While it is a bit dated, a Congressional
Research Service study takes a broad look at the history of war
in the United States and provides us with a summary of the high cost of warfare.
The period covered in the CRS report looks at all major conflicts that
have involved American armed services between the years from the American
Revolution (1775 to 1783) to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001 to 2010)
and summarizes the total military cost of the conflicts in "current year
dollars" (i.e. the amount spent at the time of the conflict) and in 2011
dollars as well as the cost of each conflict as a percentage of GDP in the peak
year of the war as well as total defence spending as a percentage of GDP in the
peak year of the war.
Here we go, in chronological order:
1.) American Revolution - 1775 to 1783
Current Year Cost - $101 million
In 2011 Dollars - $2.407 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - N/A
Total Defense Spending as percentage of
GDP - N/A
2.) War of 1812 - 1812 to 1815
Current Year Cost - $90 million
In 2011 Dollars - $1.553 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 2.2
percent (1813)
Total Defense Spending as percentage of
GDP - 2.7 percent
3.) Mexican War - 1846 to 1849
Current Year Cost - $71 million
In 2011 Dollars - $2.376 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 1.4
percent (1847)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 1.9 percent
4.) Civil War (Union side) - 1861 to
1865
Current Year Cost - $3.183 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $59.631 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 11.63
percent (1865)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - N/A
5.) Civil War (Confederate side) - 1861
to 1865
Current Year Cost - $1 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $21.111 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - N/A
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - N/A
6.) Spanish- American War - 1898 to
1899
Current Year Cost - $283 million
In 2011 Dollars - $9.034 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 1.1
percent (1899)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 1.5 percent
7.) World War I - 1917 to 1921
Current Year Cost - $20 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $334 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 13.6
percent (1919)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 14.1
8.) World War II - 1941 to 1945
Current Year Cost - $296 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $4.104 trillion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 35.8
percent (1945)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 37.5 percent
9.) Korean War - 1950 to 1953
Current Year Cost - $30 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $341 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 4.2
percent (1952)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 13.2 percent
10.) Vietnam War - 1965 to 1975
Current Year Cost - $111 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $738 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 2.3
percent (1968)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 9.5 percent
11.) Persian Gulf War - 1990 - 1991
Current Year Cost - $61 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $102 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 0.3
percent (1991)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 4.6 percent
12.) Iraq - 2003 to 2010
Current Year Cost - $715 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $784 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 1.0
percent (2008)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 4.3 percent
11.) Afghanistan/Other - 2001 to 2010
Current Year Cost - $297 billion
In 2011 Dollars - $321 billion
War Cost as a Percentage of GDP - 0.7
percent (2010)
Total Defense Spending as Percentage of
GDP - 4.9 percent
While the study did cover the wars in
Iraq, Afghanistan and the post-9/11 costs of actions in Pakistan, they are
somewhat dated since they only go to what was spent in fiscal 2010, I will
refer to the costs of the post-9/11 wars including America's involvement in
Syria as summarized by the Watson Institute:
Here is a graph showing the cost of
each war in 2011 dollars (excluding the post-9/11 wars which are in 2016
dollars):
Since the American Revolution in the
mid-1770s, wars have cost Americans $10.507 trillion, excluding the estimated
future interest costs on the debt associated with the post-9/11 wars which is projected to
reach at least $7.9 trillion to the total costs by 2053. As well, outside of World War II which was fought on a much larger scale than most of America's other wars, the cost of conflict has risen significantly as the decades have passed, thanks in large part to the use of high-priced technology.
Conflicts, both internal and external,
over the past two centuries have cost Americans trillions of
dollars, much of which has ended up as profits in the arms sector without
mentioning the high cost to American families who have suffered the loss
of their sons and fathers along with a growing number of daughters and mothers.
When politicians try to sell us on the next "good war", we need
to remember that wars have had a very high cost and that very few benefit from
the misery inflicted on the many.
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