"started" is of course a big claim, but it's interesting to look at in any event.

Before the Constitution (2):
Shay's Rebellion
American Revolution

George Washington (1):
Whiskey Rebellion

John Adams0

Thomas Jefferson (1):
1st Barbary War

James Madison (4):
Anglo-American War of 1812
Cherokee Wars
Tecumseh's War
First Seminole War

James Monroe (1):
Florida Conflict

John Q Adams0

Andrew Jackson (3):
Black Hawk War
2nd Seminole War
Creek War

Martin Van Buren-John Tyler 0

James Polk (3):
Mexican-American War
Cayuse War
Navajo War

Zachary Taylor(1):
Apache Wars (beginning)

Millard Filmore (1):
Yuma War

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan (2):
3rd Seminole War
Mojave War

Abraham Lincoln (6):
Civil War
2nd Black Hawk War
California Wars
Snake War
1st Dakota War
Colorado War

Andrew Johnson0

Ulysses Grant (1):
Great Sioux War

Rutherford Hayes-Grover Cleveland's first0

Benjamin Harrison (1):
Ghost Dance War

Grover Cleveland's second (2):
Hawaiian Revolution
Brazilian Naval Revolution

William McKinley (1):
Spanish-American War
Filipino Insurrection

Theodore Roosevelt (2):
Panamanian War of Independence
Dominican Intervention

William Taft0

Woodrow Wilson (5):
World War I
Haiti intervention
Nicaragua Intervention
Mexican Revolution
Russian Civil War

Warren Harding0

Calvin Coolidge (1)
Banana Wars action in Honduras and Nicaragua

Herbert Hoover0

Franklin Roosevelt (1)
World War II

Harry Truman (3)
Greek Civil War
Korean War
3rd Chinese Civil War

Dwight Eisenhower (2):
Guatemalan Coup
Iranian Coup

John Kennedy (1):
Bay of Pigs

Lyndon Johnson (2)
Dominican Intervention (Trujillo affair)
Vietnam War (counting this as one thing, and counting Johnson as the instigator, though Eisenhower was at the very beginning0

Richard Nixon-Gerald Ford0

James Carter (1)
Iranian Hostage Rescue attempt

Ronald Reagan (5)
El Salvador Civil War
Lockerbie Affair
Lebanon Civil War
Grenada Conflict
Contra Revolt

George Bush (2)
Noriega Conflict
Gulf War

William Clinton (6)
Colombian Drug Wars
Bosnian Civil War
Kosovo War
Strikes on Sudan
Somalian Peacekeeping
Haiti intervention

George W. Bush (4)
Haiti Intervention
2nd Gulf War
Taliban Wars
Taylor Conflict

Obama (3?)

Al-Shebab Conflict
Libya Civil War
Mission to capture Kony

I lumped together some of the conflicts in Lincoln and Wilson's eras, as well as lumping Vietnam into one big thing.

But either way, it marks Lincoln or Wilson as the biggest warmongers, largely because Lincoln stirred up a large anthill of Indian revolts in the California area, while Wilson was neck-deep in latin american fights. Clinton, interestingly, comes in third.

Seems like most of those were more of conflicts than wars imo.(our involvement at least) I mean, did Obama really "start" or get us really involved in Libya Civil War? Did we even have boots on the ground? Most of those also seemed to be Indian wars which were just pitiful.(for the Indians)

Broadly defines "war." Forgot to add that

There's a bit of subjectivity in attempting to define anything from history, especially in classing events.

"Start" here is to be taken as "President whom initiated or escalated American involvement." Obviously Woodrow Wilson didn't start World War I (that one metal band did :P), but he did as far as America is concerned.

I think your wording is very misleading. You should change "start" to "got involved in" or something. We didn't "start", by any means, many of those conflicts.

This may be somewhat off topic, but was the Contra Revolt under Reagan what the game Contra is made after?

You know, i've always wondered that too.

It's very that Konami at least got the name from the Contras.

So America has a blood lust!?

yep america love to get involved in wars. they may not start it but they'll finish it lol

I'm not sure i'd count the putting down of rebellions on US land as starting a war.

Then again maybe you should considering US states are supposed to be able to cede but obviously can't.

"Started" is taken very very very loosely here isn't it.