Summary Of The First Way Of War Sparknotes

Americans have a tradition of fighting that goes long past the formation of the United States and before the official creation of its Army. John Grenier argues in his book, The First Way of War, that this long history created by early Americans “created a military tradition that accepted, legitimized, and encouraged attacks upon and the destruction of noncombatants, villages, and agricultural resources” (pg. 10). His purpose of the book is to offer a differing perspective from the common belief that American warfare stems from an organized army and he presents the argument that it rather stems from petite guerre.
John Grenier’s book follows a chronological order from the early 1600s to 1815. His book is composed of 7 chapters that each focus on a different aspect of his thesis and continue the timeline in his book. Each chapter may focus on something slightly different, but together they form a whole cohesive book. By creating his book this way he creates a very logical work that flows together and constantly gives evidence to support his thesis.
10) is bold and raises many eyebrows when discussing US military history. This is because, as he points out, many military historians focus very little on petite guerre and instead focus on the professional military, which leads the historian to a slightly different conclusion. John Grenier quickly disassociates with these historians and argues that distant battles fought by individuals not in a “professional military” actually show the true nature of Americans and their first way to fight war. He says “Americans were quick to turn to extravagant violence” (pg.