Has America Ever Had A Period In History When We Were NOT At War With Somebody?

[Solomon]

And what does that mean?

Is our economic system possible without continuous war?

Haven't we always spent more than any country in history on our military?

[Tim01]

1. It isn't about our economic system, it is about humans.

Even if we never started up with somebody else, then somebody else would start up with us. Germany, Japan.

I'm not trying to downplay how much we do start with other countries.


If there are resources, there is war. Usually tied to population expansion.

[sui generis]

8. Yah. Sweden and Iceland are perfect examples.

Wars are fought between old men by the children of other men.

It's all politics, first, economics second. We rarely can make a justifiable claim that we're protecting any kind of foreign interest other than the strategic or economic kind. We justify our wars of aggression as defensive actions.

[Tim01]

11. I guess you are talking about the Vikings? nt

[sui generis]

12. some days I'm pretty sure they'll get it without the sarcasm thingie

:P

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Of course there have been times of peace, but not so much since WWII. The great build up

in 'defense spending' began with the Cold War, creating hugely profitable corporations.

[zipplewrath]

3. Yes

But, it is true that we have been in various forms of "near war" for much of our history.

After the revolution, we were in conflict with both France and England at various times almost continuously, plus we has serious problems with Barbary Coast pirates.

Then we moved west. That movement was accomplished as much by a military campaign of securing our "purchase" of the Louisiana territories as it was just general migration. (Lewis and Clark had military commissions and it was run as an activity of the army). After the civil war there was a long campaign of conquest of "indian lands" (as if some how the rest of it wasn't). These ended, and there was a relative period of time before we began expansion attempts again. These attempts would include Hawaii, the Philippines, and of course the Spanish-American War. There was also the Mexican American War (which should probably be more accurately called the SECOND one. Dunno how one would want to classify the whole "find Pancho Villa" schtick. Then we get to WW I and it's sequel, WWI, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Granada, Gulf War I, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Gulf War II, and Afghanistan.

And it should be remembered, that prior to the American Revolution, there was the "French and indian wars". And the reason that the British troops were in Boston, and marching on Concord, is because the Massachusetts Bay colony had been in open and violent rebellion for a year or more. The Boston Massacre wasn't an isolated incident.

There is an interesting book called "A Country Made by War" by Geoffrey Peret that goes into much of this. It also highlights to some extent the effect of our military on our economy (including the fact that West Point trained much of our early men in things like building bridges and canals. Very useful for a country that is rapidly expanding into the industrial age).

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/28/books/give-war-its-due.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. We haven't always spent more on our military

we relied mainly on volunteers for the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. And in between those times, the Army and Navy weren't very large at all. Even during the Civil War, the majority of fighters were volunteers rather than professional soldiers, and a majority went back to civilian life once the war was over. We didn't start our buildup of the military industrial complex until WWII. Presidents before that time had fights with Congress on increase in military spending.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. Just imagine if all those monies used for killing people

were, instead, used for feeding the poor, building schools and paying for good education, and helping the sick. There would be few poor, there would be no one living under a bridge, unless they wished it, there would be smart kids coming out of high school, instead of the walking test takers we now have. What a wonderful world it would be.

[endarkenment]

6. In my lifetime not really. nt.

[el_bryanto]

7. A quote to rile you up

"Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." - The Third Man

Bryant

[Odin2005]

9. Grab the popcorn!

:popcorn:

[MichiganVote]

10. Not in my lifetime

Korean War
Kennedy and Cuba/Russia
VietNam
Reagan and Granada
Reagan and Libya
Bush and Panama
Iraq I
Afghanistan
Iraq II