'Historic American Wars through the Ages\r'

'In this research paper, the various struggles that the States has acceptn ramify in are discussed and dissected to identify the decide ca manipulations for the contends, the actual incidents which transpired and the final consequences in the after contenddmath of the give tongue to wars. Evolution of the Militia System in the compound Times The reserves is recognized as the topical anaesthetic capable power which the British created in identify to protect its vested busys in the colonized regions when its avouch multitude was insufficient to contain the multitude responsibilities (Telzrow, 2006).The responsibility of the militia in the case of the united States was to basic anyy supress the domestic population and safeguard the British interests in the geographical region. The militia was basically equipped and expert on the firm army lines and were to act as the front end runners in any altercation. Evolution The movement of the English into the region pre viously dominated by the Indians was seen as an act against the locals as they were maltreated and they began to become increasingly hostile.Aside from the local threat, the British were paranoid due(p) to the front line of the Spanish, French and Dutch who were located all conterminously the fall in States. The requirement for the militia units were that the person should be able-bodied and lie at heart the age of 15-60 (Telzrow, 2006). The leadership was often bestowed to wealthy families and people who were politically strong. These armies comprised of locals of the touch areas and rarely went into contests in distant calculates as on that excite primary objective was providing security to their stimulate locality.The militia was likewise restricted due to labor demands since nearly were common villagers who had rough armed services training. So when the harvesting season was upon them, the militia was on a lower floorstaffed. pull downtually the volunteer m ilitia was created which consisted of militia members who voluntarily made the militia and were responsible in procuring their own equipment and weapons. This militia had a much military and social background then the regular militia. ImportanceThe population of the army in the joined States was non sufficient enough to provide internal security as well as address the problems with the expanding Dutch, Spanish and French empires (Cooper, 1997). The local militia provided the British with a unending supply of soldiers and they would traveling bag the internal conflicts and handle security issues. The militia provided villages and towns a means of argue themselves against neighboring areas and it was the militia which provided the Civil war with able-bodied men to defend their nears.British View of the Militia The British viewed the militia as a reserve unit for their disposal. Even though the militia was trained under the army, they were rarely taken for any communiques far f rom their localities. Since to the highest degree of the militia members were farmers and villagers they weren’t taken far from their responsibilities. It was this short-sight which in conclusion cost the British, as the militia was the fundamental force base the Battle for Independence in which the British bemused against the united Ameri supports.The militia was led by a trained contingent of professionally trained soldiers and the idea of a dual army was innate(p) which existed in the War of Independence. The War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought betwixt the get together States of America and Great Britain. The war lasted from 1812 to 1815. Causes The causes for the war could be traced to the join States frustration towards the British naval forces and its actions conducted in the sea.During this era, the British were searching for men who they could use as seamen and for this target they would stop and search for delinquent sailors on ships headed towards the get together States and departing from it. The British did non veer in hassling Americans in the process (Galafilm). The British were too pressing for the join States to quit trading with France, since France was at war with Britain. This was during the Napoleonic era. These strict regulations and haughty side in conclusion frustrated the United States to such an completion that they took notice of these acts in the United States Congress.The United States felt up that their rights on the seas had been violated. The United States felt that if it tried some frugal approaches then under the pressure the British would fold but their attempts at constraining the economic activities across the sea routes be ineffective and they eventually declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. rent of the War Responding to the call for war, the United States decided to attain over the Canadian region occupied by the British. The United States launched a three pronged coming in 1812 which failed.During the year however the Americans were able to further a series of single-ship engagements and were able to harry British shipping. In response to these actions the British tightened the coastlines and created blockades. The topic of this was that the American trade suffered, and their finances were weakened, and the entire coastline was exposed to attacks from the British. In 1813 the Americans attempted to take over Canada again. Yet uniform to past picnics, this attempt failed at once. 1814 however proved to be the decisive year, as the British had won over the French.They began concentrating their attention towards the United States front and began harrying military personnel along to the States in order to suppress the American revolt. They concentrated on attacking on 3 major(ip) fronts; invigorated York, New Orleans and Chesapeake (Berton, 1988). The British were able to gain victory in all 3 places and the Americans were barely able to resist the forces. publication In 1815 the Battle of New Orleans took place in which the British’s superior forces were futile to overpower the lesser American force.Using strategic miscalculations on the part of the British, the Americans were able to defeat them in the past battle. The end of the war was marked by the accord of the Ghent, in which n wiz of the problems were resolved. Winners or Losers The War of 1812 did not provide any conclusive winners or losers as some(prenominal) sides suffered many losses economically and with reward to lives. The period from 1812-1815 marked an economical decline for America and it did not help the United States as such. The Mexican War of 1846The Mexican War was fought betwixt the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. Causes After the annexation of Texas, Mexico progressed claiming Texas as part of its own geographic boundaries (Son of the South, 2003). This came as a surprise to the Americans as Mexico was already a recogniz ed enjoin with its own geographic borders clearly identified by the United States of America, England, France and separate governments. The Mexicans were also causing trouble since the republican government had succeeded in their country and they were a constant thorn in the side of the United States.The state of Mexico would replenish its treasury and gather funding by plundering United States vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. Upon the United States complain, the governments formulated treaties to that degree they were never acted upon and the plundering keep to transpire unabated. The War In 1845, President Polk enjoin General Zachary Taylor to occupy a position near the Rio Grande, as a precautionary measure since both(prenominal) sides were becoming increasingly hostile towards each early(a).During the expedition moving closer to Rio Grande, General Zachary began the construction of foregather browned, which was later(prenominal) targeted by the Mexicans as a point to be recognized and neutralized. The first battle was at Palo Alto, after the Mexicans began gathering around the Fort Brown and it appeared as if it would fall. In this battle the United States won against the gathered Mexican forces. In the month of may 1846, both sides openly declared war and urged their states to take the neighbor as a recognized threat.What followed later were a number of expeditions across Texas into the state of Mexico, with the generals defeating the local forces and extending the United States controlled territory. Matamoras, Monterrey, Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, etc. were majorly all successful be givens conducted by the U. S. generals. During this war California also gained independence as the locals declared the said independence after the Mexican forces were repelled from the state. The northward expedition by General Scott of the United States forces was undeterred and in September 13, the city of Mexico had go to the U.S. government and the Mexicans were ul timately defeated. A reason which could be attributed to the constant defeat by the Mexicans against the Americans could be that the Mexicans at the time were locked in internal conflicts as well, which resulted in their inability to unite against the foreign threat (Soto, 2006). Consequences of the Mexican War After the Mexicans were defeated in battle, in February 1848 the Mexican Congress agreed to establish a pact of peace with the United States generals at Guadalupe Hidalgo. both sides ratified to it on July 4 of the comparable year.The judicial admission of the conformity was that Mexico would be evacuated of American troop’s presence in 3 months and payments worth $3,000,000 in hand and $12,000,000 by the United States to Mexico over a period of 4 installments would be paid for the phylogenesis of New Mexico and California which had become U. S. territories. A major consequence of the war was the distinguishing of the boundary dividing Mexico and the United States. When the treaty was ratified in 1854, the treaty of 1848 was revised and the boundaries were unflinching and the United States agreed to pay $7,000,000 to $10,000,000 as a consideration to Mexico.The conditions set under the peace treaty were all complied with and peaceful relations energize existed surrounded by the deuce nations since then. The Spanish American War The Spanish American War was a brief yet conclusive battle which lasted from April 1898 to July 1898, during which time the Spanish pudding stone was destroyed and offering the United States with several bracing possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific (Department Of The navy blue — Naval historical Center, 1998). Causes What basically marked the beginning of the war between the Spanish navy and the United States navy was the attack on the battleship Maine.This was an unprecedented attack on U. S. property and it incited the United States to go to war. Even though it has yet to be proven that the attac k on the battleship was Spanish inspired (Buscheni, 2000), the U. S. newspapers used their important position to paint a grim regard regarding the Spanish. Appeals placed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines all made it appear as the regions were under Spanish oppressive convention and helped precipitating the war and providing tender to the flames.The newspapers in the United States were seeing a boom as they were the major source of information for the populace. Using their position, newspapers began writing pieces by which there sales would be maximized disregarding the equity and how events had really transpired (Buscheni, 2000). Incidents After the sinking of the battleship Maine in 15 February 1898, the Americans launched an attack in may of the homogeneous year in manilla paper. The battle of Manila alcove was between the Spanish extend positioned there against the United States Navy.The battle was one sided as the Spanish fleet comprised of large wooden ships w hereas the U. S. Navy consisted of smaller vane vessels. After the firing from the U. S. Navy, led by admiral George Dewey, the Spanish fleet situated in Manila was completely destroyed. This was one of the most successful campaigns undertaken by the United States as the only casualty during this campaign resulted from sunstroke and not actual combat (Independence dorm Association). Another expedition was launched in Cuba under the manipulate of General William Shafter, who led a force which was vastly outnumbered 7 to 1.The true glory of the Cuban expedition is accredited to a group of fighters referred to as the earthy Riders, who comprised of cowboys, adventurous college students and ex-convicts who had volunteered for the cause. The Rough Riders, Shafter’s forces and 2 African American regiments all collaborated in charging up San Juan hummock and bottling the Spanish in the Santiago Harbor. The Spanish lost this war when the Spanish fleet was destroyed by the Ameri can forces. ConsequencesThe United States received the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico after the Treaty of Paris was signed which basically awarded the victors. Cuba accomplish independence after this war and Spain was given $20 Million to recover its losses from these battles. Yet however, the primeval consequence of the Spanish American War was the confirmation of the strength of journalism in the United States. The strong suit of the newspapers to influence the populace into thinking about right and wrong and coming up with conclusions based on what they wished to happen was evident in this war.Another consequence of this war could be the realization of the expanding American empire, as the impulse to â€Å"free” Cuba from oppressive Spanish rule was replaced by the occupation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines by the United States. The U. S. fantasy supported the expansions and it is evident to this day of the urge of United States to occupy other countries to pro vide â€Å"peace” and â€Å" license”. Jomini and Clausewitz Fundamental Principles of War Swiss wrier Antoine- Henri Jomini and Prussian Carl von Clausewitz were military theorists who became popular during the era of the French Revolution and Napolean.Both hurt been highly influential in framing military thinking. The theories presented by both Jomini and Clausewitz are seen as every exact opposites of each other or as identical in most respects. The reason behind such a conflicting view is due to the similar background divided up by the two theorists. Both had a common historic interest in the campaigns led by Frederick the Great, both shared long personal experience in the Napoleonic wars (even though both were on different sides), and both read each other’s criminal records.After pickings into account the mentioned reasons it comes as no surprise as both theorists saw war in the same exonerated, just from different angles (Bassford, 1993). Fundamental D ifferences between the two theorists In its most basic form, both theorists were on opposing sides of each other during the French Napoleonic era. Jomini acted as an interpreter and general for the French forces, go Clausewitz had fought numerous generation against the French beingness in the Prussian army. Both held a differing perspective regarding the concepts think to the tarradiddle and manipulation of the military.Clausewitz book, On War, clearly indicated that history was a dynamic process and it should not be looked upon with a static world view as values, standards and situations differ with respect to the context of the times. His theories bring to light a concept which states that war can pull up stakes its form depending on the circumstances in which it is being fought, hence the temper of the policy and the society within it is waged is crucial to take into account and should not be overlooked as a constant. On the other hand, Jomini’s views regarding war were simplistic in temper and were static.He recognized war as a battle of superior minds, in the form of military generals and heroes, and reflected that war was beyond normal people’s comprehension. He referred to war as a â€Å"drama” with differences in wars arising due to differing technologies, political motivations and people involved. His work was thereof much appealing to military educators as its purpose was to teach practical lessons to officers of a superior grade. Even though the philosophies of both theorists differed, both discussed the same materials in their works which were practically applicable to scenarios which may annul during wars.Similarities and Sharing of Opinions Initially Jomini appeared to be a role model for Clausewitz, as in Clausewitz first book â€Å"Principles of War”, we can see the references and acknowledgements Clausewitz aimed towards Jomini (Handel). Both also shared a lot of similar concepts and terminologies which reflected on their acceptance of the others opinion. The fundamental Jomini theory related to warfare which lies in accordance with the theory proposed by Clausewitz was the concept of the centre of gravity.Both theorists shared the opinion that all armies have a central point where if they were attacked then the outcome would turn in favor of the attacker. Yet in due time Clausewitz began to think otherwise. His argument was that Jomini did not take into account the external variables which could not be calculated such as the morals of the soldiers, the aim of motivation, and other psychological factors. These arguments were however unjust as Jomini identified morale of the soldiers and other such concepts in his work the â€Å"Summary of the Art of War”.Yet this was published after Clausewitz’ death and were after Jomini had read â€Å"On War”. Relevance to Today’s cosmos In truth the theories discussed by Jomini are more popularly enforced in todayâ €™s world rather than the works of Clausewitz which is in one way a disadvantage as war has become overly simplistic in nature not taking into account values and other humanitarian factors. Becoming purely mathematical and tasteful in nature has cost us munificence’s values. In today’s vaporific environment we find coexistence between the two approaches.We can find instances where the Clausewitz approach is applied where wars are fought along the grounds of being righteous and to further humanistic elements (such as the Afghan war and Iraq invasion), whereas other times we find the human element entirely scatty (the Turks and Kurd war). Both the theories are applicable as taking into account the Clausewitz belief that wars should be taken in context to the situation and not as a point in time, the theories adapted by spark advance strategists fall into a category which is a classification of both the theorists views.References Bassford, C. (1993). Jomini An d Clausewitz: Their Interaction. 23rd Meeting of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe . Georgia State University . Berton, P. (1988). Flames across the Border . Buscheni, J. (2000). Remember the Maine. Retrieved establish 22, 2009, from The Spanish American War: http://www. smplanet. com/imperialism/remember. html Cooper, J. (1997). The Rise of the National view as: The Evolution of the American Militia, 1865-1920. Nebraska Press. Department Of The Navy — Naval historic Center. (1998, October 16).EVENTS — Spanish-American War. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from Naval Historical Center: http://www. history. navy. mil/photos/events/spanam/eve-pge. htm Galafilm. (n. d. ). The War of 1812: Introduction. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from Galafilm. com: http://www. galafilm. com/1812/e/intro/index. html Handel, M. I. Masters of War. Routledge. Independence sign Association. (n. d. ). The Spanish American War and its Consequences. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from U. S. fib: http:/ /www. ushistory. org/us/44d. asp Son of the South. (2003). The Mexican War.Retrieved March 22, 2009, from SonoftheSouth. com: http://www. sonofthesouth. net/mexican-war/war. htm Soto, M. (2006, March). The Aftermath of War: A bequest of the US-Mexican War. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from The U. S. -Mexican War: http://www. pbs. org/kera/usmexicanwar/aftermath/legacy. html Telzrow, M. E. (2006, May 1). Citizen Soldiers: the militia: the story of Americas citizen soldiers shows that the militia and the second amendment are not obsolete. The populace at large bequeath always fulfill essential militia functions. The New American .\r\n'