The Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss (reviewed by Ash Rao)

Did you know America has been at war for every year of its existence except for seventeen years? I didn’t! Many of those wars were waged against the indigenous folk as the country expanded westward. Out of curiosity I checked for a year when we were not at war after 1950 – the start of the Korean War. Couldn’t find one!

Author Michael Beschloss reviews the major wars (not counting the American Indian Wars or the Banana Wars) through to the Vietnam War. He starts with the war of 1812 when James Madison tried to annex Canada (unsuccessfully in part due to Jefferson, who had depleted much of the armed forces). That is followed by Polk’s war against Mexico that gained the United States much of the southwest. McKinley started the Spanish-American war that extended our reach to the Philippines. He follows with the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.

It was interesting to learn how each President used an incident to rally public sentiment. In some cases these were totally fabricated (some of us remember the Gulf of Tonkin), in others the incidents were orchestrated (such as Fort Sumter…I didn’t know that). It was also interesting to read how earlier Presidents conformed to the Constitution and asked Congress for a Declaration of War. Since Truman’s time Presidents have sometimes chosen not to (Truman never formally declared the US to be at war in Korea). This led our book group to a healthy discussion of the limits on the powers of the current President.

The book is long and the events surrounding the wars can be confusing as Beschloss details all of the many players and events that lead to the war and its aftermath. But, it reads well, and refreshes some of the history we learned and adds new insights. A worthwhile read!

—Ash Rao