The War Of The United States

A Civil War is a battle between the same citizens in a country. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the independence for the Confederacy or the survival of the Union. By the time Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1861, in the mist of 34 states, the constant disagreement caused seven Southern slave states to their independence from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy, generally known as the South, grew to include eleven states. The states that remained devoted to the US were known as the Union or the North. The number one question that is never completely understood about the Civil War is what caused the war. There were multiple events that led to the groundbreaking, bloody, and political war.

Abraham Lincoln once stated “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Abraham Lincoln is a hero for the citizens of America because his determination and courage to ending slavery even if it meant war caused peace in this nation. Slavery was the vital cause of the American Civil War. The north and the south both had their differences on how to run the country. People in the North believed in unity and that slavery should not exist because “all men are created equally.” On the other hand, the South believed in continuing slavery. People tried to talk it out and come to a middle ground after both sides compromising, however that didn’t work and caused war. Ideological differences were a vital role to making the American Civil War an inevitable event.

When the American Civil War began in the spring of 1861, those flocking to enlistment stations in states both north and south chiefly defined their cause as one of preservation. From Maine to Minnesota, young men joined up to preserve the Union. From Virginia to Texas, their future foes on the battlefield enlisted to preserve a social order, a social order at its core built on the institution of slavery and racial superiority . Secession had not been framed by prominent Southerners like Robert Toombs as a defensive measure to retain the fruits of the revolution against King George, a fight against those who sought to “intrique insurrection with all its nameless horrors.” (Toombs Speech) On January 1, 1863, when Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect the war became a revolution. The Union, the soldiers in blue fought to preserve could no longer exist. On every mile of soil, they would return to the Stars and Stripes from that moment on, the fabric of society would be irrevocably changed. In May of 1865, with the abolition of slavery engrained into the Constitution with the passage of the 13th Amendment, the Confederate armies of Lee and Johnston disbanded, and Lincoln dead of an assassin’s bullet; this change was the only certainty the torn fabric of the newly reunited states was left to be resown. Andrew Johnson and Southern Democrats believed the revolution of 1863 had gone far enough. Radical Republicans and African-Americans sought instead to bring it to

Prior to the First World War, the USA was a flourishing power in terms of having one of the largest economies and military strength, however America had few foreign policy ambitions during this period. Despite purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, there was no real interest in expanding America. Before The Great War, it seemed unlikely that America would become involved in war over the conflicts of other western powers. They considered themselves a ‘City on the Hill’, an example to the rest of the world of stability and democracy. The large Navy ensured security of the North American continent and the small professional army, points to the overwhelmingly defensive front they put on. Washington adopted an isolationist policy with regards

In the year 1864 the American Civil War was drawing to an end. The Confederate States of America was slowly running out of able bodied men and supplies to supply the army needed to ward off the Union’s invasion of the South. At this point in time the leader of the Union Army was Ulysses S. Grant. He devised a plan to escalate the process in which the Confederate Army was running out of supplies. Grant’s plan was to send Union troops to the West of the main conflict for them to loop around and cut off railroad lines, and burn farm lands. The greatest of these was the Army that burned thousands of acres in Georgia, yet another army led by General David Hunter might have been more decisive if it had not been stopped at the Battle of Lynchburg. General David Hunter was ordered by General Grant to make his way down the Shenandoah Valley and destroy as much farm land as possible along the way. On top of this General Hunter terrorized towns by pillaging stores and homes. The Southerners knew that a similar fate would become Lynchburg if they did not do anything to prevent Hunter’s advance. The people of Lynchburg worked hard at building up defenses protecting Lynchburg. They had to resort to using mostly young boys and elderly men since most able bodies men had already died in the War or were still fighting under General E. Lee. The boys and elderly men that maned the defenses did not have a good chance of warding of the large army led by General David Hunter; as a result, General

If the emotional effects of the war were not enough, the war also hit the US economy. All wars throughout history have had a transformative effect on the economies of the participating nations. The Vietnam War severely impacted the United States’ economy due to the amount of product that the war required. A factory that would normally produce a consumer good would instead be used to produce bullets, uniforms, artillery, etc. all for the war effort. The GDP of the United States was altered from it's growing state in the early 60’s. The change in factory production from consumer goods to military goods caused controversy in the eyes of the people over the government’s use of economic policy. Money was going out, but no money was coming in. The US progressively saw more and more change to its economy. War brings on, debt and bills in large

Swimming against a current of pro-war fervor, McKinley stuck to his guns and persisted on remaining diplomatic with the investigation of the Maine explosion still ongoing. This seemed to infuriate the entire nation. Jingoists in congress, yellow journalists and the American public were clamoring for Spanish blood after the Maine, and to them McKinley came across as a feeble leader. McKinley offered one last chance for Spain to avoid war by agreeing to an armistice. He thought that the Spanish would understand that it would be a foolish decision to engage in war with a rising US power. The negative Spanish response did not leave McKinley with many options.

More than 100 years ago Canada had been a small child, progressing through life trying to find its place in this vast world. During the time periods of 1914-1945, 1950-1970, and 1971- 1990, there have been many factors that have helped induce its growth including: recognition due to military achievements, its international relationship with the United States, and uniting as one country. Through these times of hardship and glory Canada has succeeded in finding its autonomous identity in the world, as a “middle power”.

The armies of the United States of America varied greatly from the beginning of America 's independence in 1775 to the end of the War of 1812 in 1815. Different presidents holding office during this period brought different political views towards managing the army. These views affected the size and capability of the army in war and peace, with varying effectiveness. Effective in this case refers to the ability of the army to perform tasks given to them by the government. Opinions differing from the actions performed by the government provide insight into alternative ideas for the military, which had varying degrees of viability.

The impact that World War Two had on America, and its economy, was great (Brinkley, pg. 633). The war took place during a time in American history that many look at as one of the toughest it had ever had been through. The war itself was problematic in many ways, but just like many situations in history, it had positive effects as well.

The First World War was a devastating calamity in which 10 million soldiers lost their lives fighting for their countries. This figure is ridiculous, but when one realizes that, that does not include the civilians who lost their lives during the fighting, the number seems even more ominous. This terrible event happened, and America tried to stay neutral for a while; however, we eventually found ourselves entangled in its web of destruction and for the a little more than the last six months of the war America was part of the fighting. The Germans were no fools, when America and its “dough boys” joined in the fighting they knew it was a big deal, it even lead to a strike by the Germans. “We must strike,” General Erich Ludendorff told his fellow commanders, “before America can throw strong forces into the scale.” But what was the final act that pushed America past the point of no return? What effect did America actually have while fighting? Why was it such a big deal that this one country joined in the fighting? What was going on in America, while its soldiers were out fighting on another continent somewhere in the world? The purpose of this paper is to examine those questions and discuss the influence that America had while fighting in Europe in the Great War as well as the politics that occurred internationally after the war ended.

It had been over a year since anyone had seen an aircraft carrier sitting off the coast; it was a mother hen looking over her young. The small armada had made good time and arrived in the late evening of the fifth day. The USS Iowa with her powerful guns standing guard; Sailors were at their battle stations twenty-four seven now, in the morning the transports would make their way into Norfolk followed by the Iowa. The USS Hornet would remain on duty off the coast; the Iowa would only be in port long enough to drop off the Admiral, once that was done it would quickly return to the Hornet.

“It is the most unsordid act in the history of any nation,” Winston Churchill proclaimed when Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, giving tens of billions of dollars worth of war materiel and supplies to the enemies of Germany in the Second World War. (Underhill 69). As the democracies of Europe fell to the fascist menace, the USA acted as a final bastion against the Axis, fighting an industrial and economic ‘undeclared war’ from the signing of the Lend-Lease Act on March 11, 1941 to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7 of the same year. The Lend-Lease, in addition to shifting the tide to the favor of the Allies and the Soviet Union, had significant long-term effects - it provided the basis for the Marshall Plan to restore Europe after the war, and thus helped spawn the interventionist policy which the American government used as a basis for several actions, ranging from the Gladio Operation in Italy to the Vietnam War. (Willbanks 56). Therefore, the exploration into the economics and politics of the Lend-Lease Act provided the pathway for the United States to achieve both political and economic dominance in international encounters and exchanges initially in the West and, later, globally.

In the economic aspect, the war ended the Great Depression. (Winkler,1986) In 1940, money was being spent to aid the war effort and in return boosted the American economy. (Winkler,1986) The production of war necessities such as weapons opened up door for the unemployed. (Winkler,1986) Millions of unemployed Americans returned to work to make the weapons of war needed to protect the United States. (Winkler,1986) “During the war 17 million new civilian jobs were created, industrial productivity increased by 96 percent, and corporate profits after taxes doubled.” (Goodwin,1992) War needs directly consumed over one-third of the output of industry causing a slight decrease in consumer goods production. (Goodwin,1992) U.S economy converted to wartime production therefore most consumer goods were

In June of 1950, Communist forces from North Korea poured south across the 38th parallel in an all-out attack on South Korea. Harry Truman was the U.S. President and had already made history by dropping the first and only two atomic bombs on Asian cities just five years earlier. He knew immediately and instinctively that this Communist attack had to be reversed or contained. And there to execute this purpose, in theory, was Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the United Nations forces in the region.