Chapter 10. The Military, War, and Terrorism

 Chapter 10. The Military, War, and Terrorism

Source: U.S. Navy/Flickr (Iran war could cost US taxpayer $1 trillion, says Harvard academic)

The United States is among dozens of sovereign states that were directly shaped or created by war.  Since 1775, the United States has been involved in over 200 military conflicts, five of which were officially declared wars, and many more were military interventions that shaped our history and defined us globally.  Even before we became a nation, and for 300 years total, we were involved in hundreds of wars with the Indigenous tribes. 

From 1775 to 2026, the United States has been at war for approximately 93% of its existence.  This means that for 229 of the 249 years we have existed, we have been involved in military engagements.  This translates to just 20 years of peace, and military conflicts happening approximately every 20 years.  Only one period, from 1891 to 1897, can we identify the longest time of peace, and that was just 7 years. This translates to over $32 trillion in war expenses.  Finally, since WWII, we have not witnessed a single year without some form of active military engagement in some part of the world.  The justifications for these wars are many, ranging from the Cold War to the War on Terror to our concerns with China and Russia.   (WarCosts.org, 2026) With the writing of this chapter, we are already in another conflict, this time with Iran.  Its costs are estimated to exceed $1 trillion. (Wilkins, 2026) But these are just the fiscal costs of the various wars; the personal costs are much higher.

It is estimated that the U.S. military fatalities exceeded 1.1 million.  The deadliest wars were the Civil War (365,511), followed by World WAR II (405,399), the Korean War (36,574), and the Vietnam War (58,220). (See Table 1, below)

 

Table 1: The Cost of U.S. Wars

War                                                    Years            Original Cost       2025 Dollars      US Deaths

Revolutionary War                     1775-1783          101.00M                3.30T                     4,435

War of 1812                                   1812-1815          105.00M                 2.90T                    2,260

Mexican American War          1846-1848        100.00M                  3.50T                  13,283

Civil War                                       1861-1865              6.20B              155.00B               620,000

Spanish-American War          1898-1898        400.00M                14.00B                    2,446

World War I                                 1914-1918             32.00B             800.00B                116,516

World War II                               1939-1945          296.00B                   5.92T               405,399

Korean War                                 1950-1953             54.00B             675.00B                  36,574

Vietnam War                               1955-1975           168.00B                  1.60T                  58,220

Gulf War (Desert Storm)        1990-1991           102.00B            224.00B                        383

Afghanistan War                       2001-2021                2.31T                   2.50T                     2,461

Iraq War                                       2003-2011          815.00B                   1.10T                      4,431

TOTAL                                            1775-2021                                           22.69T              1,266,408

Beyond the direct cost of military conflict, there are also long-term veteran care and disability benefits, interests on war-related debt, and national and international disruption of economic systems and families.   Between 2001 and 2050, the cost of providing health care post-Iraq War is estimated at between $2.2T and $2.5T. (Blimes 2021)  These costs are in addition to the $2.03T budgeted for military spending in 2025.  (USASPENDING.Gov, 2026) The real story about our military, wars, and fight against terrorism is not told in sheer numbers, but in the actual lives and sacrifices of those who served. 

Who served, their sacrifices, and their contributions to enduring freedom

On the back pages of the New York Times, dated Aug. 19, 1900, one can find the following story by Ex-Senator W.A. Peffer:

Our Indian wars have been expensive as well as bloody. It is estimated by the War Department that, excluding the time covered by our wars with Great Britain (1812-14) and with Mexico, (1846-8,) and with the Confederate States, (1861-5,) three-fourths of the total expense of the army is chargeable, directly or indirectly, to the Indians; the aggregate thus chargeable is put at $807,073,658, and this does not include cost of fortifications, posts, and stations; nor does it include amounts reimbursed to the several States ($10,000,000) for their expenses in wars with the Indians. The Indian war pension account in 1897 stood at $28,201,632. (Peffer, 1990)

 

If we convert these to 2026 U.S. dollars, this translates to $27,194,511,615.22 direct and indirect costs of war.  Again, these numbers do not account for the decline in the Native American population from 5-15 million in 1402 to about 237,000 by 1900, or a reduction of between 95-98%.  (Smith, 2017) But the majority of these deaths were more than likely attributable to Epidemics such as smallpox, typhoid, influenza, diphtheria, and measles, attributable to contact with Europeans.  (Science Insights, 2026)

 

Deganawidah -the Original Peacemaker - Hidden Story

Source: Science History Images 2020

So often, as one looks at movies featuring Native Americans, they leave with the conclusion that they were savages, always at war.  It’s strange that few, if any, movies or stories present an alternative narrative -that the Native Americans were often peaceful, fully devoted to religious rituals, family relationships, and social and political stability.  For example, the Europeans who arrived on the North Atlantic coast were welcomed by the Iroquois (the League of Peace).  These people had long worked to replace violence with nonviolence.  One of their tribal chiefs advocating this was Deganawidah (The Master of Things), a Huron by birth and a Mohawk by adoption. (Juhnke, 2001) Deganawidah, a prophet and teacher, preached :

Righteousness means justice practiced between men and between nations; it means also a desire to see justice prevail.

Health means soundness of mind and body; it also means peace, for that is what comes when minds are sane and bodies cared for.

Power means authority, the authority of law and custom, backed by such force as is necessary to make justice prevail; it means also religion, for justice enforced is the will of the Holder of the Heavens and has his sanction. (Gibson, 1992)

 

As John Adams reviewed different types of governments and ideas, he noted European philosophers such as John Locke and Montesquieu, the Iroquois Confederation, and other tribal governments.  Hence, our political concepts, such as states' rights and the separation of federal powers, are directly cited by the constitutional framers. (Little, 2020)