A white man in military garb stands holding a baton while several darker-skinned people walk by carrying large items.

Justin Jackson is an author and historian of the United States, the US in the world, and global history. His book, The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines, is forthcoming with the University of North Carolina Press in May 2025.

Image: Giving Directions to Major Howard at Calumpit, William Dinwiddie Papers, US Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pa.

The Work of Empire

War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines

This is an innovative study of military-colonial labor relations in the Philippines and Cuba. . . . Jackson’s perspective offers a fresh take on empire studies—truly top-tier research.

Zach Fredman, author of The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941–1949 (UNC Press, 2022)
book cover for The Work of Empire

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