59-Minute Perspective

Never having participated in a conflict on the scale of World War I naturally taught America that it needed some adjustments to its military forces. When America entered the war, the Allies also minimized American achievements and viewed American troops as less prepared to meet the challenges of modern wars than the stalwart, disciplined, and well-trained French and British forces. In the interwar period, the United States realized that Japan was becoming a growing strategic problem. In case of war, the American war effort would have to be divided between Europe and Asia. What America might be best remembered for, however, are the strategic bombing campaigns which culminated in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After World War II, America focused on a strategy of deterrence and containment of communism, with a commitment to defeat totalitarian regimes, which it believed was essential for the economic growth of the Free World. There are many prisms through which one can view American participation in World Wars I and II. Rather than providing definite answers, this brief study aims at rousing additional interest and provoking critical thinking about how these large-scale wars shaped military policy and the future of the United States Armed Forces, including our nation's decision to go to war.

The Civil War is an enormously important event in our nation's history, and not just a fleeting disagreement about slavery between the northern and southern states. As such, it has impacted our country's political course into modern day. The results of the Civil War reinforced the motto, E pluribus unum (Out of many, one), and strengthened the notion that the United States is indeed united, despite its many states, and despite the fact that the North and South continue to maintain significant different political views. Although the Civil War ended slavery based on legal doctrine, the oppression of the former slaves did not end, and racism has continued through the Civil Rights era and continues to some extent today. The war also brought to light that military leaders may change their basic moral standards when a conflict proves difficult to win. There are many prisms through which one can view Civil War strategies, and one might naturally be tempted to draw many lessons from the Civil War. Rather than providing definite answers, this brief study aims at rousing additional interest and provoking critical thinking about what might have been the most important event in our nation's history. As such, it focuses on the underlying social and political factors that shaped the decision of the southern states to secede from the Union, and the Union's subsequent attempt to prevent their secession.