"This detailed history of the Missouri Home Guard explains how Governor Frederick Gardner reacted to the deployment of the National Guard into federal service once the United States declared war on Germany in 1917. As twenty-six other states did during World War I, Missouri established a Home Guard to take over the functions of the absent National Guard. This Home Guard was an entirely volunteer organization that took on the duties of providing introductory military training for draftable men, protecting crucial infrastructure from potential enemy activities, and maintaining law and order during labor activism. The Home Guard also functioned to preserve patriotism and reduce opposition to the war, sometimes going so far as to police the behavior of German-Americans who appeared disloyal to state and country"-- Provided by publisher.

Volunteerism, masculinity, and preparedness: the evolution of militia service in Missouri, 1870-1917 -- Answering the "urgent" call: establishing and organizing the Missouri Home Guard -- Too much too fast: logistical problems limit the effectiveness of the Home Guard -- Democracy and self-interest at play: the meaning of membership in the Missouri Home Guard -- Freeing oppressed people and spreading democracy: the struggle to gain inclusion through the "Negro Home Guard" -- Protectors of the hearth: women's contribution to the home front and service in the Home Guard -- Protecting society from the enemy, maintaining law and order, preserving loyalty: the tasks of the Missouri Home Guard -- After the war: evaluating the Missouri Home Guard.