The United States and

International Conflicts
Who has the power to declare war?

a. The President
b. Congress
c. The Supreme Court
d. The Secretary of Defense

US Constitution
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11
Congress shall have the power to
declare war
Congress has officially
declared war five times:
The War of 1812
The Mexican-American War
The Spanish-American War
World War I
World War II
 President is Commander-in-Chief

Has authority to use the U.S. military

for police actions

The Civil War

The Korean War
The Vietnam War
Gulf War I
Gulf War II
 World War I AKA The Great
War
When: 1914-1918
Who: Allies (including USA) v. Central Powers (including
Germany)
Why: US was neutral for a while. But then
German submarines sunk 7 US merchant ships
Intercepted telegram: Germany asking Mexico to join
the war and fight against the US
Winner: Allies
Method Used: Declared war

HOWEVER:
German feeling of humiliation contributing to the rise of
fascism and the conditions for World War II.
Allied Nations- green
Central Powers- yellow
Neutral- gray
2.8 million men
were drafted
during
World War I.

Is registering for
selective service
(the draft) a
responsibility or
duty of citizens?
 World War II
When: 1937-1945
Who: Allies (including USA) v. Axis Powers
(including Germany, Italy, and Japan)
Why:
- On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes bombed
U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
- U.S. declared war on Japan.
- US was fighting to make the world safe for
democracy.
Winner: Allies
Method Used: Declared war
According to
this headline,
what part
does Congress
have in
foreign policy?

President is
Commander
in Chief, but
Congress
declares war.
What form of
govt was
Germany at
this time?

a. Monarchy
b. Oligarchy
c. Autocracy
d. Democracy
 Korean War
When: 1950-1953
Who: North Korea v. South Korea (with help from
USA and others)
Why: - US was trying to defend South Korea and
rid North Korea of communism.
- Stop the spread of COMMUNISM.
Winner: Little resolution. The countries are still
divided today.2-mile buffer zone placed in
between north and south to try to prevent
future wars. Divided at 38th parallel.
Method Used: President sent troops into war-
like situation (Military invasion), alliances with
other nations
 Cold War
When: After World War II- 1980s
Who: Democratic Western Bloc (the United
States with NATO and others)
v. Communist Eastern Bloc (the Soviet
Union and its allies in Warsaw Pact)
Why: - Called Cold because US and Soviet
Union did not have armed combat. Both sides
built up nuclear weapons.
- Stop the spread of COMMUNISM.
Winner: No winner. Both sides eventually
agreed to reduce nuclear weapons.
Method Used: Alliances with other nations,
created NATO
What is this
cartoon
depicting? How
do you know?
 Vietnam War
When: 1954-1975
Who: Communist North Vietnam supported by
China and the Soviet Union v. non-Communist
South Vietnam supported by the U.S.
Why: -The U.S. wanted to prevent a Communist
takeover of South Vietnam.
- Stop the spread of COMMUNISM
The winner: Not considered a successful war. U.S.
withdrew support and eventually backed out of
war in Vietnam
Method Used: President sent troops into war-like
situation (Military invasion), alliances with other
nations
What rights of
students were talked
about in Tinker v.
Des Moines?
 Bay of Pigs
When: 1961
Who: The USA secretly sponsored an
invasion of Cuba
Why: - CIA trained and funded Cuban exiles
- Sent trained Cuban exiles to Cuba to try too
overthrow Fidel Castros government.
- Trying to prevent the spread of communism
to the Americas.
Winner: The effort failed. Most of the
invaders were captured and imprisoned.
Method Used: Military Invasion
After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuba,
led by Fidel Castro, strongly allied itself
with the Soviet Union.

What system of government did Cuba and

the Soviet Union have in common?
 Cuban Missile Crisis
When: 1962
Who: Democratic U.S. against Communist
Soviet Union and Cuba
Why: Soviet Union tried to place nuclear
missiles in Cuba. This was a threat to USA.
13-day political and military standoff.
Winner: US and UN reached an agreement with
Soviet Union. Soviets remove weapons from
Cuba. US agreed to never to invade Cuba.
Method Used: Threated military action
Why was Cuba
a strategic
location to
place Russian
missiles?
So far.

World War I (democracy v autocracy)

World War II (democracy v. autocracy)
Korean War (democracy v. communism)
Cold War (democracy v. communism)
Vietnam War (democracy v. communism)
Bay of Pigs (democracy v. communism)
Cuban Missile Crisis (democracy v.
communism)

Are you noticing a pattern??

 Iran Hostage Crisis
When: 1979-1981
Who: Iran government held American
citizens hostage
Why: 444-days long. New government
of Iran after the Iranian Revolution
held hostage 66 diplomats and U.S.
citizens
Winner: US held negotiations with Iran.
Eventually, hostages were released
Method Used: Diplomacy
Which foreign
policy tool was
being used?

a.Military
action
b.Diplomacy
c.Humanitarian
aid
d.Peacekeepin
g operations
 Gulf War I
When: 1991
Who: Iraq against US and other nations
Why: Iraq invaded Kuwait. UN made economic
sanctions against Iraq. US and other nations
from UN sent troops to defend Kuwait.
Winner: Both sides signed ceasefire. Iraq withdrew
from Kuwait. Saddam Hussein remained in power
in Iraq.
Method Used: President sent troops into war-like
situation (Military invasion), alliances with other
nations
 Terrorism 9/11
When: September 11, 2001
Who/What: Terrorists hijacked (took by force)
four airplanes in the U.S. and flew them into
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Why: - Over 3,000 Americans lost their lives as
a result of this attack.
- The U.S. military and its NATO allies
responded by invading the country with the
help of the Northern Alliance.
Winner: Together, they took the Taliban out of
power in Afghanistan (The Northern Alliance is
an Afghan group that fought against the
Taliban.)
 What is a disadvantage of an autocracy/
dictatorship form of government?
How could it be bad for its citizens?
 Gulf War II
When: 2003
Who: Iraq against US and other nations
Why: The U.S. and other countries attacked
Iraq looking for WMDs, trying to prevent
Iraqi governmenthuman rightsabuses, and
to try to spreaddemocracyto the country.
Winner: No WMDs were found. Saddam
Hussein was captured in 2003. Histrialtook
place under thenew Iraqi interim
government. He was convicted and then
executed in 2006.
Method Used: Military Invasion
 Common Theme?
Most of our OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL WARS

Dictators/
have been fought against

Autocracy Communism

World War I
Korean War
World War II
Cold War
Iran Hostage Crisis
Vietnam War
Gulf War I
Bay of Pigs
Gulf War II
Cuban Missile Crisis
.or a combination of
both.
Wars ranked by total number of U.S.
military deaths
# of Military % of
Deaths population
Civil War 625,000 1.9 %
750,000
WWII 405,399 0.3 %
WWI 116,516 0.1 %
Vietnam War 58,209 0.03 %
Korean War 54,246 0.02 %
Revolutionary 25,000 0.8 %
War