War and the Growth of the American State in the 19th Century

Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen

“From the colonial frontier to the battlefields of Gettysburg, war has been both a crucible and a mirror for the American experiment. Historians from Charles Tilly to Allan Millett have long emphasized the centrality of warfare in the formation of modern states, arguing that ‘war made the state and the state made war.’ Yet, in the American case, this process unfolded within a republican framework that ostensibly distrusted standing armies and centralized power. The tension between libertarian ideals and the exigencies of war defined the nation’s evolution from fragile confederation to continental empire.” (01/11/26)

https://libertarianinstitute.org/uncategorized/war-and-the-growth-of-the-american-state-in-the-19th-century/