Question
Unit VI Article Review
Locate and review an article related to the topic you selected for your Unit VII Project. The article you select must be at least one page long and no more than 20 years old. Write a summary of the article. Include the purpose for the article, how research was conducted (if any), the results, and other pertinent information. Discuss the meaning or implications of the article’s contents as well as any flaws you find in the article. Be sure to address the following in your article review:
- How does the article relate to your Unit VII Project?
- What could have made the article better?
- Was any information left out?
- How could the author expand on the results?
Within your article review, please make sure you connect the following concepts to the article review:
- Examine the innovations and technological advances directly related to the U.S. military.
- Evaluate differences in the U.S. military during times of peace and war.
- Assess the importance of the U.S. military in the settlement of the West.
Sample paper
American Military History
Examine the innovations and technological advances directly related to the U.S. military
After the civil war, there was the need to spearhead reconstruction and preach unity between the union and the confederate states. As a result, the military was widely used in the attempt to reconstruct the fallen nation after suffering heavy casualties in terms of manpower and material. The north which had defeated the South in the civil war saw the need to use the military to control the expansionist settlers and Indians who wanted to retain their land and ways of life. After the war, the citizen militia had worked tirelessly in the west to control the Indians in a brutal manner which made it difficult to establish a sense of peace for all people and races. The Indians were put in reserves in unproductive lands that were deemed prime for white settlement. These activities and actions were carried out in the hope that by controlling the Indians would help in Americanizing them. The main purpose of putting the Indians into the reserves was to teach them how to farm and make them Christians. However, the military did not last long enough to see out this task since they were needed in other areas (Richardson, 2007). However, the article fails to elaborate how the army intended to teach the Indians about the art of farming. Moreover, for one to turn from religion to another, it takes time since it is a process and the article fails to elaborate on the advocated process.
Evaluate differences in the U.S. military during times of peace and war
Despite the fact that there was no report of major battles and wars occurring during the reconstruction period, this does not mean that there were no small struggle and battles. A good example is Custer’s last stand where the military lost to the locals, and this clearly shows that the military was not always successful in their quest for reconstruction. The North may have won the war, but they lost the battle to reconstruct the south. The north was expected to spearhead a revolution in the south, but this was not the case. Instead, the South was awarded with lenient treatment and with terroristic groups such as Ku Klux Klan and Black Codes, the southern people and the society did little to change their ways of life. However, some of the reconstruction plans were successful but in small bits but the majority of the south remained the same. An example of where the reconstruction process was a success is South Carolina. The main and primary cause for the failure of the reconstruction plan can be attributed to the fact that there was an ideological difference between the north administrations, and thus they were not united behind the goals of changing the Southern society set up.
Assess the importance of the U.S. military in the settlement of the West
In general, we can say that the north helped the north back to its feet economically, and the blacks were granted their citizenship rights. The defeat of the south by the north marked the end of slavery although servitude remained. Fear and white supremacy remained intact and was widely used by the whites to make the blacks feel inferior (Boyce, 2013). However, the article does not show or tell the reactions of the black as a result of this supremacy. On the same note, Upton and Mahan used their influence in the army to try to bring new technologies in the military to match those of Great Britain and the Germany. Although their theories laid down the basics for the current military technology, their theories and ideologies were not fully implemented by the Congress.
References
Boyce, J. K. (2013). Investing in peace: Aid and conditionality after civil wars (No. 351). . Routledge.
Richardson, H. C. (2007). West from Appomattox: the reconstruction of America after the Civil War. . Yale University Press.
