The beginning of the United States military lies in civilian frontier settlers, armed for hunting and basic survival in the wilderness. These were organized into local militias for small military operations, mostly against See more

Following the American Revolutionary War, the United States faced potential military conflict on the high seas as well as on the western frontier. The United States was a minor military power … See more

With the rapid expansion of the farming population, Democrats looked to the west for new lands, an idea which became known as "Manifest Destiny." In the Texas Revolution (1835–1836), … See more

Indian Wars (1865–1891)
After the Civil War, population expansion, railroad construction, and the culling of the buffalo herds heightened military tensions on the Great Plains. Specifically, according to Colville scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker in her book See more

Ongoing political tensions between Great Britain and the thirteen colonies reached a crisis in 1774 when the British placed the province of Massachusetts See more

By far the largest military action in which the United States engaged during this era was the War of 1812. With Britain locked in a major war with Napoleonic France, its policy was to block … See more

Long-building tensions between the Northern and Southern States over slavery suddenly reached a climax after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln of the new anti-slavery See more