The American War of Independence is undoubtedly a war of liberation, and such a just war is rare in human history. It is a miracle that North America 13 countries, with a population of only 3 million at that time, actually defeated the powerful Britain. However, the good times did not last long, and the weakness of this new country was exposed in the second American-British war.
The war was caused by Britain's wanton destruction of American shipping, and thousands of American ships were captured. Challenging Britain at sea is throwing eggs at stones, so Americans decided to attack Canada from land in 18 12. If possible, occupy the Great Lakes. At first, due to the lack of training and national consciousness, the US military only knew how to defend its homeland, and the administrative command system was chaotic and the commander was incompetent. However, the scale of the war was not large, and it soon turned into a series of small-scale conflicts in which Britain harassed the American coast and the US military fought back. This war has enabled the United States to have a real army and understand the basic methods of winning the war in modern countries, such as conscription, training and organization. Finally, after the American army became stronger and stronger, the British got tired of it. 18 14, they signed a treaty, Britain recognized the complete independence of the United States, and the United States gave up its territorial claim to Canada. The end result was that Britain lifted the blockade on the American coast and the United States got a part of the Great Lakes. In this war, an American lawyer imprisoned by Britain wrote The Home of the Brave.
After the founding of the United States, it has not had the strength to compete with the great powers for a long time. From American independence to civil war, it was mainly to expand territory. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/9th century, the mainstream thought in the United States was that "our right to decide our own destiny should extend to the whole continent". This passage is the process of American white immigrants conquering the present American territory. As early as during his tenure in Washington, the US government passed the law that Indians had no human rights, and the main task of the US military was to commit genocide against Indians. This is the last successful example of obtaining living space through ethnic cleansing in human history. After that, the United States began to participate in formal wars to get the richest region in North America they wanted. The price paid by Americans is more than 5,000 casualties.
1。 American-Mexican War
In the 1930s of 19, American immigrants arrived in the west and clashed with the Mexican government. By 1835, Texaco's American immigrant uprising (I used to use this word instead of riots) declared independence. The United States annexed this country in 1845. Of course, the uprising American immigrants are very willing to do so. The following year, the US-Mexico War broke out. It should be noted that Americans belong to a militant nation, brave and tenacious, and are good at using new weapons and tactics. For example, this war is the first time that human beings have widely used steam warships for large-scale amphibious landing. At that time, the US military had the most advanced weapons, and the West Point Military Academy trained a number of outstanding officers, including Grant and Rottweiler Lee, who later became rivals. Mexico is still a country dominated by Indians, white people who are pampered are afraid of death, the quality of the army is poor, and the people have no national consciousness. Finally, after the United States conquered Mexico City, the two sides signed a peace treaty. The United States bought California, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona at a cost of less than 10 per square kilometer, expanding the territory of10.9 million square kilometers. In Grant's words, "this war is one of the most unjust wars waged by a powerful country against a weak country". The number of deaths in the United States exceeds 12000, but due to the low level of medical care, especially battlefield rescue, most of them died of injuries. As far as the ratio of benefits to costs is concerned, this war is really cost-effective.
2。 American civil war
After seizing a large area of land in the south, I didn't expect the internal contradictions in the United States to break out. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, the United States completed the industrial revolution, and its gross national product ranked fourth in the world (China ranked first at that time). Due to the well-known contradiction between industrialization and plantation economy, seven southern States declared independence and civil war broke out. The first congress was very interesting. There are a large number of civilians in the north as spectators, but the casualties of more than 5,000 people on both sides quickly made people realize the cruelty of the war. This war is a bit like Germany versus the Soviet Union in World War II. The south has a small population and underdeveloped industry, but the army is of high quality and fully accumulated before the war; There are many people in the north, but the combat readiness is insufficient, and the level of early commanders is not high After the initial failure, the North adjusted its strategy and promulgated bills such as the emancipation of slaves. After entering a protracted war, the advantages of the North came into play, and after three wars, chauncey, Lovel, Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the North established its winning position. 1965, due to the irreversible war situation, the northern army scorched the earth in the south, and Radish Terry decided to surrender. This war is the first modern all-out war of mankind. The two sides drafted 4 million troops, with 620,000 dead and 6,543.8+0,000 injured. All industrial and agricultural goals have become targets of war. New equipment such as wireless telegraph, armored train, carbine, flowering bomb, photo reconnaissance, high-altitude balloon, armored ship, mine, submarine, mine-sweeping device and so on appeared, and a modern logistics system was also established. This war to establish the American national system and safeguard the unity of sovereign territory has paid a high price.
3。 Spanish-American War
After the American Civil War, the national strength continued to develop and soon entered the stage of monopoly capitalism (according to Marx's theory, it became an imperialist country), and the development of the United States generally ended. The United States, like other countries at that time, also hoped to obtain markets, stable investment places and raw material producing areas, that is, colonies. Because the earth has been carved up, the strength of the United States is not enough to challenge Britain and France, and the declining Spain has become the target of public criticism. At that time, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and other islands were still Spanish colonies. Taking advantage of the uprisings in Cuba and the Philippines, the United States decided to seize the Spanish colony. At that time, the strength of the American fleet was second only to Britain and France. The extensive use of telegraph and telephone and the contribution of a group of outstanding American arms designers make the United States occupy an absolute advantage in equipment. 1898, when the Philippine rebels basically controlled the whole country, Americans began to fight against western aid to the Philippines. After destroying Spain's weak fleet, the Americans got in touch with the leaders of the Philippine uprising and agreed to help Filipinos become independent. At the same time, the Americans also reached an agreement with the Spanish, and Spain surrendered to the US military and let the US military occupy Manila. Similarly, the Americans occupied Santiago after destroying the Spanish fleet. At this time, the Cuban rebels have also controlled most of the territory (Cubans have been fighting for 30 years). In February 65438+, the United States and Spain signed a peace treaty, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the United States, and Cuba became a protectorate of the United States according to platt amendment. Spain received $20 million in compensation. It seems that after winning a war that it considers unjust, the United States must give each other some money in exchange for territory to show justice. From 1899 to 190 1, the second Philippine War of Independence broke out and was suppressed, and the Philippines was completely colonized by the United States. In the Spanish-American War, more than 4,000 people died in the United States, mostly from tropical diseases. In suppressing the Philippine uprising, more than 4,000 Americans died and 200,000 civilians were massacred in the Philippines.
4。 World War I
After the war broke out, the United States declared its independence, but at the same time provided arms and strategic materials to both sides. This period is very important for the United States. President Wilson used "new freedom" as a call for reform, reducing tariffs, establishing a federal reserve bank system, and collecting progressive income tax through Clayton antitrust law. And further strengthened its influence on the western hemisphere. At the same time, due to the severance of immigrants, a large number of black Americans flowed into the north, which accelerated social integration. When Europe was turned upside down, the United States actively expanded production and made a fortune in the war. After the war, the United States changed from a debtor country of $6 billion to a creditor country of more than $654.38 billion, and its gross national product ranked first in the world. 19 17 the United States declared war on its allies, and the timing was just right. As a victorious country, it can participate in the distribution of stolen goods after the war, and the loss will not be too great. Despite this, there are still 1 10000 people killed in the United States. Other major belligerents exceed one million.
As for the failure to ratify the League of Nations Treaty, I personally think that although the United States is already the richest man in the world, its own strength is not strong enough. It is afraid that the League of Nations will become an organization dominated by Britain and France, which will harm the interests of the United States. At this point, the president of the United States and Congress clashed. In the final analysis, the principle of the United States is to defend the homeland and overseas territories from foreign aggression. Prevent Europe from interfering in global affairs; Safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. The first two articles clearly show that the United States is worried about the European powers, and the latter one is undoubtedly of great benefit to China, but it is a pity that other countries do not buy the account of the United States. These three articles have profound reasons.
First of all, after excellent analysis and research, the decision makers of the Lu Haijun Joint Commission believe that World War I laid the foundation for the second larger global conflict. They also predicted that the involvement of the United States in World War II was inevitable unless the United States completely gave up the opportunity to expand trade, use global resources and exert its influence in the world. And giving up these will only make America decline. Great powers have not been completely defeated, at least Russia, Britain, France and Italy still have the ability to threaten. Therefore, the United States needs to maintain its independent power to wage war and a strong armed force.
At the same time, there is the growing international ambition and strategic strength of the Japanese Empire, which joined the Allies in 19 15, expanding its military strength not only to the Asian continent, but also to the central Pacific Ocean. During the First World War, Japan has risen to be the overlord in the Pacific region, and its power has extended eastward to the international international date line. It occupied German territory in the Pacific Ocean, putting itself in a very favorable position, and it can travel to and from the Asian continent at will without any obstacles from the United States and Europe. Japan has established bases in the Central Pacific and South Pacific except the United States, which makes it difficult for the US Navy to rush to the strategic bases of the US military, and it is also difficult to prevent Japan from invading China again or attacking dutch east indies, French Indian zhina and British Malaya, where rich colonial rule is very weak.
In view of this situation, the Admiral Committee believes that Japan does not pose a real threat to the United States and the Western Hemisphere, but it is in a very favorable position, which can close the "open door to China" and cut off the connection between the United States and the other side of the Pacific Ocean, which will deal a fatal blow to the British and French colonial systems in Asia and play a vital role in the economic recovery of Britain and France. At the same time, the Soviet Union is likely to be involved in the European war. In this way, only America can stop Japan. Therefore, Japan and the United States should not take it lightly. I don't need to say anything. These conclusions are drawn by a group of geniuses.
Secondly, the United States is committed to pursuing its foreign trade policy, trying to "peacefully" get its hands on the markets and development of other countries' colonies and recover war loans from European countries. Therefore, it is even more difficult for the United States to seek to maintain the balance of power in Europe with Britain and France.
1920, the United States passed the national defense law and established the modern American military system, which has not changed since then.