Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- Part One Basic Questions
- Part Two Nationalism, Leadership, and War
- Part Three Mobilization and Warfare
- Part Four The Home Front
- Part Five The Reality of War
- Part Six The Legacy
- 28 The Influence of the German Wars of Unification on the United States
- 29 From Civil War to World Power: Perceptions and Realities, 1865-1914
- 30 The Myth of Gambetta and the “People's War” in Germany and France, 1871-1914
- 31 War Memorials: A Legacy of Total War?
- Part Seven Conclusions
- Index
29 - From Civil War to World Power: Perceptions and Realities, 1865-1914
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2013
- Frontmatter
- 1 Introduction
- Part One Basic Questions
- Part Two Nationalism, Leadership, and War
- Part Three Mobilization and Warfare
- Part Four The Home Front
- Part Five The Reality of War
- Part Six The Legacy
- 28 The Influence of the German Wars of Unification on the United States
- 29 From Civil War to World Power: Perceptions and Realities, 1865-1914
- 30 The Myth of Gambetta and the “People's War” in Germany and France, 1871-1914
- 31 War Memorials: A Legacy of Total War?
- Part Seven Conclusions
- Index
Summary
Between 1865 and 1914, the United States rose to recognition as one of the world's great powers. This would seem, at first glance, to be a legacy of the Civil War, one that Americans perceived and appreciated at the time. But was it really a result of that war, and did contemporary Americans perceive it as such? A review of the evidence will suggest a negative answer to both questions. The truth seems to be that people had to live down the Civil War before the country could become a great power and they could accept and applaud its new status.
To qualify as a great power, the United States needed to develop the following: (1) a party system that would tend to unite rather than to divide the country; (2) a sense of psychological as well as political reunion; (3) a strong, assertive presidency; (4) an aggressive and expansive foreign policy; (5) a large military and naval capability; and (6) a highly industrialized and productive economy. By 1914, the United States had obtained or was on the verge of obtaining each of those half-dozen elements of national greatness. Not one of the items, however, could be traced back directly and continuously to the events of 1861-65, as even a brief look at each of them will show.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- On the Road to Total WarThe American Civil War and the German Wars of Unification, 1861–1871, pp. 621 - 640Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997
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