Introduction Part I: Ancient Greece and Rome (500 BCE–500 CE) 1. What Was the Primary Cause of the Peloponnesian War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Greek Fears over Growing Athenian Power Perspective Essay 2. The Significance of Cultural and Economic Differences Perspective Essay 3. The Impact of Cultural and Political Change on Athenian-Spartan Rivalry 2. Why Did Alexander the Great's Empire Fall Apart So Soon after His Death? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Alexander's Obsession with Conquest Perspective Essay 2. Deep-Seated Cultural Differences in Alexander's Empire Perspective Essay 3. The Problem of Succession 3. Why Was the Carthaginian General Hannibal So Successful against Roman Armies but Ultimately Defeated in His War against Rome? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Flaws in Hannibal's Great Enterprise Perspective Essay 2. Why Hannibal Failed to Win the Second Punic War Perspective Essay 3. Beyond Battlefield Success and Failure 4. Why Did Julius Caesar Prevail in the Caesarian-Pompeian Civil War yet Ultimately Lose Support to the Extent that He Was Assassinated by His Own People? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Caesar's Desire to Usurp Senatorial Powers Brought His Assassination Perspective Essay 2. Caesar's Assassination Was Rooted in Roman Society and Politics Perspective Essay 3. Personality and Policies Doomed Caesar 5. What Caused the Fall of the Roman Empire? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Long-Term Decline of the Roman Military Perspective Essay 2. A Series of Crises Perspective Essay 3. Transition into Byzantium Part II: The Middle Ages (500–1500) 6. What Is the Explanation for the Rapid Success of the Arab Conquests in the Hundred Years after the Death of Prophet Muhammad? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. On the Success of the Early Arab Conquests Perspective Essay 2. Arab Conquests and the Beginning of Empire 7. Did Charles Martel's Victory in the Battle of Tours Prevent the Islamic Conquest of Christian Europe? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Part of a Larger Historical Process Perspective Essay 2. A Raid Rather Than a Conquest 8. Why Did the Crusades Ultimately Fail to Retain Christian Control of the Holy Land? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Degree of Unity on the Muslim Side Perspective Essay 2. The Nature of the Crusader States Perspective Essay 3. Outnumbered and Surrounded Perspective Essay 4. The Ascendancy of Mongol Power 9. How Did the Mongol Invaders Manage to Conquer and Rule over Much of Asia in the 13th and 14th Centuries? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Mongol Military Prowess and the Nature of Mongol Rule Perspective Essay 2. The Mongol Military Machine Perspective Essay 3. Mongol Conquests and Empire Perspective Essay 4. The Keys to Mongol Military Success 10. Why Did Constantinople Fall to the Ottomans in 1453? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Last Days of the Byzantine Empire Perspective Essay 2. The Fall of Constantinople: Event and Process 11. Why Did England Win the Major Battles but France Win the Hundred Years' War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. England's Failure to Win the War Perspective Essay 2. French Governmental and Military Reforms Perspective Essay 3. Superior French Resources Turn the Tide Part III: The Emergence of Modern Europe and the Americas (1500–1825) 12. Was the English Civil War Primarily a Political Rebellion, a Constitutional Struggle, or a Religious Conflict? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Crisis of Constitutional Reform Perspective Essay 2. A Religious Conflict Perspective Essay 3. A Rebellion against King Charles I 13. Did the Inca Civil War Play an Important Role in the Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Inca-Spanish War Delayed Spanish Conquest Perspective Essay 2. The Inca Civil War Was Key to the Spanish Conquest 14. Was the Thirty Years' War a Religious or Political Conflict? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Transition from Religion to Politics Perspective Essay 2. A Blend of Politics and Religion Perspective Essay 3. The Crisis of the Imperial Constitution 15. Was "Taxation without Representation" the Primary Cause of the American Revolution? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Power, Rights, and Revolution Perspective Essay 2. Colonial Desire for Free Market Economy Perspective Essay 3. The Crown's Arrogance 16. Could the Patriot Side Have Prevailed in the American Revolutionary War without French Assistance? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Myth of French Assistance Perspective Essay 2. Many Factors Lay behind the American Victory 17. Was the French Revolution a Direct Result of the Enlightenment? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Complex and Controversial Relationship Perspective Essay 2. The Enlightenment and the Origins of the French Revolution Perspective Essay 3. The Financial Crisis Caused the French Revolution 18. Does Napoleon Bonaparte Deserve His Reputation as a Major Military Innovator and Brilliant Field Commander? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. One of the Three Greatest Military Commanders Perspective Essay 2. A Well-Deserved and Enduring Reputation Perspective Essay 3. A Gift for Military Command Perspective Essay 4. Great Captain but Not a Military Innovator 19. Which Side Won the War of 1812? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A British Military Victory Perspective Essay 2. Fought to a Draw 20. What Role Did the Enlightenment Play in Sparking the Latin American Revolutions? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Conflicting Interpretations of the Enlightenment's Role Perspective Essay 2. Simón Bolívar: Product and Instrument of the Enlightenment Perspective Essay 3. Spanish America's Unenlightened Revolutions 21. Was the Congress of Vienna a Diplomatic Success? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Beginning of Collective Security Perspective Essay 2. A Success for Some Part IV: The Rise of Imperialism and Nationalism (1825–1914) 22. Was the United States Justified in Annexing Texas and Taking California from Mexico in Its Pursuit of Manifest Destiny? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. No Legitimate Claim for the United States Perspective Essay 2. Mexico Was Goaded into War Perspective Essay 3. U.S. Acquisition of Mexican Territory Justified 23. Were the Opium Wars Decisive in the History of Modern China? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Most Important Event in Modern Chinese History Perspective Essay 2. A Central Event for Modern China Perspective Essay 3. Collapse of the Qing Dynasty Was the Most Important Event 24. How Was a Relatively Small British Army Able to Conquer the Subcontinent of India? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Matter of Superior British Capabilities Perspective Essay 2. Diplomacy and Alliances Pave the Way Perspective Essay 3. British Military and Logistical Superiority 25. What Was the Single Most Important Factor in Bringing about the Crimean War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Russia's Determination to Secure Mediterranean Access Perspective Essay 2. Weakness and Vacillation by the British Government Perspective Essay 3. The Eastern Question 26. Was Slavery the Principal Cause of the American Civil War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Other Factors Were Also at Play Perspective Essay 2. Slavery Had Deep Roots in American History Perspective Essay 3. The War of the Slaveholders' Rebellion 27. In What Ways Did African Americans Affect the Outcome of the American Civil War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. From Enslaved to Liberators Perspective Essay 2. The African American Experience in the Civil War Perspective Essay 3. African Americans in the Union Army 28. What Was the Primary Reason for the Confederate Defeat in the American Civil War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Ineffective Southern Military Strategy Perspective Essay 2. Economics Was the Primary Cause Perspective Essay 3. A Triumph of Northern Will and Power 29. Was Otto von Bismarck Largely Responsible for the Unification of Germany in 1871? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Father of German Unification Perspective Essay 2. German Unification Largely Bismarck's Work Perspective Essay 3. German Unification Would Have Occurred Even without Bismarck 30. Did the Unification of Germany Make a General European War Inevitable? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Preservation versus Expansion: Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm II Perspective Essay 2. General European War Not Inevitable Perspective Essay 3. Bismarck Sought Peace 31. Did the American Indian Wars Constitute Genocide? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Cultural Genocide of Native American Peoples Perspective Essay 2. A Clash of Incompatible Cultures Perspective Essay 3. Three Centuries of Genocide 32. What Was the Primary Cause of the Spanish-American War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The First Press War Perspective Essay 2. Destined for Empire Perspective Essay 3. The Cuban Fight against Spanish Rule Part V: The World at War (1914–1945) 33. What Was the Primary Cause of World War I? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Expectation of War Perspective Essay 2. Fear and the Outbreak of War Perspective Essay 3. Strategic Miscalculation 34. Was Germany's World War I Submarine Warfare Campaign against Nonmilitary Shipping Justified? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Necessary Step to Avoid Defeat Perspective Essay 2. A Justified Response to the British Naval Blockade Perspective Essay 3. Submarine Campaign Cost Germany Victory 35. Is the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to Blame for the Long-Running Arab-Israeli Conflict? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Founding Document for the State of Israel Perspective Essay 2. Historic and Intellectual Factors Overshadow Declaration Perspective Essay 3. British Missteps Led to the Arab-Israeli Conflict 36. Did the 1919 Paris Peace Settlement and Specifically the Treaty of Versailles with Germany Make World War II Inevitable? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Controversial Treaty of Versailles Perspective Essay 2. Exaggerated Expectations Perspective Essay 3. Failure to Enforce the Paris Peace Settlement 37. Would the Republicans Have Won the Spanish Civil War If There Had Been No Foreign Intervention? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. No Assistance, Same Result Perspective Essay 2. German Military Assistance Was Key Perspective Essay 3. Foreign Intervention Denied Republican Victory 38. Would France and Great Britain Have Been Better Served to Go to War with Germany in 1938? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Allied Resolve Was Lacking in 1938 Perspective Essay 2. Britain and France Were Not Prepared for War in 1938 Perspective Essay 3. The Year 1938 Was a Missed Opportunity 39. What Were the Key Factors That Led to the Japanese Decision to Attack Pearl Harbor? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Japan Determined to Dominate Asia Perspective Essay 2. The Logic of a Japanese "Holy War" Perspective Essay 3. A Disastrous Military Decision 40. Did the Requirement for Unconditional Surrender Help or Hinder the Allied Effort in World War II? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Hindrance to Allied Victory Perspective Essay 2. An Obstacle to Allied Psychological Warfare Perspective Essay 3. An Assist to Allied Victory 41. Was Adolf Hitler the Primary Driving Force behind the Holocaust, or Would It Have Occurred without Him? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Central Role of Hitler Perspective Essay 2. The Key Role of the German People Perspective Essay 3. The Historical Roots of the Holocaust 42. Should the Allies Have Bombed Auschwitz? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Allies Should Have Bombed Rail Lines Perspective Essay 2. Bombing Auschwitz and Political Will Perspective Essay 3. Gauging Success: What Would Bombing Auschwitz Have Accomplished? Perspective Essay 4. Diverted Resources and Grand Strategy 43. Were the Agreements Reached at the Yalta Conference an Unnecessary Giveaway to the Soviets? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Yalta Agreement Was an Unnecessary Giveaway Perspective Essay 2. Losing Moral High Ground at Yalta Perspective Essay 3. Securing Soviet Cooperation against Japan 44. Was the United States Justified in Dropping Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Decision to Employ the Bomb Perspective Essay 2. Dropping the Bomb Saved Lives Perspective Essay 3. A Necessary Action to End the War Perspective Essay 4. Dropping the Bombs Was Not Justified Part VI: The Cold War (1945–1991) 45. Which Power Bears Principal Responsibility for Starting the Cold War, the Soviet Union or the United States? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Belligerence of Soviet-Style Communism Perspective Essay 2. A Pattern of U.S. Hostility Perspective Essay 3. Filling the European Power Vacuum Perspective Essay 4. A Clash of Personalities 46. Have Nuclear Weapons Prevented Another Catastrophic War since 1945? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Threat of Nuclear Destruction Perspective Essay 2. Mutual Assured Destruction Is No Guarantee of Peace Perspective Essay 3. A Number of Factors Are at Play 47. Why Did the Communist Side Defeat the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Military and Political Shrewdness Perspective Essay 2. Flexibility Was the Key 48. How Has the Debate over the "Right" to Palestine Shaped the Arab-Israeli Conflict? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Palestinians' Right to Their Land, Property, and National Sovereignty Perspective Essay 2. The Jewish People's Historical Right to Palestine 49. How Should Responsibility Be Apportioned for the Start of the Korean War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Cold War Perspective Essay 2. A Conflict of U.S. Creation Perspective Essay 3. Kim Il Sung and the Road to the Korean War 50. Was President Truman Justified in Removing General Douglas MacArthur as Commander of United Nations Forces during the Korean War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Removal Was Unjustified Perspective Essay 2. An Entirely Correct Decision Perspective Essay 3. The Sanctity of Civilian Control of the Military 51. Was the Eisenhower Administration Justified in Relying on Massive Retaliation as a Defensive Posture in the 1950s? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Correct Defense Policy Decision Perspective Essay 2. The Reinterpretation of Containment Perspective Essay 3. Reliance on Massive Retaliation Was a Mistake 52. Has President Eisenhower's Warning about the Military-Industrial Complex Come True? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Disastrous Rise of Misplaced Power Perspective Essay 2. Serious Threat or Security Necessity? 53. Was Media Coverage of the Tet Offensive the Primary Reason It Was Viewed as a Major U.S. Defeat for the United States? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Media Coverage Turned Tet into a Defeat Perspective Essay 2. Blaming the Media Is an Oversimplification 54. Could the United States Have Won the Vietnam War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Domino Too Far Perspective Essay 2. Too Many Missteps along the Way Perspective Essay 3. An Unwinnable War? The U.S. Military Experience in Vietnam Perspective Essay 4. U.S./Republic of Vietnam Victory Virtually Impossible 55. What Was the Significance of the Soviet-Afghan War in the Context of the Cold War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The United States Helped Defeat the Soviets Perspective Essay 2. Precipitating the Collapse of the Soviet Union 56. Were Ronald Reagan's Policies Responsible for the Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Reagan's Policies Hastened the Soviet Collapse Perspective Essay 2. Soviet Collapse Was Inevitable Part VII: The New Millennium (1991–Present) 57. Should the U.S.-Led Coalition Have Removed Saddam Hussein from Power before Ending the Persian Gulf War? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Not an Objective in the Persian Gulf War Perspective Essay 2. Human Rights Violations Warranted Hussein's Removal Perspective Essay 3. Removing Hussein Would Have Unhinged the Coalition 58. Was the International Community Justified in Initially Avoiding Military Action to Prevent Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Slow and Unsure Military Action Perspective Essay 2. Limited Intervention Justifiable and Understandable Perspective Essay 3. Domestic Politics Delayed Military Action 59. Was the 2003 U.S.-Led Coalition Invasion of Iraq Justified? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Manufactured Intelligence Brought War Perspective Essay 2. Evidence Was Lacking Perspective Essay 3. There Was Legal Justification 60. Was the U.S. Goal of Constructing a Stable, Democratic Regime in Post-2003 Iraq Realistic? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. No Chance of Securing Democracy in Iraq Perspective Essay 2. Noble Intent That Was Doomed to Failure 61. Is It Accurate to Draw Parallels between the Crusades of the Middle Ages in the Holy Land and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars of the Early 21st Century? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. A Direct Continuation of Centuries of Struggle Perspective Essay 2. The War on Terror Is Not a Crusade Perspective Essay 3. Recurring Patterns in Space and Time 62. Did Post–Cold War Policies Pursued by the United States and Other Nato Powers Contribute to Russia's Increasingly Aggressive International Policies in the 2000s? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. The Cold War Continues Perspective Essay 2. The United States Broke Its Promise Not to Expand NATO Perspective Essay 3. Missteps and Lost Opportunities 63. Should Women Be Allowed to Serve in Combat Positions in the U.S. Military? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. Physical Requirements and Combat Duty Perspective Essay 2. Female Participation in Combat 64. Should the U.S. Government Reinstate the Draft? Background Essay Perspective Essay 1. In Defense of an All-Volunteer Force Perspective Essay 2. Many Good Reasons to Reinstate the Draft About the Editor and Contributors Index

This provocative examination of major controversies in military history enables readers to learn how scholars approach controversial topics and provides a model for students in the study and discussion of other historical events.