Peloponnesian War Essay, Research Paper

The Peloponnesian War

America can be compared to Athens and Sparta in terms of being the superpower nation in its time. For America, we can learn lessons from the Peloponnesian War to help us be better informed of the causes of war. One reason for the cause of war between Sparta and Athens was their involvement of allies in which President Washington warned us against doing.

Because of alliances, Athens and Sparta the two superpower in its time were responsible for protecting their weaker states. Even though both countries didn’t want to have war, they were bound to help the smaller states. America, being the only superpower today, if we are not involved with allies, we are not obligated to help anyone. We don’t have to get involved in a war we are reluctant to fight, which Athens and Sparta were forced to do.

Another lesson we can learn from the Peloponnesian War is balance of powers. Athens and Sparta were both superpowers so they were responsible for controlling the system. If one superpower became strong, it became an immediate threat to the other. Since America is the only superpower, we just have to make sure another superpower does not come into existence. As long as we are the only superpower today, we don’t have to worry about another superpower becoming too strong to become a threat to our nation. The balance of power would not be an issue for instigating a war. In the Pelopennsian war, Sparta feared Athenians was getting too much power so Sparta fought Athens to prevent this.