Americans engaged in a number of conflicts as members of the British Empire before the Revolution. These conflicts took place between colonists and other colonial powers or Native Americans. On one hand, the colonists got caught up in Imperial European wars. On the other hand, the colonists engaged in land struggles against Native Americans that were sometimes part of those imperial struggles. These conflicts are largely forgotten. However, these wars scarred the land and the survivors and helped lead to the American Revolution.

For the most part, English colonists enjoyed good relations with their Native American neighbors. As the seventeenth century wore on, relations changed. Indian tribes fought each other and colonists took sides. Instead of remaining neutral, colonists looked to their own security and desire for land in making alliances. In 1637, Massachusetts sided against the Pequot Tribe. The Pequots attempted to grab land from their neighbors. In addition, several tribes wanted control over European trade. The English decided to side against the aggressors for security and economic reasons.

Nearly forty years later, land became the center of problems in New England. By the 1670s, Plymouth’s expansion worried the Wampanoag. Their chief, Metacom (King Philip), distrusted the English. This distrust increased after the mysterious death of his brother. Negotiations between the colony and the Indians broke down and King Philip’s War broke out in 1675. 15% of the native population and 1 out of every 65 colonists died. Half of New England was attacked by Native fighters during King Philip’s War. The war ended when Metacom died. Several other wars between colonists and Indians occurred between 1675 and 1775. Often times, the colonists battled along side their native allies against other native tribes. Sometimes, these conflicts were part of larger global conflicts between European powers.

Between 1689 and 1763, the colonists and Indians were embroiled in four major European wars. Essentially, Britain and France were battling for empire. The New World was the biggest prize. As the century continued, the wars grew larger and the stakes higher for the colonists and Indians. The final imperial conflict was the largest. The French and Indian War was fought mainly in America. As a result, the existence of the thirteen colonies was at stake. The French and their Indian allies battled the British. In the end, the French lost. As a result, France lost Canada, the American Midwest, and the Louisiana Territory, including the modern plains. British colonists did not forget Indian atrocities following the Battle of Fort William Henry. At that encounter, Native Americans wiped out a group of British subjects after they surrendered. Tensions further increased between natives and colonists when Pontiac led a rebellion against the British. This rebellion eventually sputtered out. However, London took notice.

The British wished to pacify the natives by establishing a buffer zone between the colonies and Indian lands. The colonists wanted the lands to settle and for security against native attacks. Tensions between colonists and Indians over land and security issues did not subside. At the same time, the colonists felt their mother country had abandoned them and their rights to the Natives. Eventually, these disagreements spilled over into taxation. Security and liberty were at stake on the frontier and in the colonies.

Colonists and Natives enjoyed relatively benign relations at first. However, as time passed, tensions increased. Colonists felt compelled to side with Natives in wars between tribes. In the process, the colonists believed they needed more land for security, for the expanding population, and for themselves. Sometimes, these native wars were absorbed into European wars. The last of these wars left the British holding North America. The British decided to limit colonial expansion to keep the peace with the Indians. This alienated the colonists. With the elimination of the French threat, colonists began looking lustily at Indian lands.

No one is sure why Barack Obama won the Nobel Prize. The president seemed a bit confused himself. Despite the controversy, Obama is the third sitting president, and fourth overall, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The first two won for their efforts toward ending conflict. The third, Jimmy Carter, won during the run up to the Iraq War in 2002. His award is perceived as a shot at George W. Bush as opposed to Carter‘s initiatives. Despite the overtly political nature of the award, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson earned their awards for their efforts to end war.

In the summer of 1905, Russia and Japan agreed to allow Theodore Roosevelt to mediate an end to their war. The Japanese soundly defeated the Russians, but the Czar was too proud to give in. Theodore Roosevelt gave him an opening and opportunity to save face by offering to mediate a settlement. The two sides met the president in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Russians angered Roosevelt by refusing to seriously negotiate despite their weaken state. The military situation forced them to acquiesce to a treaty. Neither side was entirely happy with the results, but accepted the Treaty of Portsmouth.  For his efforts in ending the Russo-Japanese War, Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.

Thirteen years later, a man Roosevelt despised won the same award. Woodrow Wilson’s idealism drove the Paris Peace Conference following World War I.  His idea for an international body that could settled disputes between nations was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles. This became the League of Nations. The League was designed to allow diplomacy to solve problems that would otherwise lead to war. Wilson’s desire for peace, ethnic self-determination, and the elimination of war combined with the creation of the League of Nations led the Nobel Committee to issue the president his peace prize.

President Obama’s Nobel Prize follows in the footsteps of his esteemed predecessors. Unfortunately, the current president’s prize seems like an award for potential as opposed to concrete accomplishment. On the other hand, Roosevelt and Wilson got in the trenches of foreign diplomacy and hammered out agreements designed to restore the peace. Roosevelt helped end a disastrous conflict in the Far East. Wilson helped end an apocalyptic conflict that engulfed the world and worked to stop future conflicts. President Obama has a lot to live up to.