The Conscription Conflict and the Great War edited by Robin Archer, Joy Damousi, Murray Goot and Sean Scalmer

While the Great War raged, Australians were twice asked to vote on the question of military conscription for overseas service. The recourse to popular referendum on such an issue at such a time was without precedent anywhere in the world. The campaigns precipitated mass mobilisation, bitter argument, a split in the Labor Party, and the fall of a government. The defeat of the proposals was hailed by some as a victory of democracy over militarism, mourned by others as an expression of political disloyalty or a symptom of failed self-government.

But while the memory of the conscription campaigns once loomed large, it has increasingly been overshadowed by a preoccupation with the sacrifice and heroism of Australian soldiers – a preoccupation that has been reinforced during the centennial commemorations.

This volume redresses the balance. Across nine chapters, distinguished scholars consider the origins, unfolding, and consequences of the conscription campaigns, comparing local events with experiences in Britain, the United States, and other countries. A corrective to the ‘militarisation’ of Australian history, it is also a major new exploration of a unique and defining episode in Australia’s past.

Contents

Introduction

‘The Most Interesting Experiment that has Ever Been Made in a Political Democracy’: Conscription and the Great War
by Robin Archer and Sean Scalmer

Part 1: Origins

1. ‘A Real Heritage of the English People’: British Liberalism and ‘Continental Despotism’
by Douglas Newton

2. Labour and Liberty: The Origins of the Conscription Referendum
by Robin Archer

Part 2: Campaigns and Results

3. Anti-Conscriptionism in Australia: Individuals, Organisations and Arguments
by Frank Bongiorno

4. Universities and Conscription: The ‘Yes’ Campaigns and the University of Melbourne
by Joy Damousi

5. The Results of the 1916 and 1917 Conscription Referendums Re-examined
by Murray Goot

Part 3: Comparisons

6. Why Was it Easier to Introduce and Implement Conscription in Some English-speaking Countries than in Others?
by John Connor

7. Conscription in the First World War: Britain and Australia
by Ross McKibbin

Part 4: Legacies

8. Legend and Lamentation: Remembering the Anti-Conscription Struggle
by Sean Scalmer

Notes on Contributors
Index

ISBN 9781925495393

Publisher – Monash University Publishing

$29.95

2 in stock