The response to the September 11 tragedy has raised fears about the American empire abroad and the gutting of constitutional liberties at home. But the editors of this book—one of whom, Marcus Raskin, served on the National Security Council—claim that the changes in the American government since the attacks, though profound, are not necessarily new. The "National Security State" has shaped our government for at least a century, and since 1947, it has embedded itself in the attitudes of the bureaucracy, the major political parties, and the educational system. This collection of original essays—which includes such distinguished historians as Gar Alperovitz, Kai Bird, William Blum, Saul Landau, and Carolyn Eisenberg—traces those changes back to the early years of the twentieth century, and follows them step by step through the cold war to the present.