Which wars in United States history would you have supported?

[nickshepDEM]

Revolutionary War:
War of 1812:
Mexican-American War:
Civil War:
Spanish-American War:
World War I:
World War II:
Koren War:
Vietnam War:
Gulf War I:
Afghanistan War:
Gulf War II:

[cestpaspossible]

1. Revolutionary war no-brainer, civil war, no choice

You left out the 'Indian Wars'

[funflower]

30. Why would all of you have supported the Revolutionary War?

Most Americans don't realize that lots of the colonists opposed it and some even fought on the British side.

[cestpaspossible]

31. Maybe because we're not un-American royalist traitors? lol

Sure, there were Tories among the colonists. They lost and were relegated to the dustbin of history.

Two good reasons to support the American Revolution:

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html

[funflower]

54. They were called "loyalists"

I'm all for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Canada and Australia have similar statements of principle and didn't fight wars for their independence.

Just playing devil's advocate....

:evilgrin:

[cestpaspossible]

57. I call 'em Tories.

Canada and Australia have similar statements of principle and didn't fight wars for their independence.

LOL, yeah, those Aussie founding documents have been an insiration to freedom loving people all over the world... or at least, maybe they would be if anyone had ever heard of them... do they exist? link?

[patricia92243]

2. Revolutionary and 1812 - which was almost another Revolutionary. By the

way it started on 9/11 - wonder if the terrorist know our history more than we do?

[SaveElmer]

3. Most actually

Except, 1812, Mexican-American, Spanish, Vietnam and Gulf War II

[hippiepunk]

4. ...

Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War ( the Union of course), World War 2, and that's it.

[nine30]

5. Support the following

Most definitely:

World War II
Afghanistan War

Most Defnitely NOT

Gulf War II

Not sure or don't know enough about the others.

[nine30]

7. Civil war too ..

[Yupster]

29. Oops - sorry

that agreement didn't last very long.

[Yupster]

28. I think I agree completely Nine30

WWII and Afghan War only.

[Jamison]

6. This is my opinion:

Revolutionary War: Most definitely

War of 1812: Most definitely

Mexican-American War: No

Civil War: No (Maybe we would have been better off with the South being it's own indep. nation, but who knows).

Spanish-American War: No

World War I: No

World War II: Most definitely

Koren War: No

Vietnam War: No

Gulf War I: Yes

Afghanistan War: Yes

Gulf War II: Definitely not

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. Only the revolution and the Civil War.

[Constitution]

49. Definitely the Civil War.

Given how this country turned out, we'd be better off under foreign leadership.

[Smarmie Doofus]

50. Now that I think of it... I'm not so sure about the revolution.

Britain, Canada and even Australia have evolved more responsive governmental institutions than we have here. Their economic systems more equitable. Their foreign policies more just.

You make a good point. I'm down to one justifiable war. I may reconsider WWII, despite the fact that the Western powers set the stage for Hitler by exploiting the German defeat in 1918.

[bemildred]

8. Revolutionary, 1812, Civil, WWII (somewhat), GWI (but not "sanctions")

[bemildred]

10. PS: you are leaving out a lot. nt

[HawkerHurricane]

9. Hindsight is always 20/20

Revolutionary War: Yes. If you don't support this one, there's no point in continuing the discussion.

War of 1812: No. Wasn't needed, we should have negotiated.

Mexican-American War: Questionable. A war for slaveowners; but the idea that a win was automatic for the U.S. is only clear in hindsight. To quote a expert at the time, Wellesley Duke of Wellington (yes, THAT Duke of Wellington) predicted that not only would the United States lose Texas, they'd be lucky to hold New Orleans. The acknowledged greatest living general said there was no way for the U.S. to win...

Civil War: Yes, Union side.

Spanish-American War: Unneeded, No.

World War I: Not sure. The world might have been better off with a German win. Or not.

World War II: Yes.

Koren War: Yes. It was poorly fought, but needed at the time.

Vietnam War: No. And if you go to war, you go to win, not force a tie.

Gulf War I: Yes, BUT it would have been unneeded if we had just told Iraq before the invasion that we didn't support a non-negotiated settlement between Iraq and Kuwait.

Afghanistan War: Yes, but the evidence is starting to build that this was unneeded too.

Gulf War II: No.

[manic expression]

36. I believe

you are clearly mistaken with the Mexican-American war. Not only was a grab for slave states, it was an unjustified war of aggression against Mexico for NO REAL REASON AT ALL.

America's military was MUCH better than Mexico's at the time. This is obvious, and it was obvious before the war. The only reason Mexico entered the war was because the US invaded first, before that they tried their best to evade a confrontation. A blind man could have casually told anyone that American "victory" was most probable.

This base, disgusting and horrible war was so wrong it hurts to think about it.

[HawkerHurricane]

47. excuse me...

But the leading military man of Europe thought (incorrectly) that the 'Military' Mexicans could easily defeat the 'non-military' Americans. America's standing army was smaller than Mexico's... the difference was in technology AND America's much larger 'militia', plus the people of Mexico did not support thier own corrupt government.
The 'reason' for the war (where exactly is the border between Texas and Mexico?) was blown up into a excuse to conquer the whole country. But wars happen ONLY when both sides think they can win. It was not obvious to everyone AT THE TIME that Mexico had no chance...
As I said: Hindsight is 20/20.

[mapatriot]

12. All but ..

Vietnam and Gulf War II

[Adelante]

13. You forgot Kosovo

Revolutionary War: Yes
War of 1812: Yes
Civil War: North - Yes
World War I: Yes
World War II: Yes
Kosovo War: Yes
Afghanistan War: Yes

[2Design]

14. revolution and wwII - eom

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. What about the American-Filipino war?

After the Spanish American war we "inherited" the Phillipines. We fought a protracted guerrilla war in those islands, losing more than 5,000 men. And according to historians, about 250,000 Filipinos died, which was something like one-fifth of the population. And then there were also the various wars the U.S. fought against Native American nations.

[Igel]

16. OK.

Revolutionary War: yes
War of 1812: yes
Mexican-American War: ??
Civil War: no
Spanish-American War: probably not, know little about it
World War I: dunno, skipped it in high school (we were to cover it
last, but ran late; next year picked up in 1919; high school
history professor was more interested in Puritan hypocrisy and
social history to worry about wars)
World War II: yes
Koren War: yes
Vietnam War: probably yes
Gulf War I: yes
Kosovo: not really
Afghanistan War: yes
Gulf War II: barely (only because it's still going on;
check back in a few years)

various Indian wars: some yes, some no

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. I've got a short list.

Definitely:
Revolutionary War
War of 1812

This country wouldn't exist without the first, and would have had a very short life had we lost the second.

Could have been avoided, but became neccessary due to the stupidity of others:
Civil War
World War II

There should have NEVER been a war in this country over the so called "right" to own human beings. but once it was started, it was impossible to avoid.

WWII would have never happenned without WWI preceding it. And the US had absolutely no just cause in WWI. And I can't forget the role that Prescott Bush and his partners played in funding Hitler's rise to power. But once that war did start, we had no choice but to stop fascism bent on world domination. And we have no choice but to stop the fascists this time either. Even though they're pretending to be the "good guys"

Initially supported, but changed my mind.
Afghanistan War

The invasion of Afghanistan was sold as the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. For this reason it was widely supported, initially even by myself. However the failure to produce Bin Laden, the emergence of the facts about the Caspian Sea pipeline, the installation of a UNOCAL employee as pResident of Afghanistan, and the resurgence of the Bush Family's favorite cash crop has made the entire case for invasion look very doubtful at best.

[AP]

18. Support wars against fascist imperialism. Oppose fascist imperialst wars.

[Robeson]

19. Three....

Civil War, i.e., Union
WW II
Korean War, Grudgingly.

[mitchum]

20. WWII in Europe

[TheFarseer]

21. my take

Revolutionary, Mexican, WWII, Korea, Gulf War I, Afghanistan

Mexican might not have really been a just war, but think, we wouldn't have alot of our country and why the hell do they get all that just because Spain planted a flag in the 1500s? No one was really living there(except the indians which is a whole nother discussion) or I might change my mind.

[The Blue Knight]

22. Revolution, 1812, Civil, World War II, Gulf War I, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghan

[BringEmOn]

24. second thought....no point in responding

[jpgray]

26. Mexican was an unconscionable grab for new slave states

Lincoln's "Spot Resolutions" come from that period--where he defied Polk to point out a spot of US soil where the Mexicans had "attacked" the US. Because of course they hadn't. The war was also one of the reasons Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax--he also believed it was a covert grab for more slave territory.

[BringEmOn]

23. Support the Native Americans defending their homeland.

[cestpaspossible]

32. ooo excellent graphic

that belongs on a tshirt

[BringEmOn]

37. I found the picture on a t-shirt website

[AntiCoup2K4]

40. It IS on T-shirts!

Go to a pow-wow. You'll see them there.

[nickshepDEM]

25. kick

[Leftest]

27. My Position

- Revolutionary War: Absolutely
- War of 1812: Absolutely
- Mexican-American War: No
- Civil War: Yes
- Spanish-American War: No
- World War I: No
- World War II: Absolutely
- Koren War: NO!
- Vietnam War: NO!
- Gulf War I: No (Because I am aware of the manipulations that took place to provoke the situation and for what reasons).
- Afghanistan War: No (For the same reasons referring to above).
- Gulf War II: NO WAY

- All The C.I.A. Covert Wars: NO WAY!

[rndmprsn]

33. My list...

Revolutionary War:
War of 1812:
Civil War:
World War II:
Koren War:
Afghanistan War:

[Dave Sund]

34. Hmm...

Revolutionary War: Of course.
War of 1812: I don't know. On one hand, the case for war was pretty flimsy, and we were facing a far superior British force. On the other hand, without the War of 1812, would the British have ever left the United States?
Mexican-American War: I'd say no, because it's purpose was largely "Manifest Destiny."
Civil War: Without question. Slavery was abolished largely because of this war, and, beyond that, there was no way these two "nations" could peacefully coexist.
Spanish-American War: Absolutely not. It was started for imperialist purposes and on false pretenses. You compare McKinley to Bush and you'll find a lot of similarities.
World War I: I'd like to think that America's presence helped tip the scales in the Allies' favor. The worldwide depression likely would have happened with or without American involvement, and we never would have had the groundwork of the League of Nations.
World War II: Without question. I'd have supported it long before we were attacked. America stood on the sidelines while its allies were being invaded and attacked.
Korean War: I don't know for sure. Fortunately, they didn't try to push in to North Korea or China and escalate the conflict.
Vietnam War: Absolutely not.
Gulf War I: Probably. When you look at what we know now, stopping Saddam from taking Kuwait, setting up sanctions, and getting out of the country quickly, really hindered the threat Saddam posed to neighboring countries.
Afghanistan War: I think this one is a pretty clear-cut yes. I supported this war. I still do. The only problem is that it was a spectacular failure.
Gulf War II: No. No. A thousand times no. I never articulated my case very well, I just knew that preemptive war was absolutely wrong.

[leyton]

35. I'd support most of these, though of course a few were mistakes.

I'd have supported the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War (the Union), our roles in the two World Wars (necessary to halt German adventurism and fascism), perhaps the first Gulf War, and the Afghanistan War for sure.

I'm surprised by the lack of support here for the first world war. Am I forgetting something about it?

[liberalpragmatist]

44. Historians are actually split over the issue

It really wasn't an issue about totalitarianism. Many feel it was an internal European power struggle. And there's debate over were the Germans really any less "moral" in the conflict than the British and the French.

I do think Wilson's fourteen points were an excellent and progressive start, but the US was unable to get those terms enacted. The war lacked a lot of public support and occurred after Wilson had promised not to send the US to war.

It also laid the foundations for so many of the conflicts throughout the Twentieth Century. Basically every big conflict can be traced to WWI - WWII, the Cold War, The Conflicts in the Middle East and the conflicts between the West/U.S. and the Arab/Muslim world. The theory among some is that if America had stayed out, things would have worked better.

Personally, I'm not really sure what I think about it. I think it may have been necessary because as an outside force, we were genuinely in a position to help stop the fighting and act somewhat impartial. The European masses regarded Wilson as some kind of savior, expecting the 14 points. However, I think the conclusion of the war was botched (more by the Europeans than anyone else).

[leyton]

52. I see what you are saying.

I don't much care for Wilson's 14 points, but then again at eighty-odd years' distance I have the hindsight to know that they were way too idealistic. They were progressive, but I don't personally believe that that brand of foreign policy - expecting nations to cooperate - could have been effective until our current age, where most of the powerful nations of the world are economically interdependent and no longer competing for spheres of influence as much.

This doesn't really relate to the original topic of the thread, but Germany in my mind was probably in the most untenable position, morally speaking, since there is evidence that by 1912 Kaiser Wilhelm was itching to start a war to resolve the tensions in the Balkans and only waited two years because his army was not ready. If I recall correctly the other powers at the time were not so bent on confrontation.

As for Wilson's pledge to keep the US out of war - I am guessing that that was designed to win him reelection, even as he was gearing up to send US troops to Europe. Ironically, FDR got reelected in 1940 on a similar pledge which he had no intent of keeping. Though the dishonesty in both cases bothers me, I think that if I were either of their positions I might have done the same if I thought that allowing an isolationist to win the White House would prevent the United States from combatting German aggression.

[leftofthedial]

38. Revolutionary War

WWII

[Slyder]

39. Several wars were necessary

The Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Gulf War I were probably necessary. The War of 1812 was mostly about a supposedly easy conquest of Canada. The British needed us, particularly after the Napoleonic War, and would have left the Old Northwest. The Mexican War was about pure conquest, as was the Spanish-American War. Just because we could! WWI was necessary, as was WWII. Korea was too. We DID invade North Korea, but not China. And it ain't over yet!Containment basically worked. Vietnam was just plain stupid. Gulf War II is too! And the Indian wars were mostly about genocide. More just because we could!

[trof]

42. Sorry, if you think WW I was "necessary" read "The Guns of August".

In June, 90 years ago, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand decided to tour the military installations of the Austrian Empire. He was the brother of the Habsburg Emperor, Franz Josef, the last emperor of Austria, who reigned for nearly 70 years. Ferdinand had married a commoner, Sophie, with whom he was very much in love. The rest of the most powerful of European families considered this a morganatic marriage, and Sophie was snubbed, and frequently prohibited from attending official functions in Vienna and elsewhere.

But in Ferdinand's capacity as Commander in Chief of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, Sophie was assured that she would be shown the deepest respect when she took these tours with him. Ferdinand had decided to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzogovina, which Austria had annexed in 1908, much to the enraged frustration of Serbian nationalists. Ferdinand decided to visit on the anniversary of the 1389 defeat of the Serbs by the Turks in Kosovo, an act which further enraged the Serbs. The Serbs were waiting for him, and although his driver managed to escape two earlier attempts, when he turned into an unknown street, and decided to turn the car around, one of those Serbs, Gavrilo Princep, jumped onto the running board, and shot the Archduke and Sophie to death.

Thereafter, the Austrians put the screws to the Serbs. Historians have since learned that the German Imperial War Minister encouraged the Austrians to believe that the German Empire would back their play, as it was almost certain that war with Serbia would bring Russia in on the Serbian side. The Serbs agreed to every demand, no matter how humiliating, until the Austrians told them that suspects would be tried in Serbia by an Austrian court. The Serbs pleaded on this single point, and the international community, when it bothered to pay any attention, scolded the Austrians as well. But the Austrians pushed it far enough, and the Great War began.
http://www.able2know.com/forums/about31599.html

[liberalpragmatist]

46. Well, the issue isn't was WWI necessary

Of course it wasn't. The question is, once it began, was US involvement justified. That's a more difficult question. Personally, I don't know. There seem to be good arguments on both sides.

[borg5575]

51. It's funny.

That war was started by a Democratic president and opposed by the Republicans. My how times have changed.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

53. And Germany was still occupying the eastern part of France,

Alsace and a good part of Lorraine, which had been annexed by Bismark during the Franco-Prussian war. While most of the people of Alsace and Lorraine wanted to remain French, the Germans carried out a harsh policy of Germanization between the two wars, trying to wipe out the use of the French language, changing place names, and also importing settlers from the rest of Germany into the territory. Many thousands of French speakers were forced to relocate, many of whom went to Algeria. This led to a movement of "revanchism" (revenge) in some individuals in France before World War I. While this desire for the return of its terrority from Germany didn't start World War I, it made it a bit easier to get started.

[liberalpragmatist]

41. Revolutionary, WWII, Korean, Gulf War I, the Balkans, Afghanistan

I'm unsure about WWI. I lean towards necessary, but horribly botched, which wasn't entirely Wilson's fault.

I think various humanitarian interventions have been necessary, certainly the Balkans and Kosovo. I do think the Gulf War I was necessary to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

I guess in hindsight I support the Mexican-American War. It's wholly unjustifiable from today's perspective and many at the time (including Abe Lincoln) opposed it, saying it was immoral. I probably would have too. Still, in hindsight, the results were good for the US, though admittedly that can seem a bit heartless.

I'm surprised that so many support the War of 1812. There's this myth that the British were trying to retake America. That is ludicrous. The War of 1812 was basically unnecessary - its excuse was the British impressment of American sailors into service in the British Navy. By the time the war started, the British had stopped doing that. They were totally preoccupied with Napoleon, who, you know, was kind of involving them in a life-or-death struggle. The US wanted Napoleon defeated too so it didn't really make any sense to distract Britain with another war. The real reason therefore was because war hawks in Congress wanted to try to seize Canada. They were stunned with the Canadians didn't want to join the US. In the end, the US didn't gain any territory from England and all that was left was that Washington was torched. Although as an aside, Florida did get conquered in a bizarre sequence of events that were somewhat tangental.

[EndElectoral]

43. ditto..liberalpragmatist

[iwantmycountryback]

45. Most of them

Except:Gulf War II, Vietnam, Korean,and Spanish and Mexican American. And I'm not totally sure I would not have supported the Korean.

[Kitka]

48. Hard to say, but probably none of them.

[Bouncy Ball]

55. Revolutionary War

I'm not sure about Civil War, in other words, not sure how it could have been stopped. But if it was inevitable (and I think it was), yeah, I guess. This one's weird because it's against ourselves.

I'm not sure about WWI, and I'm sure I would have supported WWII.

None of the rest. For Gulf War I, we told Hussein just days before he invaded Kuwait (when he intimated that he would do that very thing) that what he did was none of our business. So, um, HELLO?

Afghanistan, they were to get OBL. Um, again, HELLO?

And the warlords and Taliban are back in business there, I've noticed. So much for THAT. And we kinda just stopped paying much attention to Afghanistan and dropped the ball on that helping them re-build thing, didn't we? That was sucky of us.

[Kosmos Mariner]

56. Just Wars?

I support American involvement in the following wars:

Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Civil War - North
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Gulf War I
Kosovo
Afghanistan War


:dem: