ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by identifying general influences on the American experience and then looks at the question historically, designating and describing three historical parts of the national security experience. It introduces the formative period, from the eighteenth-century beginnings of the republic through World War II. The American military tradition has evolved over time and with the different experiences the country has undergone. American ahistoricism contributes to the American sense of exceptionalism and thus to American attitudes toward national security. The accident of American geography historically created the luxury of forming a force after war because no hostile force could menace American territory quickly. The chapter concludes with suggestions of how the past may influence the present and future and how experience may have affected the impact of historical patterns and legacies, including the impact of an unorthodox Trump administration that tends to view many of the elements differently than its predecessors.
