yankees: The Black 25th infantry ; Spoils of war

III: The invasion of The Philippines ; Benevolent assimilation ; Republic or empire? ; The Battle of Bud Dajo

IV: War is the health of the state : Righteous conquest ; The Ludlow Massacre ; World War I ; Resistance to war

V: Growing up class conscious ; Poor but never hungry ; Sacco and Vanzetti ; Street smarts

VI: World War II: a people's war? ; Questioning war ; Just following orders ; The atomic age

VII: The cool war ; The Jitterbug Riot ; The cradle of R&B fandom

VIII: Children of the empire ; The quiet war ; Civil rights: Shaken to the bone ; The bombs in Vietnam explode at home ; Vietnam: The domino theory ; From resistance to revolt ; The My Lai Massacre ; A peace mission

IX: Land of burning children ; What happens to a dream deferred? ; War resistance at home ; The second battle of Wounded Knee

X: The same rotting barrel ; Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers ; Hostage to imperialism

XI: Resurgence of empire ; The Sandinista Revolution ; Augusto Sandino ; The covert war in Central America ; Massacre at El Mozote (The thistle) ; The Contra War ; The Iran-Contra scandal

XII: Covert action and reaction ; Iran: Overthrowing democracy ; Operation Ajax ; Rule and ruin of the Shah ; Permanent war: The bipartisan consensus

Epilogue: The possibility of hope.