Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 Popular Perceptions of the American Merchant Marine during World War II Andrew J. Waber Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES POPULAR PERCEPTIONS OF THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE DURING WORLD WAR II By Andrew J. Waber A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2008 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Andrew J. Waber defended on March 18, 2008. ______________________________ Jennifer Koslow Professor Directing Thesis ______________________________ William Oldson Committee Member ______________________________ Michael Creswell Committee Member Approved: ___________________________________________ Neil Jumonville, Chair, Department of History ___________________________________________ Joseph Travis, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ii DEDICATION To my family for their undying love and support over all these years iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms…………………………………………………………………….........v Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...vi Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Ch. 1 Setting the Stage……………………………………………………………….......11 Ch. 2 Cowardly and Insolent, He Declares…………………………………………........25 Ch. 3 The Merchant Marine in Popular Culture…………………………………………41 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….57