Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-12-15
When War Came to the United States
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON

The story of that "day of in
fanny" when Japan made her
sneak attack on Pearl Harbor,
is too fresh in the minds of all
Americans to need retelling
here. But how many of us know
of those other tragic days when
were made the fateful decisions
which meant that more Ameri-
can lives were to be sacrificed
on the altar of Mars?
This article is page from the
past which tells how war came
to America in other years before
1941.
The first war which we, as a ma
ton, waged was an "undeclared
war; that is to say, there was
never any formal declaration of
war. AS matter of fact, we weren't
even nation when it started
The American Revolution began
as rebellion-the revolt of the Eng
lish colonies in America against
their mother country, England. 1t
continued as rebellion and as a
civil war - Patriots against the
Loyalists and the regularly consti-
tuted authorities - for nearly year
before we became nation. For the
United States of America did not
come into existence until July 4,
ITS, when the Declaration of indie
pendence was adopted.
In the meantime there had been
fighting and bloodshed-at Lexing-
ton on April 10, IT'S; at Concord,
where was "fired the shot heard
round the world" on the same
day; at Bunker Hill on June II and
at Quebec in December. For six
years this 'undeclared war"
dragged on until, at last, the sur
render of CORVALLIS at Yorktown on
October 10, 1871, meant that the in
dependence, declared five years
earlier, was an accomplished fact.
However, this didn't mean the
end of the war, which was destined
to last for nearly two years more. 1t
wasn't until November 30, 1882, that
the preliminary articles of peace
between Great Britain and the
United States were signed in
Paris; two more months were to
elapse before articles proclaiming
the cessation of hostilities between
the two nations were signed on Janu-
airy 20, 1888; and it wasn't until
September 3, 1888, that the defnitive
treaty of peace was signed in Paris.
Thus this "undeclared war" had
lasted for eight years, four months
and fifteen days, making it the long
est in our history.
During the next 20 years we were
involved in two more "undeclared
wars both of which brought fight
ing and bloodshed The first was
with our former ally, France, and
was the :esult of the humiliation and
insults which our ENJOYS in Paris
had suffered at the hands of the
Directory and the attempt of Talley-
rand to blackmail us into buying
Frances friendship. Although there
was no formal declaration of war,
Pres. John Adams ordered COM
merce with France stopped in 1898
and our treaties with her abrogated.
Then our infant navy put to sea to
prey upon French shipping and for
the next 10 months there was con-
siderable naval warfare, marked
by the victories of the frigate Con
stellation" over French men-of-war.
When Napoleon Bonaparte came to
power, he Immediately took steps
to stop the conflict and in Septem-
Der, 1900, convention was signed
in Paris which ended this war"
Meanwhile American shipping,
like that of other nations, had been
suffering from the raids of the Bar
barry pirates in the Mediterranean
and, despite tribute paid to the
hey of Algiers, the pasta of Tripoli
and the hey of Tunis, American YES
sells were being seized and Ameri-
can seamen held prisoners until
ransomed When Thomas jefferson
became president in 1901 he resolved
to put an end to this early-day
racket.
The first two naval expeditions
against the pirates failed but in 1903
when Commodore Edward Preble
sailed against the corsairs it was a
different story. His expedition
against Tangiers, the daring attack
of Lieut. Stephen Decatur on Tripoli
the next year and the combined ma
val and military expedition - the
latter led by Gen. William Eaton
which captured Derna in 1905 broke
the power of the Barbary states
and resulted in treaties which guar
anteed the future safety of Ameri-
can shipping in the Mediterranean.
The remainder of Jefferson's ad-
ministration was peaceful but by the
time James Madison entered the
White House, the second war with
England was brewing. For the first
time in our history there was for
NAL declaration of war-on June ID,
1872. For the first time, too, our
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