The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Summer 8-2011 Beneath the Surface: American Culture and Submarine Warfare in the Twentieth Century Matthew Robert McGrew University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Cultural History Commons, Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation McGrew, Matthew Robert, "Beneath the Surface: American Culture and Submarine Warfare in the Twentieth Century" (2011). Master's Theses. 209. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/209 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi BENEATH THE SURFACE: AMERICAN CULTURE AND SUBMARINE WARFARE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Matthew Robert McGrew A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved: Andrew A. Wiest ____________________________________ Director Andrew P. Haley ____________________________________ Michael S. Neiberg ____________________________________ Susan A. Siltanen ____________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School August 2011 ABSTRACT BENEATH THE SURFACE: AMERICAN CULTURE AND SUBMARINE WARFARE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Matthew Robert McGrew August 2011 Cultural perceptions guided the American use of submarines during the twentieth century. Feared as an evil weapon during the First World War, guarded as a dirty secret during the Second World War, and heralded as the weapon of democracy during the Cold War, the American submarine story reveals the overwhelming influence of civilian culture over martial practices.