The Causes of Four Major Wars

For thousands of years we have used war, or what could be called "justified murder," for our own advantage. Some of the more common reasons for major wars that have been fought throughout the world are the attainment of material wealth, the gaining of territory or land, religion, racism, the security of acquiring resources such as oil and gold, greed, pride and revenge.

The American Revolution was caused by the strong desire of the American people to gain independence. It took place during the last half of the 18th century, when the 13 colonies fought to gain independence from the British Empire. Between 1775 and 1783 the uprising resulted in a total of 50,000 deaths, 8,000 of those in actual combat. State, foreign and domestic debts were combined by Congress in 1790 and totaled more than $80 million. The American Revolution was not a war of rebellion against the British but instead a war that created a government that had a profound influence on world affairs. The Revolutionary War eventually resulted in the establishment of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The primary cause of the Vietnam War was to stop the spread of Communism following the French invasion not long after World War II. Again the purpose here was to gain independence. When America involved itself in the war it changed the history of American politics, foreign affairs and the American culture. Soldiers who returned from the Vietnam War were not greeted with warm welcomes and many suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Although the American government's involvement in stopping Communism around the world was a positive one, this involvement may also have been an impulsive one. It has been said that the United States became involved in the war out of fear that one day Communism would spread throughout America. In 1961 alone the United States spent more than $270 million for military support. It is interesting to note that over 90 percent of Vietnam veterans said that they would serve in the war again, even knowing what the outcome would be.

World War I was also called the "Great War" or the "War to End All Wars." The war began when Germans decided they wanted more power over land and declared war in Russia. Britain entered as an ally to aid Russia and America entered when Lusitania, a luxury British ocean liner, was sunk. A total of sixty sovereign states were involved, four empires were overthrown, and seven new nations were created. In all there were approximately forty million casualties. The "War to End All Wars" not only created more hostility around the world but also ultimately led to exactly what it was attempting to avoid, another war.

World War II again was brought about by the invasion of the Germans. Germany invaded Poland in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, which caused many restrictions on Germany as a result of World War I. There are many theories on why Hitler killed the Jewish people. Some say that he took their liberties because he saw the Jewish race as a subhuman race. After all that took place in World War II and the Holocaust nearly 9 million Jews, approximately 67 percent of the Jewish population, were killed.