“All the People Are Now Guerillas”

By the 18th century, Europeans had succeeded in limiting the scope and cruelty of wars, yet by the time of the First World War, the tide had turned with massive civilian deaths, ethnic cleansing, slaughter of prisoners, violence against and expropriation of civilians, and bombing of civilian centers. One cause of the 20th century’s brutality was the U.S. government’s increasing willingness to do violence to civilians, starting during the War Between the States.