In time of war: understanding American public opinion from World War II to Iraq

Introduction: America at war

Historical perspective

Public opinion and war: a historical perspective

The myths and meaning of public opinion and World War II

The structure of support for war

The calculation of costs: an innocent public

Partisan structure of war support: events, elites, and the public

Ethnic groups: attachments, enmities, and support for war

Public opinion and war: back to the water's edge

Civil liberties and war

Elections during wartime

Conclusions

Appendix A: description of data and weighting

Appendix B: Iraq war casualty survey analysis

Appendix C: congressional record content analysis

Appendix D: statistical significance of ethnic variables

Appendix E: relationship between support for war and support for restricting civil liberties

Appendix F: NES analysis of retrospective war support.