ABSTRACT
North America, from the seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries, offers intriguing contexts in which to study the relationship between war and society. Historians of the continent in this period employ the same frameworks as those considering other times and places, such as race, class, gender, and local/regional studies. This chapter lays emphasis on the United States and the regions it ultimately encompassed, as such dominates the field, though some books on other areas are also noted. While it notes research and methodologies that have been prominent over the past few decades, the chapter also highlights new and developing approaches. A number of works consider how various regions coped with the challenge of the French and Indian War, as the Seven Years' War was known in North America. Fred Anderson (1984) demonstrates that in Massachusetts, contracts guaranteed conditions under which militiamen would volunteer for war service.
