Throughout the course of USA’s history, it has been involved in numerous wars with seemingly different purposes and end consequences. However, in case an individual looks at the conflicts between the USA and the countries it engaged itself in wars with, they all were bound by similar goals, or at times few were different. In most of the wars, the USA emerged as a winner while in some, it became defeated. Nevertheless, the USA lost some of its soldiers who involved themselves in the wars.
The Korean War lasted for about three years from 25 June 1950- 27 July 1953 1 . The inception of the war was after North Korea invaded South Korea. As a result, the USA as the principal force worked with the United Nations came to aid South Korea. On the other hand, China with backing from the Soviet Union extended their support to the North Korea. The USA involvement in the Korean War was triggered by President Harry S Truman who referred to the involvement as being “police action." As such, by July 1950, the USA troops had entered into the war, and they offered aid to the South Korean army officials. The USA was concerned for the war was seen as being one that was bound to fight off the forces of international communism. Throughout the period of the war, most nations feared that it would turn into a world war three due to Russia, China, and the USA's involvement. However, in 1953, the Korean War ended with more than 5 million civilians and soldiers losing their lives 2 . Up to date, the Korean peninsula is still divided.
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Before the Korean War, the USA was involved in other war with other nations including within inside its boundaries. In most of the wars in the Korean War, America fought so that it would gain its independence from the colonialists. The first documented war that America involved itself in was the King Phillip’s War. This was an armed conflict between the English colonialist and the American Indian inhabitants from 1675-1678 3 . At times; the war is referred to as Metacomet’s War or Rebellion. It was named after Metacomet's, the Wampanoag Chief who changed his name to Phillip. The war persisted until the ratification of the Treaty of Casco Bay in April 1678.The King Phillip's War is regarded as the deadliest war that ever occurred during the 17th century Puritan New England following the European settlement into North America 4 . Even before the King Philip’s war, there had been conflicts between the Indians and the colonists such as the French and Dutch though the relationships between them were peaceful.
King Williams's war of 1688-1697 was the second Indian War, and it is also referred to as First Intercolonial War 5 . The war erupted because most of the treaties that had earlier been signed at the end of King Phillips war were not adhered to. The English colonialists had also received news that the Indians were receiving help from the Dutch and French. Between 1756 and 1763, the new world was involved in the conflict which is at times referred to as Seven Years' War. This war was seen as a long imperial struggle that existed between Britain and France. The inception of the war was due to France’s expansion into Ohio River which was seen as a British colony. In 1756, Britain declared war against France and ended up capturing Louisburg, Fort Frontenac, and Quebec. In 1763, a peace conference was signed between France and Britain whereby Britain was given the territories of Canada and Florida from Spain 6 . The American Revolution of 1775-1783 also referred to as United States War of Independence saw the thirteen Great Britain’s North American colonies go into war. After the war, they were able to gain political independence of which they later formed the current United States of America nation. The war lasted for more than a decade, and it was caused by the conflicts that existed between the British crown and its North American colonies. Up to early 1778, the wrangles existed within the British Empire, however, as the year progressed, France, Spain, and Netherlands joined forces with the North American colonies, and they fought against the British Empire. In the long run, the British surrendered Yorktown which saw the USA gains its independence.
The USA engaged with the French in a war that was referred to as the Quasi-War of 1798-1800. This was due to the fact that the USA had refused to repay back France the debts it owed. These debts resulted from the loans the French nation had given to the USA during the American Revolution. After the USA had gained independence, it signed a treaty with Great Britain which saw it engaging in trade dealing. The French nation angered by the USA’s position and started seizing their ships as they transported goods to and from Britain. The USA was angered by France's actions which saw the formation of United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. During the war at sea, the French navy was defeated by USA's naval force was much stronger due to the weaponry they had. The Convention of 1800, signed between the USA and France saw an end to the war
The USA was also involved in wars over territories such as the USA-Mexican war of 1846-1848.the war was caused by 1845’s America’s annexation of Texas 7 . The USA also claimed that Texas territories reached the Rio Grande while Mexico claimed the borders reached Nueces River. However, the USA emerged victorious after the war which saw the USA taking land which was more than one million square kilometers into Mexican territories. The land extended from the Rio Grande into the Pacific Ocean. In 1898, the USA was involved in a conflict with Spain which saw the end of Spanish colonial rule in America and permitted the USA to obtain lands in Latin America and Western Pacific 8 . Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the USA including transferring the Philippines to the USA.
The Civil War is one of the most heart-breaking wars to ever occur in the USA which lasted for four years from 1861-1865 9 . The war involved the United States and eleven Southern States that separated from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. The cause of the war was controversy over the rights of states and slavery. The Confederate States attacked South Carolina after the election of President Abraham Lincoln. This is because they wanted to have the right to carry out slavery. However, the Confederates were not recognized by the USA government or any other foreign nation. Following the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Southern states waged war over other states that had started supporting Lincoln’s rules. The civil war in America was fought without any geographical aims; the only target from either side was the enemy’s soldier 10 . The North defeated the South though the aftermath of the war saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians die. The southern and northern states later merged into one nation and under one government.
The involvement of the USA in World War I, 1917 was due to the poor relationship the USA had with Germany. At the time, the country had stayed for more than two years and remained neutral as the war continued. It did not even join its allies during the war. The only contributions that nation gave were in the form of money, supplies and raw material to its allies. The involvement of the USA in the war was due to the negative attitude the nation had against Germany following the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania in 1915 and the atrocities of 1914 committed in Belgium. The World War II also saw America engage in it following the continuous attack of its allies. The USA was part of the Allies which was fighting against Germany and Japan. The World War II saw the USA use sophisticated weapons such as the atomic bombs that it dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that saw thousands of people lose their lives from the blast and radiation effects 11 . In the long run, the USA and the Allies defeated the Axis which saw the Soviet becoming the super power in Europe after toppling Germany. China also gained power in Asia after Japan’s defeat while the USA ruled over North and South America.
The wars that the USA has fought after the Korean war of 1950 to date were mainly attributed to stopping the spread of communism and terrorism. The Soviet Union and China were known for their communist engagements as following their involvement in the Korean War; the USA saw that they would continue to spread communism. North Korea was a communist nation at the time. Korea had been under Japan and after World War II, however, after its defeat, the USA accepted the surrender of the Japanese military in Southern Korea while the Soviet Union and China accepted them in North Korea. The Soviets plays a huge role towards raising communist regime in North Korea while the USA supported South Korea with financial and military aid. North Korea invaded South Korea which called for the USA to push the UN Security Council towards offering military assistance to South Korea. The USA and South Korea military matched into North Korea which forced the intervention of the Communist China Republic military. The war ended in 1953 following a treaty agreement between the USA and North Korea 12 .
The Vietnamese war of 1960-1975 is the longest war the USA has ever been involved in 13 . Before the war, the communist North Vietnamese government invaded South Vietnam with the aim of unifying the two sides and imposes a communist rule. In 1961, the USA joined the war and supported the South Vietnamese army following successful Viet Cong's attacks on the side. The USA Air Force and Navy engaged in long missile strikes on North Vietnamese army making it the most aggressive air and ground military offensive during the era of the Cold War. After the Tet Offensive of 1968, the USA stopped its military strikes on North Vietnam until 1972 when it resumed its attacks on North Vietnam 14 . This was so as to demonstrate the support the USA had against the anti-communist regime under the Saigon government. The USA, Viet Congo, and South Vietnam entered into an agreement known as the Paris Peace Accord in 1973 which brought an end to the war though it resumed with the USA officially withdrawing its military and equipment on from Vietnam on April 29, 1975.America was also involved in a war in Cuba known as the Bay of Pigs in 1961 whose main aim was to overthrow the communist regime of Fidel Castro. However, the USA was unsuccessful in its quest to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government. In 1983, the USA attacked Grenada, and Island nation located in the Caribbean. The reason for the invasion was because the socialist government found in the nation at the time had close ties to Cuba which was under a communist regime led by Castro.
From the Korean War, the Bay of Pigs, Grenada War and Vietnamese war, America was trying to bar the blowout of communism and “save the world.” However, the USA fought communism only whereby its interests were under threats. As seen in the case of the Grenada war, the USA invaded the nation despite the fact that it was an anti-communist regime in power. In the case of Cuba, it was under the USA protectorate giving it economic and political dominance in the country. However, after the Cuban revolution of 1959, most of the USA interests were at stake after another government took over Cuba led by Castro 15 . The Soviet Union was also involved in assisting Cuba during the war. As such, the USA invaded the nations' when it saw the regime in power would threaten its businesses.
In 2001 and 2003, the USA invaded Afghanistan and Iraq respectively. The invasion of Afghanistan followed the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that rocked the nation. The Taliban government was harboring Osama Bin Laden who was the main perpetrator of the USA terror attacks. This was after Afghanistan refused to turn in Osama Bin Laden. The USA continued to attack Afghanistan so as to eradicate the Taliban terrorist until 2011 when Osama Bin Laden was shot dead by USA forces. The USA forces started leaving the nation in 2014. The USA also invaded Iraq with the assistance of the Great Britain to oust the regime of Saddam Hussein 16 He had been linked to several terrorist groups, and his regime was dictatorial thus oppressed Iraq citizens. The Iraq war came to an end in 2010 after Saddam Hussein was arrested and later prosecuted.
In most of the wars that the USA involved itself in before the Korean War, it sought to gain independence from its colonialist and expand its boundaries after gaining independence after the American Revolution. However, the Civil War is a war that was not linked to any geographical purpose but was rather a war brought about by ideological differences. The USA’s involvement in World War I and II was so as to help its fellow allies. Following the Korean War, the USA wars were linked toward destroying the spread of communism. The wars the nation has fought since 2001 such as the Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen war have mainly been to oppress the spread of terrorism in the world 17 .
Bibliography
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Way, Peter. "The Global Seven Years War, 1754–1763: Britain and France in a Great Power Contest (review)." The Canadian Historical Review 93, no. 4 (2012): 675-677.
White, Steven. "Civil Rights, World War II, and US Public Opinion." Studies in American Political Development 30, no. 01 (2016): 38-61.
Woods, Michael E. "What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature." Journal of American History 99, no. 2 (2012): 415-439.
1 Michael Sheng, "Mao’s Role in the Korean Conflict: A Revision," Twentieth-Century China 39, no. 3 (2014): 270.
2 Ibid 271.
3 Robert E. Cray, " Weltering in their own blood": puritan casualties in King Philip's War," Historical Journal of Massachusetts 37, no. 2 (2009): 106
4 ibid, 110
5 Jenny H. Pulsipher, "Dark Cloud Rising from the East: Indian Sovereignty and the Coming of King William's War in New England," New England Quarterly 80, no. 4 (2007): 589.
6 Peter Way, "The Global Seven Years War, 1754–1763: Britain and France in a Great Power Contest (review)," The Canadian Historical Review 93, no. 4 (2012): 675-676.
7 Peter Guardino, "Gender, Soldiering, and Citizenship in the Mexican-American War of 1846–1848," The American historical review 119, no. 1 (2014): 23
8 Piero Gleijeses, "1898: The opposition to the Spanish-American war," Journal of Latin American Studies 35, no. 04 (2003): 681-682.
9 Michael E. Woods, "What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature,” Journal of American History 99, no. 2 (2012): 415.
10 Michael E. Woods, "What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion,” 420.
11 , Steven White, "Civil Rights, World War II, and US Public Opinion," Studies in American Political Development 30, no. 01 (2016): 39.
12 Michael Sheng, "Mao’s Role in the Korean Conflict: A Revision," Twentieth-Century China 39, no. 3 (2014), 270.
13 Robert McMahon, "Contested Memory: The Vietnam War and American Society, 1975–2001." Diplomatic History 26, no. 2 (2002): 160
14 ibid, 160
15 Gary Prevost, "Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution." Headwaters: The Faculty Journal of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University 24, no. 1 (2012): 21.
16 Daniel Lieberfeld, "Theories of conflict and the Iraq war," International Journal of Peace Studies (2005): 3.
17 Tom Pettinger, "What Is the Impact of Foreign Military Intervention on Radicalization?" Journal for Deradicalization 5 (2015): 92-94.
