After the conclusion of the American Civil War (1861-1865), the United States forces returned to front line duties such as engaging in brutal combat with Native American tribes and controlling domestic disorders. The next significant war took place in 1898 when the federal government endorsed military aid for the Cuban revolutions being waged against the Spanish Empire. It was during what would later be known as the Spanish-American War that the weaknesses of the United States Army and Navy became evident. Apparently, rather than building a strong force after their Civil War, the US units either demobilized or only took part in small combats which did not help them “professionalize” (Allison, Grey, and Valentine, 2016, p.192). Accordingly, while dealing with the Reconstruction efforts and the Native Americans, the Union failed to use her technological and other military advances from the Civil War; for that reason, the Spanish-American War highlighted the weaknesses of the faction.
After the American Civil War, the Union viewed there was no need for a large defense force so they demobilized its military wing; significantly reducing the size and prowess of the United States Army and Navy. The demobilization process began with the Army as the Union boasted only “11,043 of the 1,034,064 volunteers” who had taken part in the Civil War by 1866 (Millett and Maslowski, 2012, p.248). As noted before, the country also abandoned its naval innovations they had adopted during the Civil War. According to Allison, Grey, and Valentine (2016), the United States Navy “unceremoniously pushed aside” the technology they had built and advanced during the conflict (p.203). Naturally, the federal government was keen to reduce the amount of space and fuel that the modern vessels demanded and without a threat, the maintenance of steam ships was extravagant. Hence, as a Congressional order, the United States cut its military size, and the factions lacked the necessary number of men to make it a formidable force as a result.
Meanwhile, the remaining forces focused more on domestic issues than they did on international ones. In other words, since “an invasion was unlikely”, the country’s policymakers turned their attention towards strengthening the American communities (Millett and Maslowski, 2012, p.249). At the forefront of Congress’s goals were the Reconstruction efforts which sought to rebuild the Union and assimilate ex-slaves in the free society (Boyer, Clark, Hawley, Kett, and Rieser, 2009, p. 353). For example, there was the Reconstruction Act of 187 where, as per the statute, ten of the states that had been part of the Confederacy during the Civil War went on to form “five military districts” (Boyer et al., 2009, p. 358). The remaining ex-Confederate region, Tennessee, escaped the Reconstruction law because it had willingly ratified the Fourteenth Amendment that guaranteed citizenship rights to African Americans (Boyer et al., 2009, p. 358). Thus part of the military duties during Reconstruction entailed overseeing court cases to settle disputes and protect African Americans from the wrath of the bitter Southern Caucasians.
The Philippine-American War which lasted from 1899-1902 was yet another example of how America preferred to utilize military aggression to settle political and religious disagreements. Upon the whole, the procedure and consequences of the Philippine-American War are fully listed in an article written by B.R. Churchill titled “The Philippine-American War (1899-1902)” as Churchill notes the social changes in Filipino society and the consequences of war and the opposition movements. While the author gives a detailed account of the Filipinos’ struggles, however, he does not mention the Americans point of view thus inviting the idea of America being a tyrannical nation who forces its will upon others and while that may be true in how they dealt with Native Americans, it is not necessarily the case in this particular situation.
Nevertheless with the given facts in mind, it is impossible to overlook the over-confidence with which the federal government handled its aggressive defenses after the American Civil War. First, rather than strengthening the Navy and Army, Congress saw no need in having a significant military force and discontinued the training and technology which helped the Union claim its victory over the Confederacy (Millett and Maslowski, 2012, p.243). Second, Congress turned the United States forces into local enforcers of law and order; such a move caused more deterioration for the Army and Navy by reducing their duties to domestic matters. Finally, the fight with the Native American tribes did little to advance the abilities of the United States military. In fact, most improvements including the aforementioned railroad gave them an advantage within the borders of the Union but also left them weak in the face of a stronger foe; the Spanish American War provided evidence to this given claim. According to Allison, Grey, and Valentine (2016), the war with Spain exposed the “weaknesses in mobilization and preparedness in the Army” (p.204) as they had to fight in two major theaters: the Pacific and Cuba.
References
Allison, W. T., Grey, J., & Valentine, J. G. (2016). American Military History. Routledge: New York.
Boyer, P. S., Clark, C. E., Hawley, S., Kett, J. F., & Rieser, A. (2009). The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Volume 2: From 1865. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Churchill, B. R. (2015). The Philippine-American War (1899-1902). Retrieved from http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-heritagesch/historical-research/the-philippine-american-war-1899-1902/
Millett, A. R., & Maslowski, P. (2012). For the Common Defense. New York: Simon and Schuster.
