War Fever

This episode originally aired in December of 2015. Sadly, it’s extra-pertinent these days as the world is still dotted with ongoing wars, large and small. In the end, it seems like war is waged less to solve problems than to fill the coffers of the ruling class, political and industrial.

Russo-French skirmish during the Crimean War

From the original show notes: “In this episode of The History Files we take a look at ‘war fever’ and what drives world leaders to take up arms against each other. Sometimes it's justified, as in defense, but sometimes it doesn't seem very legitimate, as in the case of imperialist expansion. Then there's the whole problem of dealing with the conundrum of wishing for victory, the harsh reality being that one is of course wishing death and destruction on the losing side.”

Links:

• Evacuation Day (Nove. 25, 1783)

• Gold Rush: 1848–1860: "I Saw the Elephant"

• John Brown (abolitionist) hanged (1859)

• UN grants a Homeland for the Jewish people (1947)

• Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald (1963)

• Amistad (1997) (imdb.com)

• Amazon.com: The Man In The High Castle

• Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations , by Michael Walzer (amazon.com)

• Tales of Tinfoil: Stories of Paranoia and Conspiracy , various authors (amazon.com)

• Zaporozhian Cossacks , an awesome painting. Seriously, go look at it.

• Greek War of Independence (1827)

• Crimean War (1850s)

• Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)

• Hermann Goering on what drives a people to war.

• HL Mencken on practical politics (izquotes.com)