"Engaging the Line examines responses to security measures implemented during the First World War in six adjacent border communities along the Canada-US border. For decades, people living in Windsor, ON, and Detroit, MI; St. Stephen, NB, and Calais, ME; and White Rock, BC, and Blaine, WA, enjoyed close social and economic relationships with their neighbours across the line. The introduction of new security measures during the First World War threatened this way of life by restricting the movement of people and goods across the border. Many Canadians resented the new regulations introduced by their provincial and federal governments, deriding them as "outside influences" that created friction where none had existed before. Engaging the Line brings to life the repercussions for these communities and offers readers a glimpse at the origins of our modern, highly-secured border by tracing the shifting relationship between citizens and state during wartime."-- Provided by publisher.

PART 1 : WINDSOR, ONTARIO, AND DETROIT, MICHIGAN . 1. "Brothers once more" : relations between Windsor and Detroit -- 2. "Part and parcel" : administering the Windsor-Detroit border -- PART 2 : ST. STEPHEN, NEW BRUNSWICK, AND CALAIS, MAINE. 3. The "ties that bind" : relations between St. Stephen and Calais -- 4. "A very convenient arrangement" : administering the St. Stephen-Calais border -- PART 3 : WHITE ROCK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND BLAINE, WASHINGTON. 5. "God save the King" : relations between White Rock and Blaine -- 6. Booze and bandits : administering the White Rock-Blaine border -- Conclusion.