Kathy Beckwith
A Mighty Case Against War
What America Missed in U.S. History Class and What We (All) Can Do Now
Published November 2015
300 pages
paperback: ISBN 978-1-937570-68-2, 15.00 USD, 14.00 EUR
eBook: ISBN 978-1-937570-59-0, 9.99 USD
About the book
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 : Two Young Men and a Question:
“More than an end to war, we want …?” 1
Chapter 2: A Gallop Through America’s Wars 7
2.1 The Revolutionary War 9
2.2 The War of 1812 17
2.3 The Indian Wars 24
2.4 The Mexican-American War 36
2.5 The Civil War 41
2.6 The Spanish-American War 49
2.7 The Philippine-American War 58
2.8 The Tampico/Veracruz, México, Military Action 64
2.9 World War I 67
2.10 World War II 75
2.11 The Korean War 101
2.12 The Vietnam War 106
2.13 The Gulf War 117
2.14 Acts of Military Violence Outside of War 139
2.15 Recent US Wars 141
Evaluation of War Template 144
2.16 The “Secret” Wars 145
2.17 Reflecting on Our Patterns of War 150
Chapter 3: Opening Our Eyes and Our Hearts 155
Chapter 4: Sales Pitches and Rah-Rah Cheers for War 165
Chapter 5: “War Is Inevitable. Why Fight It?” Plus Other Common Non-Sense and Un-Common Sense 185
Chapter 6: Extra! Extra! Hear All About It! Nonviolence Raging Success! 207
Chapter 7: If Not War, Then What? 225
Endnotes 251
Suggested Reading/Viewing 283
Book Club – Reading Group Discussion Questions 291
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Please see Kathy Beckwith's TEDx Talk!
It's time to abandon war. There are alternatives. | Kathy Beckwith | TEDxMcMinnville
TEDx Talks Published on February 26, 2019
Is using war as a means of resolving conflict an outdated premise? Is it time for us to move on from the battlefield? And if so, are there alternatives that actually work? Mediator Kathy Beckwith shares her big idea - there are plenty of alternatives to war, if only we choose to use them. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
What others say
A Mighty Case Against War is exceptionally well researched and covers an astounding amount of history. Kathy Beckwith has produced an extremely good survey and analysis of America's wars. I am very impressed with her scholarship. Kathy offers hope in her conclusion that the habit of war can be broken. I taught American history in college for more than 25 years. After it was published I used Ronald Wells "The Wars of America, Christian Views." Now I would either add, or replace it with A Mighty Case Against War.
- Dr. Ralph Beebe,
Professor of History Emeritus,
George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon.
"Kathy Beckwith's book lives up to its title. I probably can't imagine exactly how wonderful a world we'd have if everyone learned this book in history class, but I'd sure love to find out. I write about this same topic and nonetheless learned a great deal of new information here and found it to be brilliantly presented. The author's goal is clearly not to get us to believe something but to prod us into thinking. She provides multiple points of view on wars. Understanding what each side saw helps us grasp what Beckwith points out next: the alternative paths not taken that could have avoided each particular war. If we learn to anticipate war propaganda to come, if we are ready to reject it in real time, this book will have served its purpose, and more books like it will not be needed; war will have gone from 'inevitable' to archaic, humanity from endangered to resilient."
--David Swanson, author of War Is A Lie
About the author
Kathy Beckwith is a mediation trainer from Dayton, Oregon, working with schools (K-12) and community mediation programs. She is a mediator in parent/teen, victim/offender, and neighborhood mediation, and volunteers as a school mediation coach. Kathy became concerned about America’s strong reliance on war as a means of resolving international conflict. That concern led to research and study, and finally to this book. She discovered that she had, indeed, missed some things in U.S. History class.
Kathy is also the author of the picture book Playing War; a young adult novel, Critical Mass, dealing with sexual abuse in the lives of teens; and two books related to problem-solving, If You Choose Not to Hit, and Don’t Shoot! We May Both Be on the Same Side.
Kathy is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. She has been a Peace Corps volunteer, caregiver in a residential treatment home for boys, secretary for a geological exploration office, teacher at an international school in South India, and host parent for exchange students, in addition to living and playing with her family on a small farm where wild blackberries abound.