# When, and for how long, has US been at peace? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912 "2006-03-18T16:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/1 "2006-03-18T16:43:46Z")
The Roman historian Livy tells us that Numa Pompilius built and dedicated the Temple of Janus in Rome c. 710 BC. He ordered that the doors of the temple be kept open in time of war and were only to be closed when Roman armies were not fighting anywhere and Rome was at peace. Since that time to the time when Livy wrote in about 27BC the doors had only been closed twice, once at the end of the First Punic War and again after the victory of Augustus at the Battle of Actium. I was a little surprised at first. Almost seven hundred years of continuous war? Then I began to wonder if that was so unusual. If the US had built a Temple of Janus at the time of its inception, when and for how long a period would its doors have stood open in its history since that date? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/2 "2006-03-18T16:45:08Z")
Duh! I meant to say when would they have been closed, but I guess either way is good! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/3 "2006-03-18T17:14:42Z")
This is one of those questions that people are going to nitpick to death because of the impossibility of defining being “at war.” Do you count the military against the Indians after the Civil War? The countless Marine takeovers of Central American countries in the first part of the 20th century? The sea battles against Barbary pirates in the beginning of the 19th century? The landing on Granada by Reagan? The whole Cold War? As long as there’s a military, they’ll be used for something somewhere. Whether you call that “war” or not is a whole 'nother issue. ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/4 "2006-03-18T17:14:43Z")
American Revolutionary War, 1775 - 1783 War of 1812, 1812 - 1815 First Seminole War, 1817 - 1818 Black Hawk War, 1832 Second Seminole War, 1835 - 1842 Mexican-American War, 1846 - 1848 War with Costa Rica, 1856 - 1857 Third Seminole War, 1855 - 1858 American Civil War, 1861 - 1865 Snake War, 1864 - 1868 Modoc War, 1872 - 1873 Red River War, 1874 - 1875 Black Hills War, 1876 - 1877 Spanish-American War, 1898 Philipines-American War, 1899 - 1913 World War I (US involvement), 1917 - 1918 World War II (US involvement), 1941 - 1945 Korean War, 1950 - 1953 Vietnam War, 1954 - 1975 Invasion of Grenada, 1983 Bombing of Libya, 1986 Invasion of Panama, 1989 - 1990 Gulf War, 1990 - 1991 Invasion of Afghanistan, 2001 - present So - to answer the question, there are fifteen periods when the US has been at peace for more than a year: 1783 - 1812 1815 - 1817 1818 - 1832 1832 - 1835 1842 - 1846 1848 - 1856 1858 - 1861 1868 - 1872 1877 - 1898 1913 - 1917 1918 - 1941 1945 - 1950 1975 - 1983 1983 - 1986 1986 - 1989 ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/5 "2006-03-18T17:16:27Z")
Sorry, missed out 1991 - 2001. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/6 "2006-03-18T17:18:28Z")
> [@Tevildo](#): > > Sorry, missed out 1991 - 2001. Wha tthe hell do you call Bosnia, Somalia, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/7 "2006-03-18T17:26:53Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Wha tthe hell do you call Bosnia, Somalia, etc.? Bosnia was a NATO action, Somalia was a UN action. The USA, as a nation, wasn’t in conflict with either Yugoslavia or the Somalian rebels. However, I accept that this sort of definition is always debatable - we’ll need rigourous definitions of “war” and “peace” to produce a definitive list. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/8 "2006-03-18T18:37:36Z")
> [@Tevildo](#): > > 1783 - 1812 Nitpick: The Barbary Wars (US vs. the Barbary States, primarily Tripoli) and the Quasi-War With France both occured during this time period. The Barbary Wars are where the Marines get the line “to the Shores of Tripoli” in their song. Seriously, read about it, it would make a great adventure/war movie, involving fighting pirates in the Mediterranean, sneaking in under cover of darkness to attack ships protected by an enemy fort, and even an exiled prince leading an army to retake his throne from a trecherous brother. 😃 The Quasi-War With France was basically the French siezing our shipping because they claimed we were trading contraband with the British, telling our ambassador in more polite words to perform an anatomically impractical action, and the US Navy (with the tacit support of the Royal Navy, who had been at war with France at the same time) sailing down into the Carribean and shooting up whatever French ships they could find until the French decided to come back to the table with us. > [@](#): > > 1918 - 1941 The US got involved in various police actions in Latin America and the Carribean (mostly involving the Marines) durign this time period, interdicting on the Latin nations’ behalf to keep the Europeans from using military force to get repayments on various debts. IIRC, the natives of those Latin American and Carribean countries were less than enthusiastic about us jumping in to help. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/9 "2006-03-19T03:28:08Z")
> [@Tevildo](#): > > Bosnia was a NATO action, Somalia was a UN action. The USA, as a nation, wasn’t in conflict with either Yugoslavia or the Somalian rebels. However, I accept that this sort of definition is always debatable - we’ll need rigourous definitions of “war” and “peace” to produce a definitive list. Well then the Korean War was a UN action as well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/10 "2006-03-19T03:35:08Z")
> [@Tevildo](#): > > Bosnia was a NATO action, Somalia was a UN action. The USA, as a nation, wasn’t in conflict with either Yugoslavia or the Somalian rebels. However, I accept that this sort of definition is always debatable - we’ll need rigourous definitions of “war” and “peace” to produce a definitive list. Korea was a UN action, but you counted that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/11 "2006-03-19T03:39:24Z")
Once. in 1960. For 20 minutes. _Somebody_ had to say it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/12 "2006-03-19T04:59:42Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > The Barbary Wars are where the Marines get the line “to the Shores of Tripoli” in their song. Seriously, read about it, it would make a great adventure/war movie, involving fighting pirates in the Mediterranean, sneaking in under cover of darkness to attack ships protected by an enemy fort, and even an exiled prince leading an army to retake his throne from a trecherous brother. 😃 [Ask and ye shall receive](http://imdb.com/title/tt0384621/) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/13 "2006-03-19T06:17:53Z")
> [@JPen](#): > > [Ask and ye shall receive](http://imdb.com/title/tt0384621/) _sigh_, it seems that this movie is in pre-pre-production limbo though, since the comments on the discussion section go back to 2004. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/14 "2006-03-19T06:47:04Z")
and the Afghanistan operation is a NATO one as well, so if you’re not counting Bosnia you shouldn’t count Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-for-how-long-has-us-been-at-peace/348912/15 "2006-03-19T06:48:41Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > [Ask and ye shall receive](http://imdb.com/title/tt0384621/) > > _sigh_, it seems that this movie is in pre-pre-production limbo though, since the comments on the discussion section go back to 2004. ☹ Oh I guess I should have read over the link a little better. The last I had heard Ridley Scott was still listed as the director and IIRC, Russell Crowe was attached to star. Still sounds like it would make a good flick.