American History - Teh Horror

[MrFun]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
You tell me one time that America has been an aggressor. Kept land that we held. This is just offered to the general poster, not to anyone specific.

Oh my god -- how can you seriously claim that United States has never been an aggressor in its entire history?

Mexican War

The numerous wars against various Amerindian tribes/nations throughout nineteenth century

The imperial expansion of United States across the Pacific in late nineteenth and first half twentieth centuries

Not territorial with this example, but military and intelligence intervention in countries where we sought to impose anti-communist dictatorships on Latin Americans


I cannot believe that you were serious with your remark.

[Arrian]

You tell me one time that America has been an aggressor. Kept land that we held. This is just offered to the general poster, not to anyone specific.

There are several examples of each.

Aggression: Various attacks on the Native Americans, the Mexican-American War, numerous interventions in Central America, Vietnam, arguably Iraq II (no, I don't want to argue that again).

Taking & keeping land: large parts of the lower 48, including lands taken from the NAs and lands conquered from Mexico. Puerto Rico, the Phillipines and Guam (Spanish American War).

Hawaii was something acquired by result of a settler rebellion/coup against the Hawaiian Queen. Which is sort of how we ended up with Texas, come to think of it...

Look, we're a major world power, Sloww. How do you think we got that way? By sending everyone flowers?

We've had our just wars and our unjust wars, like any other major power.

Hey, don't you call the Civil War the "War of Northern Agression?" The "North" was, of course, the United States of America. And it kept the land. Just sayin'

-Arrian

[snoopy369]

Technically in the Mexican-American war, we paid for the land we took...

[Arrian]

Wiki:

In return, Mexico received US $15,000,000, — less than half the amount the U.S. had attempted to offer Mexico for the land before the opening of hostilities[11] — and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25 million in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens.

Heh.

-Arrian

[snoopy369]

That's $18.25m more than anyone else would have paid for it...

I am altering the deal! Pray I do not alter it any further.

[Arrian]

Perhaps true. Shall I quote General/President Grant about that war?

Or shall we drop this?

-Arrian

[snoopy369]

I am not by any means arguing we don't aggressively war on people (though just/unjust is not necessarily the same thing). Just making a point

[MrFun]

It's not a very sharp point though - more like a dull one.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Technically in the Mexican-American war, we paid for the land we took...

[molly bloom]

There have been numerous times (too many, really) when Yousa has been the aggressor to small nations which had things it wanted- Guatemala, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Chile, Angola, Zaire...


...I feel a list coming on.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Arrian

Aggression: Various attacks on the Native Americans, the Mexican-American War, numerous interventions in Central America, Vietnam, arguably Iraq II (no, I don't want to argue that again).

-Arrian

vs. the Injuns: Sure, lots of time.
Mex-American War: Nope. At the end of the Texan rebellion, Santa Ana signed a treaty giving Texas the land to the Rio Grande. However, the Mexican Legislature refused to ratify it because they wanted a different river. So there never was a real agreement on the Texas-Mexico border. After Texas as absorbed into the U.S., Mexican solders killed American soldiers in the disputed area.
Central America lots
Vietnam not really. With U.S. support, the South withdrew from the country upon indepence. Things were peaceful for awhile. Then a domestic insurgency appeared in the South, that was quickly supported by the North.
Iraq II definitely

But you forgot:
American invasion of Canada in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Andrew Jackson's Invasion of Florida
Overthrow of the Govt in Iran, replacing it with the Shah.