Together, these essays open a vital conversation between labor and military history—one that redefines the politics of work, war, and resistance.
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Finally, Justin F. Jackson returns in “A ‘Terrible Swift Sword’” to respond—reflecting on what military labor teaches us about power, violence, and solidarity.
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Tejasvi Nagaraja’s “Gotta Study War Work More” takes us to WWII, showing how soldiers and civilians weighed the “wages of war” in pursuit of justice, democracy, and survival.
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In “Mars Before Marx,” John W. Hall traces the intersections of military and labor in the colonial and early republic eras, uncovering how soldiers’ work shaped emerging empires.
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Reena N. Goldthree’s “Conceptualizing the ‘Wages of War’” draws on W. E. B. Du Bois to link race, empire, and warfare—showing how war work has long been central to global labor struggles.
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In “Class/War: Do Labor and Military History Work Together?” @justinfdjackson.bsky.social explores how war and work shape each other—from class struggle to “surplus violence.”
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