How many wars has America been a part of?

Question

Or has started? Just curious.

And what are your thoughts about war?

Answer 1

Well, this is an interesting question, because "war" in the proper sense has to be declared by Congress. In that case, we have been in the following wars:

War of 1812

Mexican-American War

Civil War

Spanish-American War

World War I

World War II

Now, for the Revolutionary War, while techinically a war that the country was involved in, we didn't even have a Constitution to go by, let alone a Congress to declare a war.

Everything since World War II has been what is known as a "police action," those are:

Korean Conflict

Vietnam

Panama

Gulf War I

Bosnia

Afghanistan

Gulf War II

In terms of war, I really believe that conventional war has gone the way of the Dodo. What we are going to be dealing with are what political theorists call MOOTW. "Military Operations Other Than War." Things like Iraq and Afghanistan will be the norm for the foreseeable future.

I could go into a long winded spiel about how Iraq is just further proof that America is attempting to become the new Rome, and that these "wars" are just an attempt to police the world and force our dogmatic practices on others, but really, we need a new answer for the world. We need peace, we need co-operation, and we need understanding. To quote the Dead Kennedys:

"Rednecks and bombs don't make us strong

We loot the world, yet we can't even feed ourselves

Our real test of strength is caring

Not the toys of war we sell the world..."

Answer 2

The American Revolution was fought by people who considered themselves to be united under the thriteen colonies, but the nation did not exist yet.

Actual Declarations of War

War of 1812

Mexican-American War

Spanish-American War

WW1

WW2

No Declarations of War, but what else could you call it

Civil War

Vietnam War

Korean War

First Iraq War

Second Iraq War

The Cold War was a time period in which no actual figting occurred, only a couple of incidents.  However, the tension of war was there.

Instances in which the US has obviously been involved, but not considered a war for the US

Texas Revolution

Somalia

The Balkan Peninsula

Cuba (on multiple occassions)

Almost every (if not all) Latin American countries (on multiple occassions)

Grenada

And far many others

Answer 3

Well, AMERICA itself:

Revolutionary War, since we delcared independence, we were.

War of 1812

Mexican War

Civil War

WWI

WWII

Korean War

Vietnam War

(Cold War)

Gulf War

& whatever this ones called, Iraqi War?

(Those are the major ones, we've had small scale wars and battles along the way over boundaries and such)

They're necessary evils.

Answer 4

well i dont know the exact number of ones we've been in since there are many that were considered invasions (Grenada and such)

but

there is an old saying about America and war.

If America ever started a war on its own, the world would hate us. We are supposed to be the perfect nation who would never start a war.

funny how true that has become

Answer 5

Too many.

Some necessary.

Some questionable.

Some not.

Answer 6

allot dude

and cool

Answer 7

142, broken down this way:

5 that were formal declarations of war.

12 that were fought with formal approval by Congress.

125 that were fought on Presidential authority alone.  (eg, Korean war, Vietnam war).  This number also includes wars against Native-American

states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration...

Answer 8

A lot

The American Revolution

The War of 1812

The Mexican American War

The Civil War

The Spanish-American War

World War I

World War II

The Korean War

The Vietnam War

The Gulf War

The current war in Iraq

Answer 9

Major wars?

-revolutionary

-French and indian

War of 1812

Civil war

Spanish-american war

World war I

WWII

Korean

Vietnam

Persian gulf

Iraq/afghanistan/"war on terror"

for a complete list, see the wikipedia site cited below.

For some, its hard to tell who stared a war.

If you want peace, then prepare for war, but if you actually want peace and not an excuse to start a war, prepare for peace.

Answer 10

My opinion: war causes more problems that it solves. We should have outgrown war by now.

1675-1676 King Philip's War  New England Colonies vs. Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Nipmuck Indians

1689-1697  King William's War  The English Colonies vs. France

1702-1713  Queen Anne's War  The English Colonies vs. France

1744-1748  King George's War  The French Colonies vs. Great Britain

1756-1763  French and Indian War (Seven Years War)  The French Colonies vs. Great Britain

1759-1761  Cherokee War  English Colonists vs. Cherokee Indians

1775-1783  American Revolution  English Colonists vs. Great Britain

1798-1800  Franco-American Naval War  United States vs. France

1801-1805; 1815  Barbary Wars  United States vs. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli

1812-1815  War of 1812  United States vs. Great Britain

1813-1814  Creek War  United States vs. Creek Indians

1836 War of Texas Independence  Texas vs. Mexico

1846-1848  Mexican War  United States vs. Mexico

1861-1865  Civil War  Union vs. Confederacy

1898 Spanish-American War  United States vs. Spain

1914-1918  World War I  Triple Alliance vs. Triple Entente

1939-1945  World War II  Axis Powers vs. Allied Powers

1950-1953  Korean War  United States, UN,  and South Korea vs. North Korea and China

1960-1975  Vietnam War  United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion  United States vs. Cuba

1983 Grenada  United States Intervention

1989 US Invasion of Panama United States vs. Panama

1990-1991  Persian Gulf War United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq

1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina  United States & NATO

2001 Invasion of Afghanistan United States and Coalition Forces vs. the Taliban

2003 Invasion of Iraq United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq