How America Goes to War

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military & Politics
• Political Science » American Politics/Government
• Political Science » Presidential Studies

Reviews:

• In the post-September 11 world, in which the war on terror likely will continue for decades, Frank E. Vandiver's succinct analysis of how the United States decides to go to war is timely and thought-provoking....[t]his text will be of most interest to general readers in American foreign policy. Nevertheless, scholars also will benefit from considering the fundamental questions that this crisply written study poses about American decisions to go to war.
  —Political Science Quarterly .
• Vandiver explores the complex issues that surround America's involvement in declared and undeclared wars, noting that the trend is for Congress to abandon its powers of declaring war while presidents assume more power as Commanders-in-Chief. He describes how this tendency began as far back as the Whiskey Rebellion, with some notable exceptions, and continued through the War of 1812 (Mr. Madison's War), the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and even into the two world wars and Korea. He feels the trend expanded in Vietnam and the various military events of the cold war, and fears the various conflicts in the Middle East, the relative preparedness of the US, and the continuing expansion of executive power to be an explosive combination.
  —Reference & Research Book News November 2005
• In a little more than 150 pages, Vandiver traces the history of US wars since the nation's founding. Author of numerous well-regarded works ranging from biographies of John J. Pershing and Stonewall Jackson to several studies of the Civil War and the Vietnam War (Shadows of Vietnam, CH, Oct'97, 35-1118), Vandiver was one of the nation's most prominent military historians. In this, his last book, he provides a sprightly account of how the US--ostensibly, a peaceful nation--has repeatedly gotten itself into numerous wars, both big and little. Vandiver believes that over the years, Congress has steadily given away its constitutional war-making powers to the executive branch, which Vandiver considers a great mistake for a democratic nation. The tension between the legislative and executive branches over how far the military arm should extend has repeated itself on numerous occasions since the days of James K. Polk and the Mexican War. Vandiver's slim volume makes no pretense at superseding Russell Weigley's magisterial The American Way of War (1973), but he is blunt with his concerns about the current president and US involvement in Iraq, and the Orwellian scrutiny that Americans now receive from their government. Recommended. All levels/libraries.
  —Choice 4/1/2006

Table of Contents:

• Preface
  The Whiskey Rebellion
  Mr. Madison's War
  The War With Mexico
  The Civil War
  The Spanish-American War
  The Great War
  The Second World War
  Korea
  Vietnam
  The Cold War
  New War, Old Cost
  The Fifth Horseman
  Afterword
  Further Reading