The United States has been at war since 1898, in response to attacks against America. These attacks that pushed the United States into war include violent assaults and threats against America and its ideologies such as democracy. This theory of why America went to war can be seen in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the War on Afghanistan. The United States entered the war against Spain in 1898 after the explosion of the USS Maine in the port of Havana, near Cuba. The USS Maine was a warship that arrived in Cuba in January and was sent to protect American interests and show Spain that America had strength. When the USS Maine exploded on February 15, “Yellow Journalism,” a newspaper that exaggerated the truth in the United States, used propaganda to appeal to the emotions of many Americans and their dismay over the attack. Since Americans were now emotionally attached to what was happening in Cuba, many Americans wanted to go to war. "Yellow journalism" brought American public opinion to war fever, so much so that President William McKinley petitioned Congress and declared war on April 25, 1898. The United States entered the Spanish-American War when they were violently attacked and to help Cuba gain its independence. World War I began in 1914, but the United States did not enter the war until 1917. The reason the United States did not immediately join the war was because it was clinging to its idea of ​​isolationism and wanted to be neutral because they saw the danger. the war as being too far away. This quickly changed when Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare. In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania, a neutral ship carrying... middle of paper... On October 7, they launched Operation Enduring Freedom. The war against Iraq that took place in 2003 does not follow my theory, but it did take place. The United States entered the war against Iraq on the basis of a preventive war. Many believed that Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, were secretly amassing weapons of mass destruction; So the United States decided that it would no longer wait to be attacked before entering the war. In March 2003, the United States entered the war. The United States enters war when: it has been physically attacked (as in the 9/11 attack), has been threatened (as in the Zimmermann Telegram), and when American ideologies are threatened (as in the Korean War). America's reasons for going to war are, in my opinion, justified. We must fight back when we are attacked to assure others that we are strong and should not be taken lightly..