Synopses & Reviews
Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, this concise reader uses a carefully selected group of primary sources and analytical essays to allow students to test the interpretations of distinguished historians and to draw their own conclusions about the history of American foreign policy. The text serves as an effective educational tool for one-semester courses on U.S. foreign policy or recent U.S. history.The Concise Edition consolidates the two volumes of Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, 6/e, into a single volume. Covering the major events of American foreign relations from the Revolutionary era through September 11 and its aftermath, the chapters also address the role of gender, race, and national identity in American foreign policy.
About the Author
Dennis Merrill, a professor of history and department chair at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. He is the author of Bread and the Ballot: The United States and India's Economic Development, 1947-1963. The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations honored him with a Stuart L. Bernath Article Prize, and he has received two Fulbright awards to India. His current research interests focus on U.S.-Third World relations during the Cold War and the history of international tourism. Thomas G. Paterson, professor emeritus of history at the University of Connecticut, graduated from the University of New Hampshire (B.A., 1963) and the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D., 1968). He is the author of Soviet-American Confrontation (1973), Meeting the Communist Threat (1988), On Every Front (1992), Contesting Castro (1994), America Ascendant (with J. Garry Clifford, 1995), and A People and a Nation (with Mary Beth Norton et al., 2001). Tom is also the editor of Cold War Critics (1971), Kennedy's Quest for Victory (1989), Imperial Surge (with Stephen G. Rabe, 1992), The Origins of the Cold War (with Robert McMahon, 1999), Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations (with Michael J. Hogan, 2004), and Major Problems in American Foreign Relations (with Dennis Merrill, 2010). With Bruce Jentleson, he served as senior editor for the Encyclopedia of American Foreign Relations (1997). A microfilm edition of The United States and Castro's Cuba, 1950s-1970s: The Paterson Collection appeared in 1999. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of American History and Diplomatic History. A recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, he has directed National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars for College Teachers. In 2000 the New England History Teachers Association recognized his excellence in teaching and mentoring with the Kidger Award. Besides visits to many American campuses, Tom has lectured in Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Venezuela. He is a past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, which in 2008 honored him with the Laura and Norman Graebner Award for "lifetime achievement" in scholarship, service, and teaching. A native of Oregon, Tom is now informally associated with Southern Oregon University.
Table of Contents
1. Approaching the Study of American Foreign Relations ESSAYS Thomas J. McCormick, The World-System, Hegemony, and Decline Akira Iriye, The Importance of Culture Laura McEnaney, Gender Analysis and Foreign Relations Michael H. Hunt, The Racial Hierarchy Mulvyn P. Leffler, Security, Values, and Power J. Garry Clifford, Bureaucratic Poltics and Policy Outcomes 2. The Origins of American Foreign Policy in the Revolutionary Era DOCUMENTS 1. John Adams of Massachusetts Explains French Interest in American Independence and Cautions Against Alliance, 1775 2. Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, 1778 3. Treaty of Alliance with France, 1778 4. Treaty of Peace Provides for American Independence, 1783 5. Foreign Policy Powers in the Constitution, 1789 6. Jay's Treaty, 1794 7. A Democratic-Republican Society Blasts Jay's Treaty, 1795 8. President George Washington Cautions Against Factionalism and Permanent Alliances in His Farewell Address, 1796 ESSAYS Lawrence S. Kaplan, The Treaty of Alliance with France and American Isolationism Peter S. Onuf and Leonard J. Sadosky, American Internationalism and Federal Union 3. The Louisiana Purchase DOCUMENTS 1. President Thomas Jefferson Assesses the French Threat in New Orleans, 1802 2. Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, Explains the Need to Sell Louisiana to the United States, 1803 3. Robert R. Livingston, American Minister to France, Recounts the Paris Negotiations, 1803 4. Federalist Alexander Hamilton Debunks Jefferson's Diplomacy, 1803 5. Jefferson Instructs Captain Meriwether Lewis on Exploration, 1803 ESSAYS Robert W. Tucker and David C. Hendrickson, Jefferson's Risky Diplomacy of Watching and Waiting Joyce Appleby, Jefferson's Resolute Leadership and Drive Toward Empire 4. The War of 1812 DOCUMENTS 1. Secretary of State James Madison Protests British Impressment of Americans from the Chesapeake, 1807 2. The Embargo Act Forbids U.S. Exports, 1807 3. Massachusetts Federalist Josiah Quincy Denounces Calls for War, 1809 4. The Non-Intercourse Act Replaces the Embargo Act, 1809 5. Shawnee Chief Tecumseh Condemns U.S. Land Grabs and Plays the British Card, 1810 6. Kentucky Republican Henry Clay Articulates U.S. Grievances Against Britain, 1811 7. President James Madison Urges Congress to Declare War on Great Britain, 1812 8. Former President Thomas Jefferson Predicts the Easy Conquest of Canada, 1812 ESSAYS Garry Wills, Economic Coercion and the Conquest of Canada: Madison's Failed Diplomacy Steven Watts, Crusade to Revitalize the American Character 5. The Monroe Doctrine DOCUMENTS 1. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams Warns Against the Search for "Monsters to Destroy," 1821 2. British Foreign Secretary George Canning Proposes a Joint Declaration, 1823 3. Thomas Jefferson Advises President James Monroe to Cooperate with Britain, 1823 4. Adams Argues Against a Joint Anglo-American Declaration in the Cabinet Meeting of November 7, 1823 5. The Monroe Doctrine Declares the Western Hemisphere Closed to European Intervention, 1823 6. Colombia Requests an Explanation of U.S. Intentions, 1824 7. Juan Bautista Alberdi of Argentina Warns Against the Threat of "Monroism" to the Independence of Spanish America, n.d. ESSAYS James E. Lewis, Jr., Ineffective Defense, at Best William E. Weeks, The Age of Manifest Destiny Begins 6. Manifest Destiny, Texas, and the War with Mexico DOCUMENTS 1. Commander Sam Houston's Battle Cry for Texan Independence from Mexico, 1835 2. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Defends Mexican Sovereignty over Texas, 1837 3. Democratic Publicist John L. O'Sullivan Proclaims America's Manifest Destiny, 1839 4. President James K. Polk Lays Claim to Texas and Oregon, 1845 5. Polk Asks Congress to Declare War on Mexico, 1846 6. The Wilmot Proviso Raises the Issue of Slavery in New Territories, 1846 7. Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster Protests the War with Mexico and the Admission of New States to the Union, 1848 8. Mexican Patriots Condemn U.S. Aggression, 1850 ESSAYS Anders Stephanson, The Ideology and Spirit of Manifest Destiny Thomas R. Hietala, Empire by Design, Not Destiny 7. The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War DOCUMENTS 1. Cuban Nationalist Jose Marti Cautions Against Annexation to the United States, 1895 2. Spanish Minister Dupuy de Lome Criticizes President William McKinley, 1897 3. "Peace--But Quit That": Uncle Sam Defends Cuba's Feminine Virtue, 1898 4. "Another Old Woman Tries to Sweep Back the Sea": Critics Lampoon President William McKinley as Indecisive and Unmanly, 1898 5. President McKinley Asks Congress to Authorize War on Spain, 1898 6. The Teller Amendment Disavows the U.S. Annexation of Cuba, 1898 7. American Anti-Imperialist League Platform, 1899 8. McKinley Preaches His Imperial Gospel, 1899 9. The Platt Amendment Restricts Cuba's Independence, 1903 ESSAYS Walter LaFeber, Preserving the American System Louis A. Perez, Jr., Derailing Cuban Nationalism and Establishing U.S. Hegemony 8. Woodrow Wilson, World War I, and the League Fight DOCUMENTS 1. The First Lusitania Note Demands That Germany Halt Submarine Warfare, 1915 2. President Woodrow Wilson Asks Congress to Declare War Against Germany, 1917 3. Senator Robert M. La Follette Voices His Dissent, 1917 4. Wilson Proclaims U.S. War Aims: The Fourteen Points, 1918 5. Articles 10 Through 16 of the League of Nations Covenant, 1919 6. Wilson Defends the Peace Treaty and League, 1919 7. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Proposes Reservations to the League Covenant, 1919 ESSAYS Thomas J. Knock, From Peace to War: Progressive Internationalists Confront the Forces of Reaction Jan Wilhelm Schulte-Nordholt, The Peace Advocate Out of Touch with Reality Tony Smith, Wilsonianism: A Workable Blueprint for a Broken World 9. U.S. Entry into World War II DOCUMENTS 1. Senator Gerald P. Nye Cites the Lessons of History and Advocates Neutrality, 1936 2. President Franklin D. Roosevelt Proposes to "Quarantine" Aggressors, 1937 3. Japan Envisions a "New Order" in Asia, 1938 4. FDR Proposes Lend-Lease Aid to Great Britain, 1940 5. Roosevelt Orders the U.S. Navy to "Shoot on Sight," 1941 6. Japan Proposes Two Diplomatic Options to the United States, November 1941 7. Washington Rejects Japan's Proposals and Reaffirms the Open Door, November 1941 8. Roosevelt Delivers His War Message to Congress, 1941 ESSAYS Gerhard Weinberg, The Global Threat and the Case for War Bruce M. Russett, Stalemate and the Case Against U.S. Entry into the War 10. The Origins of the Cold War DOCUMENTS 1. The Franck Committee Predicts a Nuclear-Arms Race if the Atomic Bomb Is Dropped on Japan, 1945 2. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson Appeals for Atomic Talks with the Soviets, 1945 3. Attache George F. Kennan Critiques Soviet Foreign Policy in His "Long Telegram," 1946 4. Former British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill Declares an "Iron Curtain" Has Descended on Europe, 1946 5. Soviet Ambassador Nikolai Novikov Identifies a U.S. Drive for World Supremacy, 1946 6. The Truman Doctrine Calls for Aid to Greece and Turkey to Contain Totalitarianism, 1947 7. The Marshall Plan (Economic Cooperation Act) Provides Aid for European Reconstruction, 1948 8. The National Security Council Paper No. 68 (NSC-68) Reassesses the Soviet Threat and Recommends a Massive Military Buildup, 1950 ESSAYS Barton J. Bernstein, Secrets and Threats: Atomic Diplomacy and Soviet-American Antagonism Arnold A Offner, Provincialism and Confrontation: Truman's Responsibility John Lewis Gaddis, Two Cold War Empires: Imposition vs. Multilateralism 11. Cold War Culture and the "Third World" DOCUMENTS 1. Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq Defends the Nationalization of Oil, 1951 2. U.S. Ambassador Loy Henderson Questions Mossadeq's Mental Stability, 1952 3. President John F. Kennedy Launches the Peace Corps, 1961 4. JFK Enlists Youth and Idealism in the Peace Corps, 1961 5. A Peace Corps Volunteer Describes Life in Ghana, 1964 6. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Plans for Tourism, 1949 7. Modernity Goes on Display: San Juan's Caribe Hilton Hotel, 1949 8. A Puerto Rican Cartoon Satirizes U.S. Tourists, 1960 ESSAYS Mary Ann Heiss, Culture Clash: Gender, Oil, and Iranian Nationalism Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Cultural Cooperation: The Peace Corps in Ghana Dennis Merrill, Cultural Negotiation: U.S. Tourism in Puerto Rico 12. Cuba and the Missile Crisis DOCUMENTS 1. CIA Assassination Plots Against Cuban Leader Fidel Castro (1960-1965), 1975 2. Guidelines for Operation Mongoose, 1962 3. Missiles Photographed in Cuba: President John F. Kennedy Meets with His Advisers, October 16, 1962 4. Kennedy Addresses the Nation, October 22, 1962 5. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev Asks for a U.S. No-Invasion Pledge, October 26, 1962 6. Khrushchev Requests U.S. Removal of Jupiter Missiles from Turkey, October 27, 1962 7. Kennedy and ExComm Consider Trading the Jupiter Missiles in Turkey, October 27, 1962 8. Soviet Official Anastas I. Mikoyan and Fidel Castro Debate and Review the Crisis, November 4-5, 1962 ESSAYS Robert Dallek, Patient Diplomacy and Measured Pressure: JFK's Finest Hour Thomas G. Paterson, Spinning Out of Control: Kennedy's War Against Cuba and the Missile Crisis 13. The Vietnam War DOCUMENTS 1. Vietnamese Declaration of Independence, 1945 2. Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference on Indochina, 1954 3. North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap Outlines His People's War Strategy, 1961 4. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution Authorizes the President to Use Force, 1964 5. A Bureaucratic Insider Laments the Momentum Against Negotiation, November 1964 6. President Lyndon B. Johnson's Advisers Chart the Path to Military Escalation, December 1964 7. Chinese Leader Mao Zedong Urges the North Vietnamese to Fight On, 1965 8. Senator J. William Fulbright Decries the "Arrogance of Power," 1966 9. Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara Concludes That He Erred, 1995 ESSAYS Robert Buzzanco, International Capitalism and Communism Collide with Vietnamese Nationalism Fredrik Logevall, Lyndon Johnson and His Advisers Pursue Personal Credibility and War Robert K. Brigham, An Unwinnable War 14. The Cold War Ends and the Post-Cold War Era Begins DOCUMENTS 1. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger Defines Detente, 1974 2. President Jimmy Carter Condemns the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1980 3. President Ronald Reagan Denounces the Soviet Union, 1981 4. Reagan Defends SDI After the Reykjavik Summit Meeting, 1986 5. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev Criticizes SDI After the Reykjavik Summit Meeting, 1986 6. Paul Kennedy on "Imperial Overstretch" and the Relative Decline of the United States, 1987 7. Soviet Reformer Georgi Arbatov Explains the "New Thinking" in the Soviet Union, 1989 8. President George Bush Proclaims Cold War Victory, 1990 9. President William J. Clinton Applauds America's Globalism and Warns Against a New Isolationism, 1995 10. President George W. Bush Jettisons the Multilateral Kyoto Protocol on the Environment, 2001 ESSAYS Thomas G. Paterson, Superpower Decline and Hegemonic Survival John Lewis Gaddis, President Ronald Reagan's Successful Strategy of Negotiating from Strength Joseph S. Nye, Jr., The Limits of American Post-Cold War Power 15. September 11, 2001, and Anti-Americanism in the Muslim World DOCUMENTS 1. President Franklin D. Roosevelt Befriends King Ibn Saud, 1945 2. The National Security Council Weighs U.S. Options in the Middle East, 1948 3. Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser Justifies Nationalizing the Suez Canal, 1956 4. The Palestinian National Covenant Calls for the Liberation of Palestine, 1968 5. The Carter Doctrine Announces U.S. Intention to Repel Aggression in the Persian Gulf, 1980 6. President George Bush Declares a New World Order During the Persian Gulf Crisis, 1990 7. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Pleads for Peace, 1993 8. President George W. Bush Asks, "Why Do They Hate Us?" 2001 9. Osama bin Laden Proclaims, "God Has Given Them Back What They Deserve," 2001 10. President Bush Vows to Democratize Iraq, 2005 ESSAYS Bernard Lewis, The Revolt of Islam Ussama Makdisi, A Clash with U.S. Foreign Policy