Conclusions
Summary: The outcome of each of the three major wars that the United States participated in was affected by geographical location of the United States and the terrain of America. The Revolutionary War was successful because of the expansive and diverse terrain of the colonies and that the colonies were far from Britain. Variations in geography between the north and the south created sectionalism surrounding slavery, contributing to the start of the civil war and later made it more difficult to win the war. America, a powerful imperial empire at the time, was drawn late into World War I because of the geographic location of American trade routes which entered German war zones where German unrestricted submarine warfare provoked the Americans into the war.
The New Insights
In these three wars, we can distinguish some unique patterns of geography and American history. We can see the importance of the geographical aspects of location and resources.
-In the American Revolution, the location of America made it difficult for Britain to keep a steady flow of resources to help support British soldiers, while America had an advantage of being able to resupply American soldiers promptly.
-In the Civil War, the differences in soil quality created two economies, a Northern industrial economy, and a Southern agrarian economy. The natural geographies of the North and South predetermined the North to being more advantageous with their resources than the South, ultimately leading to Northern victory.
-In World War I, the location of America favored it again by keeping it away from the crossfire between nations. And also as a nation with many colonies, America held many resources at their hands, so with many nations wasting away their resources, America still remained strong.
This allows us to draw the conclusion that geography truly is the greatest force in changing the course of history.
The New Insights
In these three wars, we can distinguish some unique patterns of geography and American history. We can see the importance of the geographical aspects of location and resources.
-In the American Revolution, the location of America made it difficult for Britain to keep a steady flow of resources to help support British soldiers, while America had an advantage of being able to resupply American soldiers promptly.
-In the Civil War, the differences in soil quality created two economies, a Northern industrial economy, and a Southern agrarian economy. The natural geographies of the North and South predetermined the North to being more advantageous with their resources than the South, ultimately leading to Northern victory.
-In World War I, the location of America favored it again by keeping it away from the crossfire between nations. And also as a nation with many colonies, America held many resources at their hands, so with many nations wasting away their resources, America still remained strong.
This allows us to draw the conclusion that geography truly is the greatest force in changing the course of history.