Civil wars Different groups in the same society may compete for scarce resources or may compete for political power. Different ethnic groups or religious groups in the same society may also fight with one another. One ethnic groups may want to eliminate another. Or believers of one religion may want to convert, remove or exterminate those holding different religious beliefs. Examples : American Civil War

American Civil War The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the war began. The issue has been further complicated by historical revisionists, who have tried to offer a variety of reasons for the war. Slavery was the central source of escalating political tension in the 1850s. The Republican Party was determined to prevent any spread of slavery, and many Southern leaders had threatened secession if the Republican candidate, Lincoln, won the 1860 election. After Lincoln had won without carrying a single Southern state, many Southern whites felt that disunion had become their only option, because they felt as if they were losing representation, which hampered their ability to promote pro-slavery acts and policies

Genocide If a dominant group tries to completely eliminate a religious group or ethnic groups, this is known as a genocide – the mass murder of a people. Example During WW2, Nazi German Leaders tried to murder the jews of Europe in the Holocaust 6million Jews were shipped in railroad carts Nazi concentration camps. They were brutally murdered in gas chambers. In the 1990s the Hutu tribe of Rwanda tried to exterminate the Tutsi Tribe, killing nearly 50% of them before the intervention of the Tutsi rebel army.

International Conflicts Countries sometimes enter into conflict with one another. Thay may disagree over borders or have other disputes. The laeaders of one country may simply feel they can defeat and conquer another country. They might go to war to take away some of its land or resources. Competition for wealth in the 19 th and 18 th centuries, European powers fought against one another to establish colonies in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. They also fought native peoples who resisted colonization. Wars between colonial powers and native inhabitants continued throughout the 19 th century. Examples Sepoy Rebelion, Mexican Cession, Spanish American War, WW1 + WW2

The Impact of Conflict All of these different conflicts lead to the cultural change. War can disrupt a society, breaking it apart. It can lead to the conquest of one society by another or cause a government to collapse. The need for better ways of fighting can promote new weapons and other technological innovations, which can have peacetime uses. Conflict over ideals, countries also go to war against each other over IDEAS. The late 18 th century countries fought over the French Revolution, Cold war was another example of Idea war far between United States and the Soviet Union. Terrorism – sometimes a group does not feel strong enough to challenge a government openly. Instead, its members commit acts of violence like a suicide bombing in order attract attention and crate a sense of terror among the citizens of its enemy.

Positive Effects of War 1. advances in military technology can benefit civilians. For instance, the Roman army was into creating roads. Their knowledge of engineer was used by civilians afterwards to create road systems throughout Europe. Developments in electronics aid civilians as well. In the US during the War of 1812, the military did not have communications abilities to let officers know that the war was actually over before the Battle of New Orleans. The US won this battle but at a great cost. The result was the creation of telegraph usage. Computers that were developed for ballistics and artillery in WWII were later the models used for civilian computers. 2. Advances in medicine. War creates carnage. Military doctors have always come up with ways to treat battlefield injuries. Many advances in emergency medicine have been made as a result of lessons learned on the battlefield. Also, the need for medicines in the military has lead to the development of medicines used in the civilian world. I believe that blood transfusions were developed by military docs. The military also helped develop the use of antibiotics. Field ambulances were copied by civilians as well